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Mormon Church helps victims with shelter and food...

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Anonymous:
People can go into the temples and view all of the rooms before they are dedicated. If anyone could go into them I think something sacred would be lost.  Anyone can go into the churches - they are all open to the public and they can go into the visitor's centers and all of the other church buildings.  The LDS church sent over 10 million dollars of aide so far.  What have you done?

FrankWalton:
dd

kcadams1980:

--- Quote ---On 2005-09-10 07:30:00, Anonymous wrote:

"
--- Quote ---
On 2005-09-07 19:10:00, Anonymous wrote:





Remember, just because Catholic priests molested children does not mean that all Catholics are bad or that the religion is bad. Just because some Mormons started this industry does not mean they are all bad or that they all support it. I know many Mormons who are now aware of what is going on and who are appalled. We will have their support."


--- End quote ---



Yes it does.  The Catholic Church actively hid the child molesters from the law, by moving them around in a kind of shell game.  The Mormons do the same with spousal and child abusers.  Also, they are both organized religions, and therefore FUCKED UP AND WRONG.  All religions suck."

--- End quote ---


As a cradle Catholic I understand this sentiment - the immorality practiced by the higher-ups in the Church that was exposed by the sexual abuse scandals caused me to feel VERY disillusioned with Catholicism.  However, I think such a black and white view is really oversimplifying the situation.  Trust me, I have many problems with the way the Catholic Church's hierarchy does business - I completely agree that historically, as well as in our time, it has sinned grievously.  But there are many, many Catholics (as well as Mormons I'm sure) who are wonderful people and they do wonderful things.  It's funny, because the Vatican is often times very conservative, but there has always been a lot of progressives within the Church as well (mostly local priests & nuns).  In the nineteenth century, Catholic nuns began some of the first public hospitals in NYC.  

For a long time I had a problem with Mormons - I was at Cross Creek Manor (WWASP) in Utah for 18 months, and probably 95% of our staff were Mormon.  Many of those staff did horrible things, and while others may not have physically abused someone, they still remained part of an organization that they had to know was unethical & corrupt (to put it mildly).  But now I try not to let my feelings about the "teen help industry" color what I think about a Mormon outside that loop (although I haven't really come into contact with any since I left the program).  

I think it's a bad idea to just throw up your hands and say "all religions suck." If someone wants to be religious, they should certainly be aware of any corruption or abuses going on in their church, and they should do their part to change it.  I'm not naive, I know that change within an organization such as the Catholic Church is an uphill battle - but it does happen.  Before the early 1960s, Catholic Mass was still said in Latin all over the world, and the priest would say Mass facing the tabernacle - with his back to the congregation... Catholic Mass today looks very different from that.

No one should stick their head in the sand on religion, but if you don't try to do anything to change what's wrong, you may as well.

Anonymous:
What "sacred thing" could be lost by allowing anyone to view these rooms/temples?  They most certainly could not be defiled any more by a curious "on-looker who is just curious" than are are by some of these so-called-Mormon-followers who abuse these kids at these programs!

kcadams1980:
I have to agree with you there Anon - I think secrecy in religion is definitely not a positive thing.  Even if there is nothing sinister going on, I think that secrecy breeds suspicion in the minds of people on the outside... I can understand the logic behind Catholic teenagers having to go through 2 years of classes (mostly on church history) before being confirmed, for example, but they're not learning anything that isn't available for the general public to learn themselves.  I think it's important for people to make informed decisions about their participation in any religion, but I don't really see what harm can come from the general public knowing the full scope of a religion's practices.

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