Melinda Gates Pledges $560 Million For Contraception

Where to start? The Catholic Church is not a public company with a board of directors and a CEO, though the management tries to treat it like one. It is technically the "ekklesia", the community of believers who were called out by Jesus to bear witness to his teachings. If (as is actually the case) the majority of individual Catholics ignore the Pope on a range of issues, that just shows that the leadership is out of touch; seriously, Ratzinger isn't in a position to fire all the people who disagree with him, though it would be funny if he tried.

The greatest theologian of the Catholic Church, Hans Kung, is barred from teaching doctrine by the same Ratzinger. In effect, Catholic thought has been hijacked by a relatively small clique of backward authority figures. You could say the same thing about the British Conservative Party and the Church of England. Comment on the USA would be superfluous, as HuffPost does a rather thorough job. Eventually, Popes die.

The point is that Melinda Gates is more typical of Catholics than is the Pope, and Hans Kung articulates the beliefs of educated Catholics far better than Ratzinger's entire hierarchy. It is the Pope that needs to go into unearned retirement.

And, for information, I'm a kind of atheist. I just think that clear thinking about what goes on in religions is much better than simple name calling.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/lRicfnXXwdg/melinda-gates-pledges-560-million-for-contraception

alec baldwin college basketball oakland pinnacle airlines kansas vs kentucky joe posnanski michael kidd gilchrist