Freedom From Religion Foundation tells Catholics it's time to leave the church in Full Page NYT Ad

[웃 910]

http://whyevolutioni...ave-the-church/

Way to go, Freedom from Religion Foundation! Their co-presidents, Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker, have put a full-page ad in today's New York Times calling for Catholics to do a mass egress (cutely, "exit en mass") because of the Church's odious position on reproductive rights. The ad is below (click to enlarge), and you can see the FFRF's press release here.

Predictably, there's a response from the Catholic League's creepy Bill Donohue, which includes this:

The pretext of the ad is the Catholic Church's opposition to the Health and Human Services mandate forcing Catholic non-profits to include abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization in its insurance plans. Its real agenda is to smear Catholicism. Here is how the ad begins: "It's time to quit the Roman Catholic Church. Will it be reproductive freedom, or back to the Dark Ages?"

The ad blames the Catholic Church for promoting "acute misery, poverty, needless suffering, unwanted pregnancies, overpopulation, social evils and deaths." It says the bishops are "launching a ruthless political Inquisition" against women. It talks about "preying priests" and corruption "going all the way to the top." In an appeal to Catholic women, it opines, "Apparently, you're like the battered woman who, after being beaten down every Sunday, feels she has no place else to go."

Yep, Donohue sums up the case pretty well. He continues:

Not a single Catholic who reads this ad will be impelled to leave the Church. That is not the issue (Catholicism, unlike many other religions, is actually growing in the U.S., and worldwide). The issue is the increase in hate speech directed at Catholics.

I'm not sure about Donohue's numbers here; other data I've seen have shown a drastic worldwide decline in Catholicism, although the loss in America may be somewhat offset by Hispanic immigants, and I think the Church may be growing in South America (readers can weigh in). In general, I think we all know that Catholicism is in trouble because it's simply out of step with the times.

Nothing will stop Catholics from demanding that the Obama administration respect their First Amendment rights, this vile assault by FFRF notwithstanding. Why the

Times

allowed this ad is another issue altogether.

It's not hate speech directed against Catholics (Donohue always plays the persecution card); it's hate speech directed against the odious and repressive policies of the Catholic Church. And rightly so—next to Islam, it's the most oppressive and woman-hating of all major faiths. Kudos to Dan and Annie Laurie, and a thanks to the donors who had to pony up for what was a very expensive ad.

h/t: Werner

Edited March 9, 2012 by ☠

[luckytxn 2,265]

Well I will say that it would be nice going to Mass with fewer people there.

[Danno 1,228]

I instinctively think this advice (for phony Catholics to just go ahead and make it official n QUIT) would be the best thing for the Church.

They are Cino's (Catholic in Name only) anyway, the truth be told they are no more than spiritual free loaders. They barely show up but once or twice a year, they donate next to nothing yet when it's time to be married or buried, they head right down to the church ... you know the one that they didn't support in money time or effort.

Yep if everyone were like them there would be no church at all, so yeah, the are spiritual free loaders.

And now is their big chance to make a grand statement by leaving the church they were barely at to begin with.