It's because you won't let them shag!

Motherhood message for Gen Y Catholics
Linda Morris Religious Affairs Reporter, SMH, September 28, 2006

The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, is sounding a warning for the health of the Catholic Church, saying "religious confusion" among young Catholics is worse than for other Christian youth.

And the lack of faith among young women could have serious implications for future generations given it has traditionally been mothers who have inspired children to faith.

In a speech he is due to give to Catholic educators today, Cardinal Pell partly blames comparative religion courses and "contemporary propaganda" for taking young Catholics "beyond tolerance and ecumenism and towards muddle".

So it's comparative religion courses that are to blame for diminished numbers at mass? We'll leave aside the "contemporary propaganda" bit because it could mean just about anything and sounds suspiciously like something he threw in there just to round out a sentence.

If being exposed to information about religions other than the one they were baptised into results in Catholics deciding to pack it all in, what does that say about the strength of Catholicism?

Wouldn't you like to think you've got something worth believing in that will stand up to a more rigorous examination than a comparative religion course at high school?

George's answer to this crisis would seem to be preventing Catholics from becoming aware of faiths other than their own. Why don't you just try to reinstate the Index of Banned Books you medieval throwback.

I'm sorry George but you're no better than a jealous lover who freaks out if their partner talks to someone else.

I often wonder whether the only reason the Catholic Church stopped burning and torturing people is because they no longer have the military power to do so.

During the era of the Inquisition the Roman Catholic Church was backed by European kings who kindly provided their armies for the church's use. Eternal salvation for the blood of heretics and all that. It probably seemed like a fair trade at the time. However, with new fangled developments like the separation of church and state, the church lost its sword arm and much of its influence. Sure they could still exercise a diminished form of behavioural control with threats of hellfire, but it's not quite the same as riding into town on a black stallion, setting up a kangaroo court and butchering people who confessed under torture is it?