Very impressed with the new Pope

[ManyMinnie]

Or how about not having sex outside of marriage (the thought!) or using Family Planning? Neither method is perfect, but then again, no method of contraception is. And sense when does every child that happens because of a lack of contraception end up starving?

I'm actually a very liberal Catholic, but I would never think they would have a Pope that would go crazy and start handing out contraception and marrying same sex couples. I'm not sure why people think the church should hand out birth control.

Sex outside of marriage has nothing to do with it. You aren't supposed to use contraception, period. Whether you're single or married.

 

[maxiesmom]

Sex outside of marriage has nothing to do with it. You aren't supposed to use contraception, period. Whether you're single or married.

But many people do and if they didn't it would cut down on the number of babies being born. Most of us Catholics will tell you were are far from perfect Catholics. People are not perfect.

The whole handing out contraception is the only way to keep babies from starving is a load of hooie. Contraception is not fool proof, and it is not the only way to keep from getting pregnant.

And if someone was hoping the Pope would be a perfect man, they will be disappointed as well. There was only ever one perfect man.

 

[ManyMinnie]

But many people do and if they didn't it would cut down on the number of babies being born. Most of us Catholics will tell you were are far from perfect Catholics. People are not perfect.

The whole handing out contraception is the only way to keep babies from starving is a load of hooie. Contraception is not fool proof, and it is not the only way to keep from getting pregnant.

And if someone was hoping the Pope would be a perfect man, they will be disappointed as well. There was only ever one perfect man.

I'm ignoring the hyperbole of children starving to death and was strictly speaking of the edict of the church to get married to procreate.

Hmmm, I'd like to reply further, but I'm afraid I'd tread too far into the "no religion" rule.

 

[Wall-E1]

I'm not impressed at all. I agree with President Fernandez's comparision to, "“medieval times and the Inquisition.”

I understand that the catholic church has always been against gay marriage and gays adopting children... and I'm not at all surprised. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. It's just a shame that the values of this pope and his followers come from a place of bigotry and intolerance. In my opinion, these are some pretty messed up values.

So no, I'm really not impressed. Hatred and bigotry do not impress me, even if coming from a humble man. He can name himself whatever he wants. It doesn't change these heinous medieval values that he clings to.

I only hope that as pope he tones down his hateful rhetoric towards gays. There is enough violence against gays without a powerful religious leader fanning the flames of hatred.

 

[firecracker725]

So what is better fewer children by using contraception or more babies starving to death because there is no food for them?

Not sure why you quoted me? I made no statement of beliefs nor opinions on anyone else's. I merely said I didn't know why anyone would be surprised that the new leader of an organization that believes those things would believe any differently just because it's 2013.

 

[Pigeon]

Access to contraception is absolutely key to lifting people out of poverty. But the church isn't really opposed to suffering, whether it be children suffering or anyone else.

I don't care what the catholic church teaches or what its adherents choose to do or not do. When it attempts to influence public policy in any country that's an entirely different matter.

 

[wetblanket]

Actually, according to UNICEF, under-5 mortality goes down continuously. It is a tragic unpublished headline "21,000 Children Dead!" that could be published every day.

In 1990 it could have been "32,000 children dead!"

In 1960 it could have been "65,000 Children Dead!" each and every day.

In 1960, we had half as many people on earth. That means that there has been an 84% reduction in the rate of under-5 mortality rate without any change in the Catholic Church's stance on birth control.

If the Catholic Church were to reverse its stance: 1. Could those who you want to use birth control afford it? 80% of the world makes less than $10 a day. 2. Would they want to use it? Would you compel them to? 3. How much would it address the underlying causes of poor sanitation, greater number of birth defects due to pollution, lack of clean water?

How many fewer children born would make it so there was enough to go around? Would those fewer born have a better shot at reaching 5 years old without addressing the other issues?

We have resources in abundance to make this a just world, with education, medical care and nutrition for all.

Check out the Earth Policy Institute for their plan "Plan B" that lays out a strategy to get there. It starts with a peak cost of $120 Billion per year and goes down from there as benefits are reaped. Seas restocked. Erosion and desertification reversed. $120 Billion seem like a lot, but since 2008 Trillions have been shoveled on to bank balance sheets, never to return. Lester Brown is no apologist for Catholics (he talks about the "condom gap" for example), but what he lays out is a workable solution for a more just, and more peaceful world.

How's that for a first post? Love the Dis. Happy for a Pope who is interested in social justice.

 

[PaulaSB12]

Access to contraception is absolutely key to lifting people out of poverty. But the church isn't really opposed to suffering, whether it be children suffering or anyone else.

I don't care what the catholic church teaches or what its adherents choose to do or not do. When it attempts to influence public policy in any country that's an entirely different matter.

It took 14 years to get a bill allowing contraception and in the Philippines and bishops are threatening to take it to the law supreme court to try and stop it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20863691

 

[Poohforyou]

I read the Pope has only one lung?


DH had abdominal surgery in November and caught pneumonia while in the hospital, which caused a collapsed lung. He never really felt like he recovered from the surgery (he has to drag himself to work) and last week he found out why -- he still has a partially collapsed lung and may need additional treatment.


I can see how having only one working lung is sapping his energy.


To have that as a permanent condition, and still become a world leader . . . Very impressed.

Sent from my SCH-I800 using DISBoards

Having 1 healthy, fully function lung is completely different from having 2 lungs with one functioning at 50%. The human body will adapt to having 1 lung or 1 kidney and function just fine. When an organ is sick in the body the entire body is fighting and that's what saps energy.

I'm not Catholic and don't have a dog is the fight but only time will tell how remarkable this Pope will be. He has an opportunity to be more relevant and right many wrongs.

 

[PaulaSB12]

One of these things is there are Severn billion people on th panet and that figure is growing either we humans reduce the number or nature will do it for us but we can't keep breeding like there are unlimited resources!

 

[Deb in IA]

Having 1 healthy, fully function lung is completely different from having 2 lungs with one functioning at 50%. The human body will adapt to having 1 lung or 1 kidney and function just fine. When an organ is sick in the body the entire body is fighting and that's what saps energy.

I'm not Catholic and don't have a dog is the fight but only time will tell how remarkable this Pope will be. He has an opportunity to be more relevant and right many wrongs.

Reports that the Pope only has one lung are not true.

He had a PORTION of one lung removed decades ago as a young man.

And yes, having it removed early in life, as with many other organs, is NOT the same as having one removed much later.
The remaining organ and portions of organ can expand and functioning capacity stay pretty normal.

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/201...l-lung-doesnt-slow-him-down-vatican-says?lite

Pope's partial lung doesn't slow him down, Vatican says
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected to lead the Catholic Church following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

By JoNel Aleccia, Senior Writer, NBC News
Vatican officials now say that the new Pope Francis lost just part of a lung to disease as a young man, and that the injury has never affected his work.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires had a pulmonary illness some 40 years ago during which part of one lung was removed, according to Fr. Frederico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office.

"This has never been an obstacle either in his rhythm or for his work, his life, or his pastoral care, as demonstrated by leading a diocese that requires such dedication as that of Buenos Aires," Lombardi said in a press release issued by the Vatican on Thursday.

Still, doctors said that any significant lung loss likely hadn't limited the 76-year-old pontiff's energy or actions in the past -- and shouldn't stop him in the future.

Pope Francis appears to be fit and lean and should have lung capacity that is nearly normal, said Dr. Zab Mosenifar, a lung expert at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"It just didn't faze me," Mosenifar said.

The new pope likely lost part of his lung decades ago, at a time when severe fungal infections or pneumonia were treated with surgery because antibiotics weren't widely available. But his existing lung likely grew and expanded to near-normal capacity within a year or two, said Mosenifar, who is co-medical director of the Women's Guild Lung Institute.

Human lungs have excess capacity, which is why doctors typically use only one lung in transplants. There are likely 30,000 to 40,000 transplant patients in the U.S. living with one lung, and thousands more who lost an entire lung or part of a lung to disease or trauma, Mosenifar said.

Many single-lung patients go on to have not only normal lives, but active ones, said Dr. Edward Salerno, a pulmonologist with Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn.

"They can exercise and not feel any dysfunction," he said.