Pope declares Protestants cannot have churches!
Dismay and anger as Pope declares Protestants
cannot have churches..
Protestant churches yesterday reacted with dismay to
a new declaration approved by Pope Benedict XVI
insisting they were mere “ecclesial communities” and their ministers
effectively phonies with no right to give
communion.
The latest declaration added: “It is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of ‘Church’ could possibly be attributed to [Protestant communities], given that they do not accept the theological notion of the Church in the Catholic sense and that they lack elements considered essential to the Catholic Church.”
The Vatican’s statement had fewer misgivings about the Orthodox Church, which had “true sacraments” and a genuine priesthood. But their failure to acknowledge the Pope’s authority meant they suffered from a “defectus”, politely translated from Latin as “a wound”.
On one hand, it’s always a chuckle to watch sectarians turn tolerance into profanity. On the other, the desperate violence committed by True Believers in much of the world is a deadly affliction that flows all too often from religious sectarians.
The latest declaration added: “It is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of ‘Church’ could possibly be attributed to [Protestant communities], given that they do not accept the theological notion of the Church in the Catholic sense and that they lack elements considered essential to the Catholic Church.”
The Vatican’s statement had fewer misgivings about the Orthodox Church, which had “true sacraments” and a genuine priesthood. But their failure to acknowledge the Pope’s authority meant they suffered from a “defectus”, politely translated from Latin as “a wound”.
On one hand, it’s always a chuckle to watch sectarians turn tolerance into profanity. On the other, the desperate violence committed by True Believers in much of the world is a deadly affliction that flows all too often from religious sectarians.
Posted: Wed - July 11, 2007 at 06:36 AM