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Subject: Re: To JMS
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 12:25:49 +0000 (UTC)
From: jmsatb5@aol.com (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

>I would like to ask you why in the world you would play insult toward the 
>Holy See, I am a big fan of your show, but after watching Crusade for the 
>first time, you made on purpose a female Pope, this does NOT even in the 
>slightest coincide with our beliefs nor would cannon change. We are not 
>protestants, nor do we get along with them when it comes to dogma.

Two things....

First, as you probably know, the Roman Catholic Church has been hoping for a
long time now to re-unite with the other churches that broke off from it long
ago...which do, in many cases, recognize female priests.

If the church achieves its goal, then it will probably have to make that
adjustment over time.  That being the case, the possibility of a female pope is
altogether reasonable.

Second, are you aware that during the Black Plague, when the ranks of priests
had been decimated by illness and death, the church allowed the ordination of
female priests to minister to the sick?  Because if they didn't, they wouldn't
HAVE anybody else.

Further to this point...for centuries, Catholic priests were allowed to marry. 
This only changed when the children of priests began to make the claim that
they, not the church, owned the land on which the churches were built.  When
this became too problematic, they passed the rule that priests could not marry.

The church's dogma has always been flexible when it was politically or
financially expedient.  Those who think otherwise have no familiarity with
history.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
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