Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.
"If the city requires this, we can't do it," Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. "The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."
42 comments
They do have a right to chose not to continue with contracts when they run out. In the meantime, if they're taking government money, they should be paying taxes just like the rest of us instead of enjoying their tax-exempt status.
Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples
Being forced to treat everyone equally?! Yikes! How horrible!!
"The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular.
Uhh... no they aren't. They're saying you need to not discriminate against gay people, which has nothing to do with believing in Jesus. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. The basic tenants of Christianity are all that stuff about Jesus and loving thy neighbor, not "Thou shalt hate the gays."
Let them pull out their services. I'm sure there are plenty of other (better) organisations that would be willing to pick up the slack. Also, from what I read in the article, they don't have as much of an impact on things as they think they do.
It's not in order to provide social services, it's to have employees.
Then again, you collect all those funds and don't pay taxes, so I guess I'm really not concerned with your problems.
Let me put it to you this way, Susan: exactly where in the Bible does Jesus withhold healing from the sick and lame because of their sins?
@Brenz
Let me put it to you this way, Susan: exactly where in the Bible does Jesus withhold healing from the sick and lame because of their sins?
@Sisyphus
Unfortunately, just like our health care system, our social service system is so pathetically inadequate (thanks to the good Christians of the right-wing) that these organizations can't meet the need as it is, so the loss of the best funded of them could do some real damage to those benefitting from their services now.
"Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city."
Oh, drat.
However, I suspect once you realize your church revenue is down substantially you'll forget all about this.
""If the city requires this, we can't do it," Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. "The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem.""
Only until the money stops. Then suddenly it's not going to be such a big deal.
@Clown:
> I wonder what services are these?
Providing rent boys for priests.
> And what is the nature of those contracts.
I dunno, but I bet there's a gagging clause in there somewhere.
Catholics should be aware that they do not always do right. So why should we be surprised that they put 'principles' before Jesus's injunctions to feed the poor etc.
I'm afraid the writing is on the wall for Catholics with the release in Dublin (Ireland) yesterday of the report on clerical abuse. Ireland is now in a state of rejection of that church. From Priest to Cardinal it has been found wanting in humanity, righteousness and basic decence,. The top level made it possible for abusing clergy to continue, in full knowledge of what they were allowing. Shame. There is room in hell with Cardinal Law for all of these, I hope.
So Catholic threats in the US should be put into a context as provided by Irish revelations.
By their fruits shall ye know them.
So why not just pretend it isn't a problem. That's what you did when it was revealed that your priests where sexually abusing their flocks, right?
Or, you could step off your moral high horse and do the right thing for a change.
"The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."
Fine. Let's take away your tax-exempt status then. We can't have you guys breaking the seventh commandment now can we. Government organizations are to remain secular in concordance with the First Amendment.
I think you've got more important things to concern yourselves than same-sex couples benefits, and how such could affect the Catholic Church in Washington DC.
And that's paedophile priests in the Catholic Church as a whole. Worldwide.
After all, seeing as the Church of $cientology isn't legally recognised as a religion here in the UK, they have to pay tax. What's to stop our government extending that to the Catholic Church here? You know what precedent that would set to other countries' governments.
And you're in no moral position to protest, neither. What with all the kiddy-diddling going on in the RCC.
PROTIP: Put your own house in order before you condemn the behaviour & lifestyles of others.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.
