I am a thirty something married gay boy living in Sydney, almost on top of the gay scene but not in it!
Why Sometimes blue?, because I love blue, but also I am sometimes blue :)
Offensive waste of money
I have not hidden the fact that I am not a fan of the upcoming World Youth Day (sic) or rather the Catholic Church's Day.
I think it is misguided and dangerous in these political climates to promote fear, hatred and discrimination against minorities.
However what really gets my blood boiling is the 86Million dollars the NSW State Government will contribute to this event when they do not contribute a cent to the largest Gay & lesbian Event int he Southern Hemisphere (Mardi Gras).
It's offensive, it's discriminatory and it's pathetic.
The event is only open to Catholics number one and the Catholic Church let's net forget is one of the World's largest and richest organisations, oh and they pay no tax either.
So why the Fuck should I as a tax payer being further giving my taxes to such a restrictive, discriminatory organisation such as the Catholic Church.
Remember these are the people that believe the ban on same sex marriage is moral, that homosexuality is evil etc.
So the NSW Government will quite happily receive about 45 Million dollars in tourism influx for Mardi Gras 2008 without lifting a finger to sign a cheque to help out, but the Catholics call with all their money and they write a cheque for 86 Million dollars.
Personally I think the Pope is a terrorist (As terrorism ultimately involves the use or threat of violence with the aim of creating fear not only to the victims but among a wide audience, it is fear which distinguishes terrorism from both conventional and guerrilla warfare. Source)
Every time the Pope makes an anti gay statement he is doctrinally approve violence against gays and lesbians. It may not be traditional terrorism but the Catholic Church still incites violence against minorities.
Whilst we in this country still have anti discrimination laws that EXCLUDE religious organisations we have no hope of getting equality. At least in the UK the laws passed INCLUDED religious organisations which means that even they cannot hide discrimination behind behind religious dogma.
Anyway It just pisses me off!
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9 Comments:
Drew honey, it never ceases to amuse me the way that people rant on about how prejudicial the Catholic Church is (and it is, I don't deny it) but they fail to see that they are just as bad when judge things just as harshly that have the word "Catholic" in it.
I am not a fan of the present Pope, I'm not a fan of certain Catholic doctrine... you know the pain it has caused me... all I am saying is that if you are so bitter and nasty towards the Catholic Church simply because it is Catholic then you are as bad as the Catholics that judge us for being gay without taking the time to get to know us.
So yes, it's a Catholic event, but anyone can go. Yes, I admit that certain doctrines and proclamations promote fear and hatred, but it does a lot of good in the world.
But most importantly, Drew, not all Catholics are the nasty bible-bashers you would paint them as. I've been invited to talk at a Jesuit function about including gay & lesbian catholics. The Marists & Christian brothers have also invited us to speak... Not everyone, even in terms of consecrated religious groups, carries such hate and fear in their hearts. Concentrate on the good things, if for no other reason than to spare yourself an ulcer from such bitterness.
But Dan
whilst you may believe yourself a Catholic, the Pope and the Arch bishop in Australia believes you are living in mortal sin and you are accordingto them no more a Catholic than I am.
I cannot for one minute think that the good the church does outweighs the bad, and trust me I have seen the bad.
Incidentlly I am not anti 'Catholics' I am anti the current Catholic Dogma, which can be changed as it has done countless times over the centuries.
You can't partially support a religion according to the teaching sof the Catholic Church, you either explicitly believe all teacheings or you don't. There is no midle groud with the current teachings
and that's why I have such a problem with this.
My vitriol is aimed at creating dissent in Catholic teaching so that maybe just maybe change can happen as it has before.
Oh and I am not judging just because it has the word Catholic in World Youth day.
World Youth day is a Catholic event, it's not an all encompassing religios event, it is exclusive.
They will nto even let free condoms be distributed to the youth to help prevent the spread the STIs and unwanted pregnancy.
So no I do not believe I am upset just because its got the word Catholic in it;s title.
As the Green party said today it's nothing more than a promotional event for the Catholic Church
So they shoudl pay for, lord knows they have the money!
You're right... Benedict and Pell probably don't consider me a Catholic. But what they think doesn't matter. They are narrow minded biggots who miss the point rather spectacularly on a great many things. They consider "homosexuals" to be "outside the church", but they seem to forget that Jesus was all for the "sinners", whether their sin is real or imagined.
Not all the young people attending WYD are like my Sister. Most of them don't give a shit about sexuality and won't condemn, and they won't swallow the crap the Church shovels them.
If you vitriol is aimed at creating dissent, then good on you. That is how change happens. But you win more battles with honey than vinegar (or whatever the fuck that saying is lol). It is possible to dissent and be Catholic, despite their fairly rigid teachings of all things moral, primacy of conscience still takes prescedence. What needs to change, more than anything, is the stigma of being gay. In purely theological terms I am no better or worse than someone who uses contraception, yet I am considered "outside the church" by the cardinal and the ones with the condoms aren't.
So yeh, it is a promo event, but get over it. It brings tourist dollars to the city, it creates goodwill on the global stage, and it (hopefully) will give the younguns a chance to see that the world isn't black and white. And yeh, they can afford it, and they should pay for it. Not us the Australian taxpayers or us the ones who will be attending. To go to the various day events over the week you have to pay hundreds of dollars, and I'd imagine there is a huge number of people who can't afford it (myself included), and it's wrong. I'm not arguing that.
Dan you know I am not anti religion, I just cannot distinguish between the pope and the religion sorry
My issue at hand is that its unfair for the State Government to hand out money to one event and not another purely beacsue one is for the religion
I think the reason is that Mardi Gras is just a big party. World Youth Day is a convention. I don't think the government probably funds the catholic church at christmas or any synagogues during hannukah.
If there was some kind of gay and lesbian rights convention or something, they might fund that.
Atually J-Man Mardi Gras is a festival and is a gay rights event.....
and mardi gras is also a gay and lesbian arts convention too...
no the reason they don't give it money is because of the right in the nsw parliament
my apologies, I didn't realize that.
Hi.
It is sad that you feel this way agianst the Catholic Church. WYD is not just a Catholic thingy and it is opened to the general public.
On the note tht Pope Benedict and Cardinal Pell thinking you are not a Catholic is rubbish and sleanderous because the bible clearly states before we judge others we should judge ourselves, and we are all sinners.
The Catholic Church calls for its people not to judge the person but the act.
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