As a lapsed Catholic, I think, every now and then, that I should return to "Mother Church." I sometimes wonder whether my lapse has more to do with wanting to sleep in on Sundays more than serious disagreements with the Church. And then, something like this comes up. And I realize that, no, it has everything to do with the fact that this Church is nothing I can support.
This Church believes it is more important to force a child to have a child than it is to protect a child.
This is what the Catholic Church demands:
A Roman Catholic archbishop says the abortion of twins carried by a 9-year-old girl who allegedly was raped by her stepfather means excommunication for the girl's mother and her doctors.
Despite the nature of the case, the church had to hold its line against abortion, Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho said in an interview aired Thursday by Globo television.
"The law of God is higher than any human laws," he said. "When a human law — that is, a law enacted by human legislators — is against the law of God, that law has no value. The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion have incurred excommunication."
Brazil generall outlaws abortion, except when the mother's life is in danger, the fetus has no chance of survival or the pregnancy is no more than 20 weeks along and has resulted from rape.
The girl in this case weighed about 80 pounds.
Brazil is predominantly Catholic. Today is the International Day of The Woman. Tonight I went to a showing of a documentary called A Powerful Noise. It highlighted three women -- one from Vietnam who had organized a group of HIV/AIDS patients, one who was attempting to create an ethnic/cultural community of Bosniak/Serbs in Bosnia/Herzogovina and one who is working on educating girls in Mali.
The documentary ended with a discussion involving Madeleine Albright, Nick Kristoff, Christy Turlington, Natalie Portman and Helene Gayle, all of whom pointed out that empowering women creates a better life for all people.
God bless Obama, who seems to get it. Women do 2/3 of the work worldwide, and make 10 percent of the money; they are responsible for 50 percent of the agriculture, yet own 1 percent of the land.
They are 75 percent of the poor, worldwide.
Men like the Brazilian archbishop do nothing to help the worldwide issue of poverty.
I was once a Catholic -- choir member, regular church goer, very active in my church.
Every time I think I might go back, something like this comes along and I think, "Hey, sleeping in on Sunday is not such a bad thing."