Slovakian Bishops Urge Rejection Of LDS Church

[Timidity]

Earlier this month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had asked all Slovaks “who care about religious liberty” to sign a petition supporting its bid to set up a church. Slovak law requires 20,000 signatures for a church to be legally registered.

Slovak bishops released a statement, however, saying the Mormon church’s doctrine was “not in line with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.”

“We call on all Catholics … not to sign this petition and not to betray the Catholic church,” the bishops’ statement said.
Full story

Can anyone help me reconcile the Bishop’s actions with the concepts of religious freedom? I’m always of the opinion that when something a bishop does seems wrong to me, it’s usually the result of the lack of understanding on my part. So obviously I’m not understanding something. I’m sure it has to do with section 7 of Dignitatis Humanae, but I’m not seeing it.

 

[FightingFat]

Can’t wait to hear the answers to this one! I haven’t a clue, but just want to register my interest in the topic and mention the Holy Father’s book ‘Truth & Tolerance’, ever read it?

 

[stellina]

The Mormons don’t exactly play fair either. They are shameless prosletizers and deliberately target Catholic countries. The Slovaks, along with all of the other Christians of Eastern Europe, have suffered enough religious repression to entitle them to fight back.

 

[Digitonomy]

The Mormons don’t exactly play fair either. They are shameless prosletizers and deliberately target Catholic countries. The Slovaks, along with all of the other Christians of Eastern Europe, have suffered enough religious repression to entitle them to fight back.

Fight back against religious freedom?

I suspect the Mormons would argue that Catholics are free to deliberately target Mormon areas in our proselitizing.

 

[cathgal]

Good for the bishop !
Why support false religion. Let them handle it themselves. Catholics don’t have to have a hand in it.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

The real question is do Catholics have to go out of their way to sign a petetion like this every time there is a new religion in town? No.
The way the law appears to be set up anyone can setup a new religion church as long as 20,000 people are members of it. Catholics meet this mark and are fine. The issue cuts both ways though, the LDS dont have to sign in such a situation nor would they.

Religious freedom extends so far as to not persecuting or forced conversions. Religious freedom in no way requires active participation (eg voting in favor of) of something the Catholic Church considers against its doctrines.

 

[stellina]

Fight back against religious freedom?

I suspect the Mormons would argue that Catholics are free to deliberately target Mormon areas in our proselitizing.

I highly doubt that.

Religious freedom is something governed by the state, which ideally represents the will of its citizens. From what I saw, the Slovak government is not banning the Mormons. Rather, the Slovak prelate is asking the people under his care to keep their support from a so-called religion which is openly trying to prosletize them. In a free state, he is completely within his rights to do that, as our bishops are within their rights to urge us not to vote for pro-abortion candidates, and the Slovak citizens are free to listen to him or not. That is a very different matter.

 

[Digitonomy]

That is a good argument. Your argument in post #3 seemed to rely on the premise that Mormons don’t play fair, and that long-suffering Slovaks are entitled to fight back.

 

[jimmy]

Earlier this month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had asked all Slovaks “who care about religious liberty” to sign a petition supporting its bid to set up a church. Slovak law requires 20,000 signatures for a church to be legally registered.

Slovak bishops released a statement, however, saying the Mormon church’s doctrine was “not in line with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.”

“We call on all Catholics … not to sign this petition and not to betray the Catholic church,” the bishops’ statement said.
Full story

Can anyone help me reconcile the Bishop’s actions with the concepts of religious freedom? I’m always of the opinion that when something a bishop does seems wrong to me, it’s usually the result of the lack of understanding on my part. So obviously I’m not understanding something. I’m sure it has to do with section 7 of Dignitatis Humanae, but I’m not seeing it.

It is not religious freedom to allow the mormons to move into an area and push their false doctrines. It is responsible to reject them setting up the new church. Freedom doesn’t mean doing what you want.

Fight back against religious freedom?

This is not an issue of religious freedom. It is an issue of whether someone has a right to build their own faith in a foreign country.

Why should Catholics allow the mormons to build a church if it is up to them? As the bishops said, it is a betrayal of the Catholic Church.

 

[Timidity]

It is not religious freedom to allow the mormons to move into an area and push their false doctrines. It is responsible to reject them setting up the new church.

Can’t the Chinese government say the same thing about the Catholic church?

Don’t we believe, as Catholics, that people have the right–indeed, the duty–to seek and follow religious truth?

Do we not furthermore believe that this decision can not be made unless we are free from external coercion?

Is it not external coercion to use the government to forbid the establishment of a church?

 

[Saint_Michael]

All the Church is saying is not to sign the petition. they aren’t saying drive the LDS from their lands with shovels and switches.

The folks on FAIR are having a field day about this. They seem to think Catholics have no heart, and are so unfaithful they won’t listen to the Bishops’ and the LDS will get their 20,000 signatures no problem anyway. They cite Madonna drawing sell out crowds after the Bishops asked not to see her show where she is crucified. And teh DaVinci Code breaking records in Catholic countries after Bishops instructed the faithful to not see it.

They’re probably right.

The funny thing is Joseph Smith did the exact same thing to help his Church. he would move LDS into a community and buy nothing from “gentiles”, vote in huge blocks, and then legislate pro-Mormon laws and force gentiles from their lands.

All the Bishops did was tell the faithfull not to sign a petition. Big deal…

 

[Catholic_Dude]

The funny thing is Joseph Smith did the exact same thing to help his Church. he would move LDS into a community and buy nothing from “gentiles”, vote in huge blocks, and then legislate pro-Mormon laws and force gentiles from their lands.

Ill bet unless your lds you dont have a shot at a Utah congressional seat (or any elected office). Not that its unfair, if they have the numbers its their right to do so.

Honestly though, I wonder how many of the elected officials in Utah history have been non-lds (especially catholic).

 

[Hastrman]

Can’t the Chinese government say the same thing about the Catholic church?

Yes. And they had the right to keep us out hundreds of years ago when we first came in, but now there are already Catholics there, so they can’t exclude the Church without injustice. The Slovaks are attempting to keep things from reaching that point. They kept to the faith when my Grandmother’s people, the Czechs, created the Hussite heresy or dallied with Lutheranism, and they suffered for it in the Thirty Years War and under Communism, not to mention being treated like dirt by the Austrians, despite being far more loyal than the Czechs–whose capital became a “second Vienna”. They have the right to keep an alien minority from intruding in their land and polluting their faith.

 

[oat_soda]

anyone who thinks that any religion has the right to proselitize is wrong. the church teaches that everyone has the obligation to search for the truth. nobody with a normal intelligence can take a honest investigation of the mormon faith and find it reasonable. it is an affront to truth itself and has no right to exist. it only does so now because it has been deeply entrenched in the modern world.

the mormons were driven out because of thier erroneous beliefs concerning polygamy. orthodox christianity has a historically consistent foundation–mormonism doesn’t. it’s based on a conspiracy theory and proven fraudulent documents. it denies the divinity of Jesus and is therefore an anti-gospel. the devil loves to mix truth and lies to make it more appealing.

for it’s better to loose your life then to loose your soul. mormonism should be treated with contempt while the people with charity.

 

[jimmy]

Yes. And they had the right to keep us out hundreds of years ago when we first came in, but now there are already Catholics there, so they can’t exclude the Church without injustice. The Slovaks are attempting to keep things from reaching that point. They kept to the faith when my Grandmother’s people, the Czechs, created the Hussite heresy or dallied with Lutheranism, and they suffered for it in the Thirty Years War and under Communism, not to mention being treated like dirt by the Austrians, despite being far more loyal than the Czechs–whose capital became a “second Vienna”. They have the right to keep an alien minority from intruding in their land and polluting their faith.

Exactly.

 

[mlchance]

Can’t the Chinese government say the same thing about the Catholic church?

Can they? Sure. Can they do so honestly? Nope.

Don’t we believe, as Catholics, that people have the right–indeed, the duty–to seek and follow religious truth?

Yes, which is why a Catholic ought not sign a petition such as the one mentioned. IOW, if one wants to be Mormom, go ahead. Just don’t expect my support.

But, OTOH, this isn’t the Catholic Church’s doing. It is the Slovakian gov’t’s doing. One can sensibly address the justness of laws that require gov’t approval for building permits, et cetera, without accusing the Catholic Church of being an enemy of religious freedom.

– Mark L. Chance.

 

[John28]

Quote from story:
“The Mormon church said Monday it was not looking for converts from Catholicism. …

Slovakia, a central European country of 5.4 million, is predominantly Catholic.

There are only about 100 Mormons in Slovakia, and nearly 2,000 in the neighboring Czech Republic. "

If there are not looking for Catholic converts, who do they expect to support their new church? 2,100 members spread over two countries is not much of a congregation.

 

[mlchance]

If there are not looking for Catholic converts, who do they expect to support their new church? 2,100 members spread over two countries is not much of a congregation.

Of course they’re looking for converts. The LDS teach that all churches except theirs are false, apostate churches. Among these, the Catholic Church is viewed as the worst of all.

Can one reasonably expect the leaders of a church founded on lies to be honest about their motives?

– Mark L. Chance.

 

[didymus]

Earlier this month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had asked all Slovaks “who care about religious liberty” to sign a petition supporting its bid to set up a church. Slovak law requires 20,000 signatures for a church to be legally registered.

Slovak bishops released a statement, however, saying the Mormon church’s doctrine was “not in line with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.”

“We call on all Catholics … not to sign this petition and not to betray the Catholic church,” the bishops’ statement said.
Full story

Can anyone help me reconcile the Bishop’s actions with the concepts of religious freedom? I’m always of the opinion that when something a bishop does seems wrong to me, it’s usually the result of the lack of understanding on my part. So obviously I’m not understanding something. I’m sure it has to do with section 7 of Dignitatis Humanae, but I’m not seeing it.

Leaving aside the issue of whether Catholics should sign the petition doesn’t anyone find it repugnant that a church, any church, has to be registered by the government?
From what I understand the situation in Russia is similar, there is freedom of religion for the religions the have traditionally existed there (Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Judaism, Islam) but newcomers like Baptists, JWs & LDS are being persecuted.

 

[Digitonomy]

doesn’t anyone find it repugnant that a church, any church, has to be registered by the government?

I have no problem with a government requiring registration of a church, whether for tax reasons, traffic flow issues, or just sociological study. Only when the government tries to limit or persecute the church in some way is it a problem - such as we see here.