Bill Maher: Catholics Must Get Up Out Of The Pew And Walk Out Of The Church Forever

236.com :

When Barack Obama didn't hear Reverend Wright say those awful things about America, he still should have rushed the stage, smite Reverend Wright with the cross, and left the church. If there's anything the right wing can agree on, it's that. And that gays are going hell, right after they suck them off in the airport bathroom.

But it raises an obvious question, one that I haven't heard asked, which is strange because it's so obvious: If you leave a church when the head of the church says bad things about America, what do you do when your church hierarchy is caught up in a systematic and decades-long sex abuse scandal? And did I mention the people being sexually abused were children? Hundreds of them?

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Comments

[research]

The Holy book of the 3 major religions are full of HATE SPEECH.

truly it is past time for organized religion to grow up.

Create new versions of you holy books that do not include

Hate Speech.

Till then, they are all

Cults.

[lucylou]

Decades old? The sexual abuse of little children by the Catholic church (and a few other denominations as well) has been going on since sometime around 492.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Law was 'demoted' to head up the most important church in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore.

[gramofsam1]

Finally! I've been waiting for someone to remark on the supreme irony of Catholics demanding that Obama must leave his church. Sean Hannity is not alone in this uber-contradiction. Pat Buchanan, Chris Matthews, Tim Russert-- all practicing Catholics-- wonder solemnly (or hysterically in Buchanan's case) how Obama could remain in this awful church. Even more amazing is Buchanan's fury that Obama could expose his CHILDREN to this awful pastor.

Thanks Bill-- I was beginning to believe that no one else noticed this screamingly obvious contradiction. I'd love for you to bring this up the next time you talk to Chris Matthews-- preferably on the air.

[neogejo]

Yes, indeed they should walk out of their pews and out of their church. But I think that they should remain active in their congregations.
When a religious leader makes political comments to persuade the congregation to their point of view, it is wrong. They should be aware of your disagreement.
I have walked out of sermons and will continue to do so when they offend me.
But, I will and have returned to my place to defend my choice and voice another opinion in my church.
If I leave and do not return, then they have won. Theirs will be the only voice heard among the sheep.

[dutchess2]

Thank you So MUCH!

Its about time someone turned all this craven finger pointing about religion thingy around and put a spot light on it.

The thing the main stream media missed, deliberately or due to their own inadequacy (pick one)
was that the few seconds of snippets you heard had been taken far far out of context and deliberately so by Sean Hanity, Rush Limbaug etc.

But it was CNN, MSNBC, Fox networks that made the decision to loop those few seconds again and again and again...

Closest thing we can have to a lynching on TV in America in 2008.

I found one person on CNN's 360 that said he listened to one full sermon and found the whole much more moderate and with no hate or anti American statements to be found... One guy out of multitudes!

I expect someone to find out who was responsible for never, ever listening to a whole sermon and making any attempt to put it in context... and fire their butt.

It won't happen, but we can know from now on that all network news flows from Sean Hanity, no one checks him, and few of us bother listening to him.

So just don't watch network news programs..­.. you can get more from direct sources here on the Net.

As for all the catholics leaving church.... good point!

[alwaysthere]

Having church friends is like falling in love in rehab

It never works out !!

[Stevealmi]

This religion reminds me of being a citizen of the USA but instead of using a wave of fear and patriotism to keep the flock in line, this religion uses fear and ignorance to gather their clan. Name a Catholic that owns a Bible to read and understand and I will show you a Catholic that has left his church and the fear and ignorance it represents. It has always amazed me that it is the ROMAN Catholic Church with all wealth and power being held in Italy and yet people all over the world follow this religion. It is a religion that is 95% cultural based and 5% based on the principles of the Bible.
Face it, Italians did not want to wait until they left the earth to make amends to their maker so they invented a hierarchy they could deal with down here on Earth. The evil of that deed alone manifests itself in the crimes this religion has performed over the centuries.

[BeamMeUpScotty]

If for no other reason, the pedophile priest scandal should have resulted in every single Catholic leaving the church. Every Catholic who puts money in the hands of a greedy institution dedicated to covering up such a heinous scandal is an accessory to rape of a minor. Shame on you all. Grown some brains.

[OldSarg]

In a way your correct. You might also note that humans have been committing murders for years. I hope you soon decide to leave us so you are no longer an accessory to this crime. Grow up and be an adult instead of being a bigot.

[WomanInOrangeSweater]

Then by the same token, shouldn't we all be walking out of our country? The Bush administration has been raping us for 7 years. We re-elected them, remember?
Weakness and hypocrisy aren't limited to religious people.

[Gmoney1]

All this religious stuff is scary - soon we'll be required to wear a mark on our heads identifying religion - I think we have stepped in it this time - let's drop this religious thing - ha like Stevie Wonder's old song said , ...too much hate is going around, STOP IT NOW BEFORE WE'VE GONE TOO FAR -

[helonias]

But what about the one true religion The northern, deformed, 3rd day visigoth of christ the geologist?

[StanTheManic]

I'd start a Bill Maher for President campaign -- since he has the answers for every fucking problem in the world except how to boost his own ratings on HBO -- but this country will never elect an overtly gay man.

Or is Bill Maher a gay woman, I can't tell...

[NoSillyName]

Gee, Stan, we won't know until one of his stripper, porn star ("Super Head"), or hooker girlfriends spills the beans. Seems those are the only kinds of women he has anything to do with, so if he's a woman, he has no respect for his own gender and thinks the only thing its good for is sex.

Not that I don't find him entertaining in other areas.

[julescator]

I can tell you this! If Rev Wright is responsible for the person we know as Barack Obama, then I am for sending many, many people to Rev. Wright's church including myself. His end product is head and shoulders above anyone I have ever seen running for president. So, I think that we can all agree that there is someting to this Obama fellow. What he has is deep inside and although he can listen to others express their opinions, he knows who he is deep inside. I think that is the person we see - not a re-incarnation of REV Wright.

[tumblewind]

I left the Catholic Church 10 years ago due to their reproductive policies! How can you stand up in the pulpit and preach abortion is murder when every day you as the Catholic Church murders the planet a little more with overpopula­tion??????­?? I do not believe this is what God wants! He didn't give people the planet to wantonly destroy in the fashion they current are. To my way of thinking this becomes irresponsible dogmatic beliefs. We all known that overpopulation brings starving millions, disease, war and every other pestilence known to man along with it! But, still these people preach we need to overpopulate the earth! So one day after a 'right to life' sermon I left and haven't been back!

[Truetuft]

Sorry, but many of you are missing the point of Bill's tirade in this article. His example of the catholic church makes an extremem point. Bill sums his opinion up in the last line of the commentary, "Why don't we just go back to the days when politicians kept their religions to themselves? Wasn't that better?"

Religion should not be a factor in choosing a president. Leadership abilities, diplomacy, honesty, integrity, a good set of values, high standards, and intelligence are all more important that which flavor of faith you choose to worship God, or if you worship God at all.