Pope Francis

[poetgrl]

<p>Well, I was going to stop posting, so I will give you a chance to undirect your comment at me. If you leave it that way, I’ll be forced to respond and I really just want to drop the subject.</p>

[Montegut]

<p>I think it is great that the Pope’s colleagues elected a man who was interested in caring for the poor and named himself Francis.</p>

<p>I have hope that he will set a fine example for all of us, regardless of our faith, to live by.</p>

[EPTR]

<p>airiesethena,
I’m not sure your statistics are founded in fact but let’s assume they are. Why does a religion need to address sociologic issues at all? It speaks to the theory that organized religion is an invention of necessity at a time when social structure, inflexible rules and their application through fear and punishment was a necessity for survival. </p>

<p>Why can’t the judgements and generalizations be left at the church door and people be allowed to worship together without an authority figure applying church rules as a means of controlling populations and social ills?<br>
There have been a lot of posts on this thread which liken members of the Catholic church to children who need to be taught how to behave. Honestly, for many of the lapsed Catholics that I know (and for me), that is a huge turn off.</p>

[Mary13]

<p>

@ariesathena

Never married parents are six times as likely to live in poverty as their married peers. Graduate high school, work, and get married before having kids, and your chances of living in poverty are roughly 2%. Being married is like having another four or five years of education - so high school graduates married to each other have kids who turn out just as well as the progeny of never married women with masters degrees.

</p>

<p>Do you have a link for those stats? They are interesting and I would like to read the original source material.</p>

[EPTR]

<p>So would I.</p>

[bethievt]

<p>I was just confused by post #168, but I guess living with/loving a same sex partner in this context means just being friends?</p>

[sryrstress]

<p>I do not think Catholicism is the only religion with an authority figure trying to limit social ills and/or saying how the members should behave. Early Methodism was very much against vagrancy, lack of work ethic, and drinking of liquor.</p>

<p>Why does a religion need to address sociological issues? Interested in responses of other posters. I guess I always thought it was for the “greater good” of the people.</p>

[MaineLonghorn]

<p>I am closing this thread. There’s no way you can say it has avoided discussing religion!</p>