The Smoke is white!

I couldn't agree more. Sex has a pretty strong influence on people.

You'd almost think we were designed this way.

 

If it wasn't a life and death situation, I'd agree with you and twhy77 wholeheartedly. Well, maybe not agree, but I'd understand the view a lot more.

 

The Church's policies are having an impact on Christians and non-Christians alike. And many of both parties have such differing cultural, social, political, religious, economical, etc. backgrounds, asking them to drop everything they know to do what the Church says is akin to asking a Native American to stop being a Native American and become a Christian.

 

Isn't sex without marriage is even older fashion?

 

I'm sure I'm the last to notice, but.........holy crap!......look how many fricken posts you have!!!!!!!

 

My quality to quantity ratio is horrible, though.

 

Exactly... I don't know why they are all calling the new Pope "arch-conservative" when all he does is believe in his own religion. Some things should be more important than peer pressure. If you don't like it, go join another church. (of course, I know some Catholics feel that you "have to be Catholic", but these people are not doing a lot of other things that you are traditionally "supposed" to do to be a good traditional Christian. So why is it so important to remain members of the same church? There are plenty of liberal denominations out there.)

 

Very few of us recognize this as a "Rush" reference. Nice.

 

Then why would they refrain from using contraception?

Actually, there are a lot of issues that people have been hoping the Church would change and I don't understand why they'd think it was even a possibility. Use of contraception might be changed, but their position on pre-marital sex will never change regardless of who the pope is. The church position on abortion will not change. Maybe, with a lot of upheaval, they'll allow priests to marry. But, they won't allow women to be priests. I don't understand why people speculating on these issues would even think it was a possibility that the church, under any pope, would even consider it.

 

My understanding of the situation, which certainly can be wrong, is that Church policy impacts both followers and non-followers. The ease of use of access to contraception in many parts of Africa is undoubtedly impacted by the Church's policy towards contraception, regardless of the actual people's opinions towards that policy, or the Church as a whole.

Certainly, in America, there is an impact as well. Religion, and the policy of the Church (and other religions), cleary has an impact on the social issues today, for Christians and non-Christians alike.

 

But those of us that did loved it.

 

agreed

 

I hear that Ratzinger studied in the Temples of Syrinx.

 

Don't expect the Catholic Church to change their rules about premarital sex, abortion, & birth control. The rules are Gods rules the church is just enforcing them.
Why should the church change or bend the rules why don't society change and obey God's law?
Just think if everyone had one sex partner (their spouse) there will be probably be no STDs or whole a lot less and it can easily contained.

 

Rashmon, we don't need your sexual inuendo, given the topic at hand!

As for upheaval, there was definite upheaval when the Church originally *changed* it's rules so that clergy could not marry. This was done so that the Church could inherit the land of priests, but the policy persists, uselessly, to this day.

There was also upheaval within the Church when people suggested that the earth moved around the sun instead of vice versa. Reality is a good thing, and it tends to win the day, but that's just my bias.

 

Why it gotta be white smoke?!

 

Well, if it is ever BROWN smoke, we MEXICANS have nothing to complain about... so... you blacks and whites can have fun with the BLACK or WHITE smoke thingie...