Comments on: D.C., church on collision course over gay rights

By: S.W. Anderson

S.W. Anderson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:32:39 +0000

Alas, Bee, 2,000 years of translations, interpretations and outright twisting around can do bad things to a simple message of compassion and generosity.

By: Bee

Bee — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:11:28 +0000

DC has a hell of a lot of “have nots”, so for these so-called christian bastards to threaten to take away their charity services…well, I reckon ol’ jesus would be running their patoots out of the temple. Funny, I believe I remember reading somewhere in some book or other, something about some long-hair talking about taking care of those less fortunate, no questions asked.

By: S.W. Anderson

S.W. Anderson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:59:50 +0000

MrMacrum, the Catholic Church carries within it 2,000 years of tradition. In a land that values flexibility, innovation and rapid response to change, the church offers comfortable familiarity, stability and steadfastness to its beliefs. That’s a perfect setup for church doctrine and public policy being at odds on a fairly regular basis. I try look at both sides with some understanding of what makes them tick very differrently. It’s easy to cast parties to a dispute as being all right or wrong, all good or all bad. Real life is often less simplistic and clear cut.

By: MRMacrum

MRMacrum — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:28:48 +0000

I long ago (40 years or so) decided the Catholic Church should have lost their tax exempt status when I found out they were one of the largest slumlords in the New Jersey inner city areas near NYC. If they can profit from rentals, they should pay taxes.

You are being entirely way too understanding of their position in my opinion. Although, I would agree that they have that right to pull out of the DC area. Even though it just reinforces my low opinion of the Catholic Church in general.

By: S.W. Anderson

S.W. Anderson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:03:14 +0000

Jeff, in saying the Catholic Church spent millions in Maine and California fighting gay rights, you allude to the issue Holte names: tax exemption. If a church engages in political campaigning and/or lobbying, it should indeed lose its tax-exempt status. It's good the Episcopal Church has fairness in its benefits program. The United Church of Christ has run TV ads welcoming people of all sexual orientations, individuals and couples, which is encouraging.

Tom, back in the early '90's when the push to include religious groups more in providing/administering public-funded social services got under way, I predicted problems like this . Government-provided programs and services can and should be available to all, based on need. Obviously, public offiicials are in a better position to make that happen than church leaders.

Holte, I think love and caring for humanity is what it is, whether done by religious people motivated by their faith or done by the nonreligious motivated by their own humanity and better instincts.

Randal, I take it you're referring specifically to Catholic Charities in D.C. As I said, if they lobby or carry out a political campaign against treating gays or any other segments of society fairly, they should lose their tax exempt status. But if all they do is say they can't go along with that because of their beliefs, and ask that their contracts be terminated, I don't think changing their tax status is called for. It would be seen as a spite job, and probably would be a spite job. That's not good public policy either.

By: Randal Graves

Randal Graves — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:15:14 +0000

They should all lose their tax exempt status yesterday, this only further proves their dumbassery.

By: holte ender

holte ender — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:12:03 +0000

If any church of any denomination dips it’s toes into political waters, and gay rights is a political issue, then they should lose there tax exempt status. That would send a message to churches everywhere, “tend to your flock, all of your flock.” Love, and caring, for humanity is secular.

By: Tom Harper

Tom Harper — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:03:56 +0000

I admire the charity work this Catholic group has done. But if they’re gonna take their ball and go home because of a gay rights dispute, that’s the way it is. Hopefully other groups will fill the social work vacuum left by Catholic Charities.

By: Jeff Shaumeyer

Jeff Shaumeyer — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:50:13 +0000

When it comes to churches running government programs, “few and limited” for me means “none, to no extent”.
The “church” in this case should be seen as a large corporation–like ExxonMobile–with an agenda of its own and the monetary resources to try and buy what it wants. While it’s not clear why the Pope feels that preventing same-sex nuptials is vastly more important than helping the sick and hungry, but they have spent millions in California and Maine to that end. People are being manipulated by the Vatican much more than they ever feared they would be by electing Kennedy.
But, the “church” has tried this form of extortion before and their bluff has been called (most recently in Massachusetts). In fact, despite their own sense of self-importance, their role in the nation’s capital is fairly limited and I predict that there are plenty of groups ready to take up the slack — for the grant money.
It’s worth a reminder here, perhaps, that although “the church” is against marriage equality, not all churche denominations are. I very much appreciate the fact that my health-care insurance is paid for by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington because my not-yet-legal spouse works for them.