Impotent paraplegic told: no church wedding

June 9, 2008 - 3:52PM

An Italian bishop has reportedly told a young paraplegic he cannot have a church wedding because he is impotent, despite his fiancee being aware of the problem.

Salvatore de Ciuco, spokesman for Bishop Lorenzo Chiarinelli of Viterbo in central Italy, told SkyTG24 television: "No bishop, no priest can celebrate a wedding when he knows of admitted impotence as it is a motive for annulment" of the marriage.

The 26-year-old groom, who took part in a civil marriage ceremony on Saturday in Viterbo, has been paraplegic since he was involved in a car accident.

The curate of the parish who was banned from marrying the couple was present at the ceremony.

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Gus: one of my great grand-fathers was impotent. It was well-known by all and his marriage to my then pregnant (from the noble master of the house were she worked as a maid, mind you) great grand-mother was recognised before the "Church"... Married in a quick hurry, they were. "do you... Yes Yes..."

... In the case above, Bishop Lorenzo Chiarinelli of Viterbo is obviously God.

See toon at top... 

Without God there is no why

After reading yet another editorial on the evils of belief in God and religion, I tossed the paper down in fury. I began to write a response that day and one year later, I hold in my hand a completed book. The day I turned in the final pages, I said to my wife "You know, it all began the day I read that editorial." She looked at me sweetly, "No, David, it all began the day you were diagnosed with lymphoma. Right after you finished chemotherapy, you began the book."

She was right. "Why Faith Matters" is about religion's place in the world, in our lives; does religion breed violence (ultimately, no), can it be reconciled with science (ultimately, yes). But each page is shadowed by the struggles both my wife and I have had with cancer. True reckoning with faith is about faith in the dark cloud, how it touches not only society, but the individual and the family.

Nine months after our daughter was born, our only child, my wife was diagnosed with reproductive cancer that left her unable to have more children. A few years later, I suffered a grand mal seizure and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Three years after that, I was in treatment for lymphoma.

David Wolpe is a Senior Rabbi at the Sinai Temple of Los Angeles, California. He has previously taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, and Hunter College in New York, and currently teaches at UCLA.
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Dear David
let me say I am so sorry your life has been so full of tragedy and illness, so early in your life. Yet I have know many people who have been in the same situation and fought with the best of their ability to their last breath.

Some of us seem to get more bad luck than others. Some self-inflicted, mostly not... The tragedy of existence is that our individual lives get affected more or less by such hardships till the day we become dust... I have yet to meet someone past 40 years of age who has not endured at some point in their life some sad or tragic circumstances. You seem to have collected more than your fair share, though... I have seen many young lives taken away needlessly by accident, war and illness... and it's never easy to see or hear of another person suffering, terminally or not. I have friends who have survived Auschwitz. One of my next door neighbour in Europe lost his wife and his six children there. They all have a strong faith in god, but few via religion.

We become victims, dead or maimed, for being there at the wrong time in the wrong place often without the ability to move because we're born in that particular inescapable bubble... or our friends are driving us there... Or our genes, or our environment, or our behaviour has generated a subtext in which some illnesses are inevitable... Or God decides... or not.

Thus I am so sorry you read yet another editorial on the "evils of God and religion..." Yes, some religious fanatics do push the envelope and it would be futile to deny it.  They will fight other religious people, fanatics or not, to defend or glorify their own religious patch, in ways that are despicable in their intent, through violence or in unjust words...

Non-religious people talking of the evil of the religion? Mostly not...

Evil is definitely the product of religion, even to those who have abandoned the idea of God but still have a supernatural view of the world.

Most atheists or altruistic people who do not believe in god do not believe in "evil". Nor do we believe that wars are exclusive to religion either, though wars are a big feature in the Bible. Evil is a feature in the Bible. The fight between "evil" and God is a feature of the Bible — and this includes the revenge of a God who does not accept his people placing their faith into idols and false prophets.

As religious persons, our main problem is when, behaving as closely as possible to the world of God as spelled in the Bible and when our heart is full of goodness, we still get turned into statues of salt without any real apparent reason. No revenge, no bad deed, So why are we so afflicted? Are we being punished?

It can be comforting to accept it as a test from God to gauge our faith. To test our resolve... But we're still going to go to the doctor to try to get a cure, although some religious fanatics will not — accepting it fully as the will of God.

Meanwhile we can hope and get treated, scientifically.

Without God there is no why?... Dear David, I do not wish to be so insensitive as to argue when you are so in need of comfort.

But life as it is is far too strange to need or seek a why, but it can give us a how.
Life as life evolving for life's sake is far more elevating that one created by a god who would seem to play with our lives of fallen angels at his/her own pleasure.

And religion CANNOT be reconciled with science.
No matter how we interpret Genesis, it does not make sense in the scientific world in which cellphones work. It does not make sense in the world in which dinosaurs lived till 64 million years ago. Genesis does not make sense in the scientific world of genetics.

And yes religion CAN breed violence: from the many stories in the Bible itself, the Crusades to the present world in which there is fanatical religious hatred — whether one has or has not in one's own heart.

It is time for humanity to take stock of its true origins and start to protect this little planet, of which humanity is born, in evolution. The absolute WHY is unimportant. The relative why is... Why?: we need to take care of ourselves individually, take care of others and take care of our environment.

Then god can take care of him/herself should he/she exist — or not.

I feel for you and your family. 

The Bible, by Benedict, Benigni and many more

Maria de Cristofaro and Sebastian Rotella in Rome
October 7, 2008

POPE BENEDICT XVI began by reading: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth." And millions of viewers watching him on Italian television saw that it was good.

The pontiff was launching a marathon reading of the Bible, from Genesis to Apocalypse, which began on Sunday night.

For seven days and six nights, 1300 readers would carry the message, among them former Italian presidents, incumbent cabinet ministers, football stars, foreign diplomats, cardinals, intellectuals, actors, opera singers and everyday citizens.

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I believe they take a deserved rest on Sunday...

From its first words, the Bible stumbles and hides reality. An old man of the cloth would know that unless he is fooled by his own deceitfulness, in search of glory. Though, any rabbi, any cleric, any priest should hang their head down in shame for allowing the kindest words of good be distorted into the tolerance of violence, even if they call it just...

As a counterpoint, may be one should start reading the complete book of real science, starting with something like the simple "Greening of Gondwana" by Mary E. White to the more complex numerous papers on genetics and nuclear physics. That would take a couple of years at least, 24 hours a day — or even take it beyond time, since science EXPLAINS and discovers new REAL stuff by the minute... But true science is very complex because it needs to prove and disprove, while fairy tales are simplistic and fanciful — and without the burden of proof.

Meanwhile:
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Moral stance on executions under threat
Connie Levett | October 7, 2008

CONFIDENTIAL government documents show Australia has devalued its moral authority to oppose capital punishment in South-East Asia through its willingness to assist in death penalty cases, say civil liberties advocates.

This erosion of principled opposition to capital punishment has severely damaged the Government's ability to lobby for relief for the three "Bali Nine" Australians on death row in Indonesia, Pauline Wright, vice-president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said.

The documents, obtained under a freedom-of-information request, show how Australia's long-standing opposition to capital punishment has been undermined by a series of decisions since 1998, and how the process speeded up dramatically after the 2002 Bali bombings.

Last week the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, confirmed the Howard government's earlier position that the Government would not oppose the death penalty for the Bali bombers.
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Is the Pope Catholic? sure... is the Australian PM, Kevin Rudd, Catholic? Nup, he's Anglican — that Catholic side-alley invented by Henry the VIII so he could screw someone else...

But both religious codes sprout "that shall not kill"... without exception. Except...

Thus, Rudd and his government, on this basis alone, should oppose the death penalty, even if it could cost a few votes... But even on simple ethics alone, the death penalty is a no-no...

Same, Kev should remove forthwith his newly imposed asset test on the installation of solar panels. Those who earn just a bit more (or a lot more) than 50,000 bux a year are furious. And I mean FURIOUS that he parades himself as the Mister global warming saviour while he only panders to the big greedies... People who earn under 50,000 bux can not afford solar panels, so here goes the whole industry through the floor.  I know, by limiting access to it, it is a way to make sure every one stays dependent of the big boys... But, come on Kev, you can do better than that and we know that. So DO BETTER!... Don't just coast along because the opposition is still cleaning its dunny.

And Kev, please oppose the death penalty. Howard was wrong. Piss that policy out of the window through the fresh air. Even if you do not want to have your "moral" stance on it, let other Australians regain it...

See toon at top...

In quotations from the letter that appeared on Sunday in Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading daily newspaper, the pope said the book “explained with great clarity” that “an interreligious dialogue in the strict sense of the word is not possible.” In theological terms, added the pope, “a true dialogue is not possible without putting one’s faith in parentheses.”

Meanwhile:

A Vatican newspaper has forgiven the late English singer John Lennon for saying four decades ago that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.

In an article praising The Beatles, L'Osservatore Romano said Lennon had just been showing off.

Lennon told a British newspaper in 1966 - at the height of Beatlemania - that he did not know which would die out first, Christianity or rock and roll.

At the time, the comparison sparked controversy in the US.

The semi-official Vatican newspaper marked the 40th anniversary of The Beatles' "White Album" with an article praising Lennon and the Fab Four from Liverpool.

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see toon at top....

Let it be said here that I could not sleep last night. And in the vagaries of my mind I postulated that dark matter was mostly neutrons possibly with a few free quarks [or other strange bits] in search of a home. I could be vastly wrong but it seems an elegant postulate.

Since the free neutrons half-life is only 15 minutes, one would have to then postulate that they might be agglomerated in stable clusters such as in the dineutrons or tetraneutrons or "meganeutrons" bound by week forces from some quarks in their composition, all with plenty of absolute cold space in between. Thus the neutron star or neutronium can also be postulate at the extreme of this scale...

But the real dark matter could well be made from the grand bullshit coming from our darken souls. Who knows. The crap contribution from the Bushit and the Bin Laden of this world would be giganormous. And father Christmas and the tooth fairy... Sleep sounds like a good place to be neutronised... I need to lighten up.

there I was wondering about the dark side of the universe (see comment above) that suddenly:

A Whisper, Perhaps, From the Universe’s Dark Side

Is this the dark side speaking?

A concatenation of puzzling results from an alphabet soup of satellites and experiments has led a growing number of astronomers and physicists to suspect that they are getting signals from a shadow universe of dark matter that makes up a quarter of creation but has eluded direct detection until now.

Maybe.

“Nobody really knows what’s going on,” said Gordon Kane, a theorist at the University of Michigan. Physicists caution that there could still be a relatively simple astronomical explanation for the recent observations.

But the nature of this dark matter is one of the burning issues of science. Identifying it would point the way to a deeper understanding of the laws of nature and the Einsteinian dream of a unified theory of physics.

From the Independent

The muse of Minnesota, Garrison Keillor, is generally thought of as an impeccably liberal figure. He was raised as a member of the Plymouth Brethren, a notoriously rigorous Christian sect; but as an adult he became an Episcopalian by choice, indicating a much less stern attitude to matters of faith than that practised by his parents.

Yet, in the week of good will to all men, Keillor suddenly demonstrated a flash of that old-time religious fervour – even fury. In his regular column for the Baltimore Sun he launched into an attack on two groups which he claimed were attempting to destroy the true spirit of Christmas: Unitarians and (whoever would have guessed it?) the Jews.

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No trinity for some... See toon at top and do not forget to read all the comments at the usual suspects...

From the NYT

...

It is also, not coincidentally to his fervor, the one he used to inhabit. The son of Conservative Jewish parents who ran a beauty supply company, Mr. Rosenberg grew attracted in his late teens to the Chabad movement of the Lubavitch Hasidim for what he described as “the perfect combination of social service and religious mystery.”

Mr. Rosenberg found his compelling cause in the plight of Ethiopian Jews seeking to be allowed to immigrate to Israel. His failure to enlist Chabad’s support for those efforts in the mid-1980s began a sustained process of estrangement. Still, he continued to worship with a Chabad congregation, study under Chabad rabbis and work in the kosher meat industry in the Twin Cities.

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see toon at top...

A furious transatlantic row has erupted over quotes that were attributed to a retired Italian bishop, which suggested that Jews were behind the current criticism of the Catholic church's record on tackling clerical sex abuse.

A website quoted Giacomo Babini, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, as saying he believed a "Zionist attack" was behind the criticism, considering how "powerful and refined" the criticism is.

The comments, which have been denied by the bishop, follow a series of statements from Catholic churchmen alleging the existence of plots to weaken the church and Pope Benedict XVI.

Allegedly speaking to the Catholic website Pontifex, Babini, 81, was quoted as saying: "They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers."

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See toon at top and have a laugh... really...

Pope Benedict XVI has personally exonerated Jews of allegations they were responsible for Jesus Christ's death.

The Pope makes his complex theological and biblical evaluation in a section of the second volume of his book, Jesus of Nazareth, which will be published next week.

In it, he repudiates the concept of collective guilt that has haunted Christian-Jewish relations for centuries.

"Now we must ask: Who exactly were Jesus's accusers?" the Pope asks, adding that the gospel of St John simply says it was "the Jews".

"But John's use of this expression does not in any way indicate - as the modern reader might suppose - the people of Israel in general, even less is it 'racist' in character," he writes.

"After all John himself was ethnically a Jew, as were Jesus and all his followers. The entire early Christian community was made up of Jews."

Pope Benedict says the reference was to the "Temple aristocracy," who wanted Jesus condemned to death because he had declared himself king of the Jews and had violated Jewish religious law.

He concludes that the "real group of accusers" were the Temple authorities and not all Jews of the time.

The Roman Catholic Church officially repudiated the idea of collective Jewish guilt for Christ's death in a major document by the Second Vatican Council in 1965.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/03/3153637.htm?section=justin

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Ah, the price of gold and sin at whatever temples... From what I remember it was the Jewish crowd that chanted for the release of Barabbas and for the crucifixion of Jesus... So it's now a clean slate for the Jews in this many times rewritten fairy tale, based on long vanished and distorted historical events (not godly events). But in a good tradition of clairvoyance, whatever happened then could not be avoided as it was written in the old book... By demanding Jesus's blood, the Jews — fulfilling the "prophecy" — did a favour to Christianity: it made it exist — as fanciful as it is.

See toon at top...

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has warned that it may shut its doors to pilgrims in protest at a dispute with an Israeli water company.

The church, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, has had its bank account frozen at the request of Hagihon over an unpaid $2.3m bill.

The dispute has left hundreds of priests, monks and teachers unpaid.

The church has traditionally not been charged for water, but Hagihon says it is owed money for the past 15 years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20188167

Francesca Hogi, 40, had settled into her aisle seat for the flight from New York to London when the man assigned to the adjoining window seat arrived and refused to sit down. He said his religion prevented him from sitting beside a woman who was not his wife. Irritated but eager to get underway, she eventually agreed to move.

Laura Heywood, 42, had a similar experience while traveling from San Diego to London via New York. She was in a middle seat — her husband had the aisle — when the man with the window seat in the same row asked if the couple would switch positions. Ms. Heywood, offended by the notion that her sex made her an unacceptable seatmate, refused.

“I wasn’t rude, but I found the reason to be sexist, so I was direct,” she said.

A growing number of airline passengers, particularly on trips between the United States and Israel, are now sharing stories of conflicts between ultra-Orthodox Jewish men trying to follow their faith and women just hoping to sit down. Several flights from New York to Israel over the last year have been delayed or disrupted over the issue, and with social media spreading outrage and debate, the disputes have spawned a protest initiative, an online petition and a spoof safety video from a Jewish magazine suggesting a full-body safety vest (“Yes, it’s kosher!”) to protect ultra-Orthodox men from women seated next to them on airplanes.

read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/us/aboard-flights-conflicts-over-seat-assignments-and-religion.html

see toon at top...