From Fr. Z's blog, a disturbing article:
UK Catholics might lose charitable status for not offering communion to everyone
BY HILARY WHITE
LONDON, November 7, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Conservative Party MP has accused the government’s Charity Commission of attempting to suppress Christianity after the group denied charitable status to the Plymouth Brethren, a small denomination of conservative evangelicals. MP Charlie Elphicke has said that the Charity Commission has stepped outside its mandate telling the Brethren that their religion is “not necessarily for the public good”.
Click here to read more.
Gosh, who would have ever seen this coming?! And didn't I sound like a lunatic (and a bigot) as I worried aloud that Same Sex "Marriage" was going to make us Christians unequal in society?
And so, it starts with the threats of removing charitable status but how long before the threats involve legal action, jail time? Locking shut the doors of our churches? I love the idea that the Christians' religion is "not necessarily for the public good." Classic move.
Same Sex "Marriage" is nothing more then a useful tool. Don't be fooled: those in charge don't actually care about homosexuals or "gay rights" or any of that jazz. It's all about bringing the Christians to heel.
"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
Pray, my brothers and sisters in Christ. We are not utterly helpless because we still have the Lord.
4 comments:
I suppose if you go out looking for persecution you'll see it everywhere, whether it’s there or not. Personally, I don't see how this decision by the charitable trust is about issues with gay marriage, or about religion per se.
Any group, religious or not, that isn't seen to provide its services/ benefits to the general public will fall foul of the public benefit criterion for charitable status. This criterion is not new. It hasn't suddenly appeared to force religious groups to open up to all and sundry.
The Plymouth Brethren appears to be a small concern that is closed to non-members, i.e. most members of the public cannot benefit in any way from the churches services. The church appears to be acting like a private club, in a sense.
No one is suggesting this religious group packs up and closes down. It is free to exist and continue to go on as before -- but not necessarily with charitable status. Where is the persecution here?
As for legal action and jail time. I think you're over-reacting. And churches will not be closing down, except perhaps because of a lack of bums on pews in non-catholic churches. The Catholic church won't be shutting up shop anytime soon.
Impressively paranoid. Verging on the hysterical.
If you deny communion to anyone but members who only believe what you believe then you are a closed sect.
You're drinking way too much coffee Michelle. Get some decaf and go out and enjoy your kids and your land.
So in your opinions Gay Marriage is worse than this travesty of the Catholic Church:
Quote:
It’s been a week since Cardinal Keith O’Brien stepped down as the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, amid accusations by three priests and one former priest of “inappropriate” contacts with them, some of which dated back 30 years. His resignation spared him the deeper scrutiny that would have ensued had he chosen to go to Rome to choose the next pontiff, a spotlight-shunning optimism he made obvious when he stated, “I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me — but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and his successor.” Though O’Brien didn’t address the charges in his public statement of resignation, the Scottish Catholic Media Office announced that he “contests these claims and is taking legal advice.” He later dismissed “their anonymous and non-specific nature.”
But on Sunday, the Cardinal changed his story. The 74-year-old apologized to those he had “offended” and admitted, “There have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.” He also added, conveniently for him, “I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland.”
Seems to me the kettle is getting blacker than the pot every day. And this church is the richest in the world yet ignores sexual predators in it's midst while decrying contraception and basic human dignity.
So much for
Soli Deo Gloria.
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