Vicario,
I tend to wonder if you are in the United States or in another country; to which it does not matter, I am just curious. None the less your choice of words cause me to question if you are serious about your questions or just want to get different believers in Christ opinions on what you believe to be so which would be contrary to what you believe only desiring an open dialog, something for which Yedda.com is created for, sharing knowledge.
I would be sure you are aware that believers in Christ and what the Word of God says vary exponential in what they believe to be the correct interpretation of scripture. I can only say that you will receive many different opinions for answers to your questions no matter how radical the vocabulary you use. The only concern is how other believers faith is influence by the "world's understanding" of the doctrines of Christ (Christianity) instead of what the Word of God says contrary to the "world's view;" for the majority of believers are caught up in worldliness and carnality concerning their walk with God to the point of not knowing they are deceiving themselves in believing all is well with their relationship with God, when not all is well.
In your questions I see you are asking for the answer to ten questions concerning what is going on in the world, and beliefs held by the Catholic church, concerning all these things the bible does hold examples and Jesus is our example of christian purity; here are my opinions:
Terrorism and the majority of the questions you asked and using the beatitudes for a standard of moral and ethical values:
Nothing Jesus or the Apostles ever taught justified terrorism, but rather they spoke against the assault on human rights. The love of God compels us not to physically assault anyone, but rather to leave vengence to God, but it is our duty to protect our own. Just like a Father, God will defend His children. It is my personal belief that the Catholic church had no business waging war (the Crusades) nor in any other world matter. We can encourage Christ-like moral values concerning world affairs, but are not to use physical force to do it. The Holy Spirit does not force us to serve God, but He does encourge us to do so to escape the judgment of Hell fire.
God is a God of love, be not to the neglect of justice. God sent Jesus to live a life of total obedience to His perfect will so through His life, death, and resurrection we could receive eternal life with Him, instead of eternal ruin with Satan and his demons. But, for the sake of justice, those who would oppose what He did for our atonement and forgiveness in giving His Son and our rejection of Him, an eternal judgment has been established.
Concerning the religious garments used by priests and clerics (cassocks):
Contrary to the statement "the clothing makes the man," what we wear is no proof of who we really are. Recent news has shown up about numerous sexual assaults by those who are responsible for the welfare of those of the congregation, clergy and laity, and not just the Catholic church. Justice is warrented against the crimes. If the heart is not right with God, the religious garment is being worn as a lie; the same applies to a believer wearing clothing to cover the entire body, to give the impression of them being holy, yet they are as wicked and mean as an unbeliever (sinner).
pro life and pro war:
When reading about Jewish history in the Old Testament and the ten commandments, it is easy to see that God is both, depending on the circumstance; thus God being that way it is no surprise that a Christian will be also. God is not a war mongral and neither are His people. Thus, we are not to start a war, but we can fight in one if called upon to do so, particularly if the war is justified. In the case of the Crusades, they were unjustified no matter how warrented the Catholic authorities of those days believed them to be. The Papacy for centuries was a power struggle between Kings and Popes and sometimes Kings were successful in getting the Popes power over the masses. The bottom line is, the Crusades created the disdain of the Moslems concerning Christianity, which if you know anything about what Mahommad believed, he was called to preach the doctrines of the Old and New Testaments (how that became what it is today concerning militant Islam is a shock).
With all of this written, yes it is a disgrace to be a part of the Catholic church. It is only a miracle of God that the scriptures were preserved as much as they are for us today against all the lies and rituals the Catholic church holds to. This is not to say that there are not true believers in the Catholic church, but the church is losing members by the droves.
For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts (desires) of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 2 Peter 2:18 ( listen to Peter!!!, and he is given the distinction of being the first Pope)
Samuel samuside@aol.com
