I'm talking about the Vatican's understanding of itself, and the Vatican is a highly legalistic organization. Disagreeing with the Vatican's teachings about stuff supposedly revealed by God that is necessary to get into heaven (like the Eucharist) is different than disagreeing with the stuff derived from mere human, fallible reason.
As Eastabrook has pointed out, large numbers of Catholics (including clergy) do disagree with the Vatican's official doctrine regarding social and economic matters. Which values a person absorbs as "Catholic" are going to depend on the variety of the Church one grows up with. If you grow up in Latin America, your priest is likely to be a leftist.
--- On Mon, 4/20/09, Dennis Claxton <ddclaxton at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>
> Your atheistic upbringing is showing again. You have
> a way way legalistic understanding of how church teachings
> get into the bloodstream.
>
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