'Thank God we're not all atheists, bishop says '

Tabnabs

GODLESSNESS and secularism led to Nazism, Stalinism, mass murder and abortion, according to Anthony Fisher, the new bishop of Parramatta, who has used his inaugural Easter message to launch a scathing attack on atheism, while ignoring the sex abuse scandals besieging the Catholic Church worldwide.

God is dead, Bishop Fisher said, but not in the sense that atheists mean.

Good Friday is the anniversary of Christ's death on the cross, and the Easter festival shows that he lives despite efforts to kill him off, according to the archbishop, who is tipped by many to become the next head of the church in Australia and leads the largest Catholic diocese in the country.

''Last century we tried godlessness on a grand scale and the effects were devastating,'' he said.

''Nazism, Stalinism, Pol-Pottery, mass murder and broken relationships: all promoted by state-imposed atheism or culture-insinuated secularism.''

It was an illusion to think we could live a better life without God, he said, although he acknowledged that the ''violence, abuse and un-lovingness'' of many believers through the ages had driven some people away from the church.

Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, made oblique mention of the recent scandals enveloping the Catholic Church.

He used his Easter message to tell the faithful that despite Christianity's faults, it underpins our entire way of life.

''We often hear about Christian failures to live up to Christian standards - and there have been too many scandals and too many victims,'' Cardinal Pell wrote.

''But the great majority of Christians continue to follow the commandments of love through regular service, tolerance, forgiveness and community building.''

Cardinal Pell also attacked atheism, by giving thanks for church-based community organisations, and noting that ''we find no community services sponsored by the atheists''.

''We thank God for our Christian traditions and the works they inspire,'' he said. ''They have helped make Australia what it is.''

Neither Bishop Fisher or Cardinal Pell made any direct reference to the latest Catholic sex abuse scandals in which Pope Benedict XVI has been implicated.

Before World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008, Bishop Fisher was castigated for remarks he made about the case of a priest who raped two girls. He told a news conference he wished people would focus on the positivity of World Youth Day ''rather than dwelling crankily, as a few people are doing, on old wounds''.

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I suppose it's a sign that the catholic church feels it needs to attack its greatest threat, but at Easter time, you'd think they would have more important things to speak about?

Hagar

I thought Satan was the opposition?
Was there a re-shuffle?

Delirium

Dyflin wrote: »

source

I suppose it's a sign that the catholic church feels it needs to attack its greatest threat, but at Easter time, you'd think they would have more important things to speak about?

I would have thought at this point in time the scandals within the church are the greatest threat. Plenty of catholics are no longer going to church but haven't renounced the religion.

1st

1st wrote: »

I thought Satan was the opposition?
Was there a re-shuffle?

Clearly satan is controlling the atheists

Tabnabs

koth wrote: »

I would have thought at this point in time the scandals within the church are the greatest threat. Plenty of catholics are no longer going to church but haven't renounced the religion.

At this point in time, the most damaging maybe, but in time will be forgotten or brushed under the carpet, but the threat from secularism is far more enduring I would have thought?

bnt

The location of the bishop is a clue: atheism is big news in Australia at the moment, because of the conference held there last month. The sheer volume and frenzy of the anti-atheism there has been remarkable, and I don't think it's helping their cause a bit ... :cool:

hiorta

The utter arrogance of catholocism to feign equality with things godly!

At this time of all times.

And the reverse arrogance to equate all else with godlessness.

Really, you could not make this up.

PDN

Dyflin wrote: »

source

I suppose it's a sign that the catholic church feels it needs to attack its greatest threat, but at Easter time, you'd think they would have more important things to speak about?

Statistically, on a world-wide basis, the defection of Catholics to evangelicalism in Latin America is probably the RC Church's greatest threat. But it's probably more politically correct to attack you guys instead.

Zombrex

I would expect to see a lot more of this sort of stuff in the coming years

The RCC is at deaths door, and like any organisation that has fallen behind the times but used to a sense of privilege in society, they church and its members don't have a clue what to do about

The natural response is aggression towards scape goat, rather than an attempt to seriously look at its own short comings. You can see that in response to the clerical abuse across the world, from America to Australia, everything is some else's fault

Which is sort of understandable if you, as an individual priest of bishop, or just follower, have dedicated yourself to something you believe comes from God.

Zombrex

PDN wrote: »

Statistically, on a world-wide basis, the defection of Catholics to evangelicalism in Latin America is probably the RC Church's greatest threat. But it's probably more politically correct to attack you guys instead.

I wonder do the RCC recognize this themselves?

I was at a mass where the priest attacked secularism just before Christmas (there must have been a memo) and the priest was implying that once a person leaves the RCC they are "lost". It apparently didn't dawn on him that they don't necessarily stop being believers or even Christians, they just go to a different denomination.

PeterIanStaker

It just goes to show the sheer arrogance and self - righteousness of the RCC. Sure isn't it all the athiests' fault? A rather poor attempt to draw attention from the child abuse.

As I said before, I hope they keep coming out with this hypocritical sh!t€ so that people can see how detached from the real world they are.

magicbastarder

PeterIanStaker wrote: »

It just goes to show the sheer arrogance and self - righteousness of the RCC.

it's their job to claim things like this. i don't see any reason to give two ****s, let them make as much noise as possible.

PeterIanStaker

magicbastarder wrote: »

it's their job to claim things like this. i don't see any reason to give two ****s, let them make as much noise as possible.

Read the rest of my post. I want them to claim such things, so that they dig their own hole through sheer hubris.

fitz0

1st wrote: »

I thought Satan was the opposition?
Was there a re-shuffle?

Turns out a real, tangible enemy trumps a makey-up, source-of-all-evil, but oh so vaguely, defined Big Bad. Who'd a thunk it?

On a side note, where can I get some of this Pol-Pottery? Its sounds like quite the collectable :pac:

Daftendirekt

Bishop Brennan wrote:

GODLESSNESS and secularism led to Nazism, Stalinism, mass murder and abortion, according to Anthony Fisher, the new bishop of Parramatta, who has used his inaugural Easter message to launch a scathing attack on atheism, while ignoring the sex abuse scandals besieging the Catholic Church worldwide.

And Catholicism led to the institutionalised abuse of children entrusted to its care, as well as the the continued cover up of same.

And where does this idea that Hitler was an atheist come from?

strobe

Sighhhhhhhhh. The Nazi's were not atheistic. They commonly associated atheism with communism, they were not communists either by the way, the communists were the enemies of Hitlers national socialism, and were persecuted (see: rounded up and murdered) in Germany in the 30's with gusto.

“We are not a movement, rather we are a religion. “I’m going to become a religious figure” - Adolf Hitler.

eoin5

Nazism, Stalinism, Pol-Pottery, mass murder and broken relationships

Clearly ran out of examples.

Xluna

Catholicism is it's own worst enemy.

Ickle Magoo

Thank God we're not all atheists? Well, there's a veridical paradox if ever I heard it. :pac:

''rather than dwelling crankily, as a few people are doing, on old wounds''.

Ah yes, lest we should dwell on institutionalised abuses, I suppose that's the fault of the atheists too?! :rolleyes:

MrPudding

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Ah yes, lest we should dwell on institutionalised abuses, I suppose that's the fault of the atheists too?! :rolleyes:

Clearly. Don't tell me you believe the rapists were good christians? Undoubtedly they were atheist infiltrators who rapes kids to harm the church's good name.

Either that or the devil did it.

MrP

Ickle Magoo

MrPudding wrote: »

Either that or the devil did it.

Same thing, surely? :pac:

Undergod

eoin5 wrote: »

Clearly ran out of examples.

We're familiar with this one.

Daftendirekt

eoin5 wrote: »

Clearly ran out of examples.

And he forgot baby-eating. Tut.

ChocolateSauce

Thank god we're not atheists?

I thank science I'm not a theist! (Oh my science!)

strobe

MrPudding wrote: »

Either that or the devil did it.

Hey!! I did no such thing.

eoin5

Undergod wrote: »

We're familiar with this one.

So it follows the template of a joke exactly...

Hes a great comedian, NOT!

blinding

There does not seem to be many truly religious people in the upper reaches of the catholic church.

There does seem to be a lot of people protecting themselves and the establishment in the catholic church. Go figure !

cypharius

1st wrote: »

I thought Satan was the opposition?
Was there a re-shuffle?

No, we atheists clearly believe in god, but we worship satan and EVILution because we hate god.

The church(In my experiance of being dragged to mass) has never been into talking about spiritual/moralism. They prefere to drone on about Jesus and something he said, and how it shows that we all have love for something to do with something else.

bleg

Thank **** we're not all bishops

The Mad Hatter

Wicknight wrote: »

I wonder do the RCC recognize this themselves?

It's too important to them to foster "inter-faith relationships." (Generally inter-Christian relationships, to be accurate, with maybe an occasional nod to the Jews.)

Zillah

I want this man to be Pope.

robindch

Zillah wrote: »

I want this man to be Pope.

I think the current Pope is doing a much better job of shredding the Vatican than Mr Pell, or indeed, any atheist, ever could.

Still, Pope Pell -- aka Pope Hell -- certainly does have a certain ring to it.

Galvasean

A prominent atheist has released a statement in reply to the bishop.

"Dig up stoopid!"

ultain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEG0tC5PhSA

Galvasean

ultain wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEG0tC5PhSA

Odd, when I try to view Pope Bennedicts' Easter message on youtube keps crashing with an 'operation aborted' pop up box. One could read into that....

ultain

Galvasean wrote: »

Odd, when I try to view Pope Bennedicts' Easter message on youtube keps crashing with an 'operation aborted'

One can only hope.

Morbert

ChocolateSauce wrote: »

Thank god we're not atheists?

I thank science I'm not a theist! (Oh my science!)

OMS me too!

Arcus Arrow

Stalin was a Pope minus the hypocrisy of the religious trappings. There is nothing that Stalin did, no method he employed, no crime he committed that Popes have not done a thousand times over before him. The blueprints for Stalin and Pol Pot were drawn in Rome. Hitlers pathway to power was cleared for him by Rome.

Pope and Dictator are both terms for the figurheads of the same type of system. Neither is democratic.