Happy about the pope's climate encyclical? Not so fast.

In his encyclical on protecting the planet, Pope Francis pushed the idea that climate change is all about industry, selfishness and greed. The elephant in the room, of course, is that he's unwilling to consider the benefits of sensible population control. Women gotta have babies. They gotta, especially if they don't want to. After all, they're just breeding stock, and you don't want them to get uppity by having too much control over their lives. Barefoot and pregnant is how women are supposed to be.

Nick Cohen nails this issue down for you. If you were pleased by the pope's encyclical, do read it. This pope isn't liberal. He's got a few nice ideas but he's bound by inane Catholic dogma -- which pretty much ruins everything.

Bishops' confused morals take center stage

Y'all know about the Fortnight for Freedom, right? It's the sleight-of-hand introduced by the Catholic bishops group led by Cardinal Timmy Dolan. It has that freedom-ish name, and it's described as taking place "during liturgical feasts for martyred defenders of the faith". Oooh, it's freedom-ish and somehow connected to "martyred defenders". It sure must be important.

Of course, it's merely a Bright, Shiny Thing campaign designed by Dolan and the Vatican to take the wind out of Obama's sails -- because the Roman Catholic Church is the GOP. It is also NOM, the despicable organization whose only purpose is to harass gays.

Timmy tries hard to make the campaign sound plausible. Instead of revealing what it is -- a campaign against the president, against women and against gays -- Dolan describes it this way:

"In only the past few years, we've experienced rampant disregard for religious beliefs in this country," wrote New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, in an e-book released for the "Fortnight" effort. Among the examples he cites are approval for embryonic stem cell research, legal justification for torturing prisoners and support for same-sex marriage. 

Timmy figures if he throws torture in there, no one will notice what he's really doing. This faux campaign is about denying contraception to women, about denying the rights of non-Catholic employees of the church, about deflecting attention from the priest child-abuse scandal and Timmy's own contribution to that scandal: paying off the priests who raped children, and it's about the church's intense, pathological hatred of gay people.

Fortnight for Freedom indeed. Note the GOP newspeak name for the campaign. I wonder why that is. Duh. The church is the GOP. Here's another excerpt:

"We can see that there is a loss here of a sense of truth and objective moral norms -- rules of conduct that apply always, to everyone, everywhere -- an infringement of religious liberty and an 'eclipse of the sense of God and of man,'" wrote Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

We've lost our moral norms, eh, Timmy? Ahem. Priest rapists. Have you forgotten about that, Timmy? The man does not own a mirror. But he doesn't go unchallenged in the article:

Opponents are unconvinced. "This bishops' project isn't about religious freedom — it's about privilege," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "They are asking for preferential treatment from the government, and if they are successful, it would undercut the rights of millions of Americans."

That's quite a church they've got there. I can't imagine why anyone remains Catholic.

And if there was any question about it...

The title of this AP article is literally: "Pope's Rep Applauds Bishops' Fight with Government". How much clearer can it get? The popey guy and the bishops are Republicans.

ATLANTA (AP) — The pope's U.S. ambassador praised American bishops Wednesday for confronting the government over religious liberty issues, including resisting the mandate from President Barack Obama's administration that health insurance cover birth control. 

(snip)

But critics have said that the lawsuits appear politically partisan, especially during a presidential election.

"Most bishops don't want to be the Republican party at prayer, but their alarmist rhetoric and consistent antagonism toward the Obama administration often covey that impression," said John Gehring, of the liberal advocacy group Faith in Public Life. 

(snip)

The bishops have dismissed the suggestion of any partisan intent.

Well, that takes care of it. Nothing to see here. Move along. 

Funny stuff from the rightwing Catholic church

I roared with laughter as I read this story in the LA Times this morning. Let's dive right in.

Led by the indomitable Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the bishops are arriving in Atlanta for their annual spring meeting this week determined to throw the spotlight on what they perceive as an assault by the Obama administration on religious liberty.

Surely that statement is not political in any sense of the term. Heaven forfend. Going against one of the presidential candidates in an election year has absolutely nothing to do with politics.

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore insisted to the National Catholic Reporter last week that there was nothing partisan about the church's campaign. "We're not trying to throw an election," he said. "We're simply trying to defend fundamental freedoms."

In doing so, however, the bishops have used unusually strong language. Dolan said the White House was "strangling" the church. The bishop of Peoria, Ill., compared what Obama had done to the treatment of churches by Hitler and Stalin.

Nah, not political at all. What could make anyone say that?

In addition to the Fortnight observance, the bishops also are using their pulpits to let the Catholic faithful know that they believe the administration has crossed a line. Dolan has even written a brief e-book, scheduled for publication later this month, in which he lays out an intellectual argument for "the Gospel of life."

We'll sure want to read that, huh?

McGuire [of the Catholic Association] defends the bishops from charges of partisanship, saying: "I don't think the bishops are trying to influence the campaign.... I mean, the bishops are not going to get behind one political candidate or another. They never have and never will." 

Surely not. And let's remember this is all (allegedly) about contraception. And as we learned yesterday:

Less than a quarter of U.S. Catholics attend Mass every week. Most reject church teaching on artificial contraception and a majority support same-sex relationships. About one-third of Americans who were raised Catholic have left the church, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

That's quite a church they've got there. It is hypocrisy writ large (and wearing big, silly hats).

Catholic bishops ooze with filth

God: "The bishops are intrinsically evil."

You already know the story about Obama, contraception and the evil Catholic bishops. Here's something from today's NY Times:

The bishops said the plan offered insufficient protection for their institutions: “In the case where the employee and insurer agree to add the objectionable coverage, that coverage is still provided as a part of the objecting employer’s plan, financed in the same way as the rest of the coverage offered by the objecting employer. This, too, raises serious moral concerns."

"PS, we rape children."

Okay, I added the last part but it belongs there, no? How can these oozing sores of catholicism pretend to speak about morality? They lost that right long ago. But at least some Catholic organizations see what's really going on. Here's another quote from the article:

James Salt, executive director of Catholics United, a liberal advocacy group that is organizing support for the Obama administration, said, “The bishops’ blanket opposition appears to serve the interests of a political agenda, not the needs of the American people.”

That's the truth: Roman Catholicism = GOP = NOM = filth. Wake up and see the church for what it is. It's a boil on the face of humanity and it needs to be excised.