For those of you who aren't Roman Catholic...........
mind your own business.

For those of you who are Roman Catholic.........
defend the faith, all of it !

sammy, toronto, canada

Stevev Davis of Californis, I have asked people who joined our Catholic Church how they lived for years with selective Bible reading. They reply that those who speak like you concerning the Apostolic succession just seem not to notice certain things. Interesting?

Father Bryan Storey , Tintagel, UK

The church was founded by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The church was purchased by His Blood in His Sacrifice for our sins on the Cross of Calvary. After he arose from the dead he commanded his disciples to "go into the whole whole and teach what Jesus had taught them and to baptize in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." he had told them that all power had been given unto Him and that was the basis for His Authority. He then ascended into Heaven. Jesus DID NOT appoint any person or succession of persons as His earthly authority to act on His behalf until His return. Jesus did however, send the Holy Spirit to indwell those who believe and had recieved Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The promise of the indwelling of the Spirit of God was alluded to by God to Abraham, prayed for by David in the Psalms and looked forward to by all of the Jewish faithful. The work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the person who believes is the exercise of Christ's authority on earth.

steven davis, claremont, california, usa

With regard to the Church's opposition to contraception and condom use, the following facts should not be ignored:

In 1997 the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in the USA reported that prior to 1960 there were only two common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and both were easily treated with Penicillin and that sexual abstinence was still the norm and STDs were dramatically lower than now.

Today, according to the Centres For Disease Contol, more than 65 million Americans have an incurable venereal disease and 15 million are newly infected each year. Also, chlamydia and gonorrhea cause serious problems each year in more than 750,000 women.

Promiscuity, with or without condoms, has caused the catastrophic spread in these diseases.

The Church is teaching common sense based on the facts of biology. If your ideology clashes with biology, it's time to look at your ideology, as well as maybe studying some of the points put forward by the Church.

P Cosgrove, Belfast, Ireland

What gives this man the right to intrude into the life of a family on such an enormous and complex issue as abortion? I think it highly interesting that many of the vicious and ignorant attacks on abortion shown here come from men. If a child cannot be loved, have a good quality of life - if it will die, be extremely ill, or hated as an unwanted or even rape-induced child - then is it better that that child be born, or that it be spared such horrors?

At the end of the day, pregnancy and birth are huge, huge events in a woman's life and no one except her has the right to decide what happens to her body. One man, closed up in the Vatican as far away from real life as possible, should not be threatening women in this way.

Likewise his attitudes to contraception are ridiculous. It could save AIDS, relieve poverty, and stop illegal abortions killing young women. What on earth is the world coming too that these attitudes are allowed to be preached under threat of hell fire?

Eleanor, York,

I wish the Pope would be more vocal about men’s sexual sins. What about automatic excommunication for rapists?

Deborah S, Jerusalem, Israel

In answer to E Thomson of London, England, many Christians do not condone the murder of innoncent children, and many have condemnend the actions, or lack there of, taken by the pope during the 2nd World War. So please do not put all Christians in the same box with a man who made a major mistake. We aren't all the same.

Paul, London, Canada

Pope Benedict is upholding the consistent Christian teaching from the time of the Apostles. Abortion was very popular at the time of the Romans and through the insiration of the suffering Church became visible for what it is. The same is happening again; we are becoming increasingly aware of the full potential of Human life from the earliest moment of Life. Abortion is the cowardly and pathetic killing of the weakest human being.

Neil, Bodmin, Uk

There's always room in the Church for abortionists who repent. Meanwhile, like the rest of us, there's need to keep consulting the Lord.

Father Bryan Storey , Tintagel, UK

The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, continues to exist as the sign of contradiction to the ways of the world. The Church is infallible because Christ is infallible. The Church enables each person on earth to have the same experienience as the first 12. We encounter the saving truths of Christ through the Church.

Some who encounter this truth will react the same way that many did when they heard equally powerful words fall from Christ's own lips.

The Church continues to be cruxified as Christ was for the servant is no greater than his master.

Mark Higgins, Coventry, England

Abortion is always a hugely complex and controversial moral issue, and always deeply dividing. For women who have been raped; cannot support the child; or if the child is stillborn in the womb, then I personally think that abortion is an option to consider. There will be many people who disagree with this. Fair enough.

But regarding the issue of contraception and condom use: the Catholic Church condemns it. Even in today's world, where South America is witnessing an exponential growth in the numbers of people contracting AIDS. All around the world, lives are unnecessarily being put at risk, people are unnecessarily dying because of the dictates of a religion. Surely it is not right to follow a religion so blindly, without thought or reason; and in doing so, proprogating so much misery and death. How can the Catholics respond to that?

There is a reason why people are leaving the Catholic church. Some concessions have to be made!

AK, London,

It's easy= you are IN or OUT. no excuses no middle attitudes.

Fabian Frick, Buenos Aires, Argentina

We, in America, have over 12 million Hispanic illegals living in our country who drop babies faster than rabbits. They are not equipped to care of all of their children, so the burden lies on the American citizens for their education, health care, housing etc. Most of the Hispanics are Catholic and do not believe in birth control, much less abortions. It it completely irresponsible of their Pope/Catholic Church to keep encouraging the overpopulation of the world with children who are born into abject poverty, with no way out other than to continue the cycle. The Pope lives under a cloud of ignorance and arrogrance. The Catholic Church has very little respect in this country, especially for all of the sex abusing priests.

Joie, Cincinnati, OH

"speaking as a Roman Catholic myself, while he represents us, he is sadly not always representative of us"

A very dangerous attitude. Your duty is to obey the vicar of Christ. Also, the Church does not regard Anglicanism as a valid part of the Church, so whatever the "Anglican Creed" may say is - or ought to be - wholly irrelevant to a Roman Catholic. You are dangerously close to granting error rights.

Martin , Hereford, England

Why was it right for the then pope to support the people who killed unborn children by bombing Coventry and elsewhere during the second wold war?
Christians have never condemned the murder of innocent children - born or unborn - in their religious wars, have they?

E Thomson, London, England

Peter posted "the Pope has no moral authority to tell anyone what to do".

He is correct the Pople has no right to tell ANYONE - but he has ALL the right, authority and moral obligation to tell Catholics.

The Pope set the policie s - if you are Catholic. I am not Catholic, however my church believes also that abortion is wrong.

If you do NOT want to adhere to the Pope's authority - leave the church. If you do not want to leave the church - adhere to the Pope authority.

Membership in church is voluntary.

larry, ATL, USA

How dare this man preach such fear, what the hell does he know about the circumstances which lead to abortion.
I can only hope the many leavers of the Catholic church do so now in droves, this will not get them to return that is for sure.
The truth of the Catholic doctrine is coming to light , their celibacy rules have been shot with the paedaphiliac priests, intelligent people are using condoms to avoid disease, Catholics couples are getting divorced.
The sad truth also is that these people go through a kind of hell before coming to their final decisions, it's a doctrine ruled by fear, imposed on them by men too closeted in the gilded ivory tower which is the Vatican & way out of touch in a real & hetrosexual world.
I know the fear that Catholics suffer , because I have seen & experienced it, but thank god I saw the light of common sense & the burden of Catholicism was removed.

Maggie Millington, Brittany, France

"Life is beautiful, it is always a gift," gushes the Pope, "even when lived in the most difficult circumstances." That's pretty rich stuff coming from a German who lives in a castle in Europe with its own soldiers, filled with the world's largest and most important art collection. I suppose if the Pope were one of the billions of emaciated, brown-skinned, hopeless, hungry children living in one of his own numerous flocks in war-torn, famine-ravaged Sub-Saharan Africa or South America, life would feel like somewhat less of a gift, wouldn't it? Ten thousand military, police and civilians under army command in order to protect the Pope in Brazil...my my my. How much did that cost the Brazilian taxpayers - indeed, Brazil's Catholics? The question begs asking: if Popes really do the kind of work that is truly for humanity's highest good, why do they always need so many people around to protect them? I think the Pope's got it all wrong, and I think most people on earth now see this.

Davey Joseph, New York, NY, USA

I'm brazilian and also Catholic so, we are a different nation, we are free, we beleave in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit also Mary (i don't beleave in Pope).

Claudio, Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais/ Brazil

Seems to me that the Catholic church is the last bastion in the west against moral relativism. And by that I mean it is our last hope. God bless Pope Benedict.

CB, Greerton, New Zealand

Somebody should tell the American bishops, who are happy to give Communion to public supporters of abortion.

Chris Gillibrand, Brussels in Exile, "Democratic" Belgium

Dave from Brooklyn:
All arguments like yours are nothing but transparent attempts to discredit the Catholic Church. Do you think people are blind ? You blathering on about something you clearly know nothing about demonstrates your obvious opposition to the church. In the off chance you believe in Christ, try to remember that the cardinals and pope and all the theologians in Rome and elswhere have more study time put in about what is christian than you have spent on this earth.
It's funny how people believe, without question, an engineer with 3 years schooling who tells them how to build something, but won't listen to the church that Christ himself built which has 2000 years of theology behind it.
Just becasue your father told you Roman Catholism was bad, doesn't mean he was right. If you want a world that has a chance at sustaining itself try a little morality and respect for those who know something about it.

sammy, toronto, canada

I don't like his views but you've got to admire the gear. John Cleeze should start a Ministry of Silly Hats!

Phil, Hong Kong,

Let them speak loudly and clearly, so that we can recognise the fools amongst us!

Craig, Kingsbridge, Devon

The Church does not say that the state can not pass laws allowing baby killing.It just says that Catholics can not be part of those acts,and still be Catholics.Are those,who are for baby killing,saying that the Church can not issue statements governing who can receive it's communion in it's services.By the way,if you can kill a baby one minute before it is born,why can you not kill it one minute after it is born,or one hour,or one month?

richard ostberg, colorado springs, colorado,USA

"vowing to stem the defections of Roman Catholics to evangelical Protestantism and giving a warning that the penalty for supporting abortion was excommunication".

I would have thought they were mutually exclusive aims?

Richard, London,

I don't agree with the Pope in his total opposition to abortion, believing that there are instances such as danger to the mother, a deformed fetus, and conception following rape, where abortion is the lesser of two evils.
Nevertheless, I respect Benedict XVI for staunchly maintaining his principles. He clearly is a man with a deep and abiding faith, and a striking contrast to clerics of the Church of England who seem to have no core beliefs - not even that Britain should remain a Christian country - unless one counts their slavish adoption of each change introduced by 'political correctness', no matter how in conflict with traditional values.

L Stewart, Spalding, England

Pope Benedict is absolutely right to continue speaking out on the scandal of abortion.

The vast majority of politicians, opinion formers and media organisations in so-called liberal society are happy to acquiesce in the murder of unborn children, and yet secularists want to silence the only significant organisation speaking out against this crime: the Catholic Church.

This is the antithesis of liberalism: a tolerance of all views provided they concur with mainstream secular opinion.

Tony Thomas, London, UK

"I wish the media would get it strait (sic) and recognize that the Pope represents the Catholic church and not all churches."

He does not represent all churches, only Christians.

Athanasius, New York, NY

I'm sick of all other churches representing Christmas and Easter. I am glad that the Pope is seen as the representative of Christianity. Considering the false premises that other churches are based on, why should they be considered representative as well?

However, the Pope can mention the Church and reasonable people will understand he is speaking about the catholic church. Get a dictionary and a history book and learn what the term catholic means, I doubt it will do anything for you though. Never have I seen anyone succumb to reason on the Internet, and I don't expect to see it happen now.

CK, Coquitlam, B.C., Canada

Science tells us that a featus is a living being. Therefore it is quite simple. Abortion is killing a human being and as such should be condemned on all moral grounds independently of one's religious belief.

A. Grech, Qormi, Malta

To the "real lifers": we all live a real life. And it's pretty easy to say, "No".

Kevin, London,

The Pope's threats to excommunicate Mexican politicians and medical professionals who voted for or will provide abortions is blackmail, pure and simple. It is a blatant attempt to influence the actions of a democratically elected body that by definition has to represent all of its citizens, not just one religious group to the detriment of all others. If this were to happen in the USA (and it is happpening) it should be seen as an unacceptable intrusion of religion into politics and should result in the loss of the church's tax-exempt status. IRS, are you listening?

Dave from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY

The Catholic Church has more than 1 billion people. What chrches are you talking about? The Canadian Anglican Church ?

Mirtius, Lisbon, Portugal

if you dont like what the chrch defends you can leave the Church and go the dwindling anglican church which is more liberal but nonetheless is shrinking in numbers. I wonder Why?

Mirtius, Lisbon, Portugal

In this case the Pope doesn't represent the Church, but he represents and defends the Gospel truth which is well-known to all christians unless they are in some religion group that has sharply deviated from the established chriatian tradition which is still common for main christian denominations. And if they feel they have a right to abortion, they should not pose themselves as christians or dream they could be within the church boundaries, just go on as "free" persons.

Dim, Moscow, Russia

I was about to write an e-mail to our Minister of Health supporting his willingness (and guts!) to go ahead with the idea of a referendum on legalising abortion, but decided to first express my thoughts here. I really don't know what would be the results of this referendum. Half nation is against the abortion, half support its legalization. Of course the matter has to be discussed, to bring some light to this issue, but some politicians are against the referendum itself, let alone the churh! "In this country, wealthy girls go to good clinics to ilegally have an abortion; they do it, nobody knows, everything is fine, no harm done. Poor girls they just die trying to do it", the Minister pointed. He is right. If nothing else, the Pope is denying these poor girls the right to express theirselfs!!! Encouraging this deny. The referendum might end up against the legalization, but let us decide what's good for us, not the church, ok?

Gracy, Guarulhos, Brazil

"The pope never represents all churches. He only represents the truth which is why he doesn't support murdering unborn babies.

Tom H., Wilmington, DE"

Just the sort of comment you'd expect from someone who will never be able understand the complex emotional, physical, hormonal and ethical facets of pregnancy and the decisions related to it.

How nice it must be to see the world in black and white.

I'm afraid this just goes to show how out-of-touch the Catholic Church is with the world in the 21st century. Judge not lest ye be judged and all that.

N Butler, London, UK

John Paul 11 said in St Louis in 1999: :you cannot be pro-life and support the death penalty" - will Benedict XVI ignore this, as the US bishops did in fact do when they supported Bush in 2004. The US hierarchy is a joke. Contrary to the statement in the article they issued an edict " Worthy to receive" in 2004, designed to hurt Kerry, while ignoring Bush's record on the cdeath penalty.

Will Coffey, Atlanta, Georgia

1. I hereby invite all those politicians who support self-determination to become BRIGHTS.
2. The pope had to choose and has chosen correctly between getting the fanatics back from the televangelists - those who covet extreme viewpoints - and attending to the mainstream.
People who accept that they live in this world and entertain doubts about the existence of an afterlife are concerned with reality and not very prone to lead a miserable life because of fear of hell and damnation anyway.
3. As cardinal he said once that in Germany the Roman Catholic Church could life without the "church tax" on its fortune alone. For the last fifty years each time a pope or bishop made remarks of his kind there were another 100.000 Germans leaving the church - this is to be declared to the state and therefore the statistics are exact. Therefore "Sepp" (his nickname, I was born in Bavaria, too) knew what he was doing.

Rune C. Olwen, Bov, Denmark

1) People can be of good character (Christian or not) and they can believe in (a) God without the church, particularly the Catholic Church. 2) The pope and the catholic church have no moral right to tell anyone what to do. Their weird attitude towards marriage and sex is proven by the number of priests who molest children. 3) The issue of abortion is obviously debatable, but it should be ONLY debated between the father and mother of that unborn child.
Aren't there enough unwanted, starving, neglected, abused children in this world? The Pope and his stupid ideas have created millions of children who have no life, but a slow death instead. Yes, they can be adopted, they COULD have a good life, and some do, but the majority don't, yet people listen to a man who is in charge of an organization that was (and is) responsible for the deaths of millions, be it by force or starvation (see Crusades and other wars in the 'name of God'). I left the catholic church for EXACTLY their hypocrisy.

Peter, London,

I can't help but remember the story ending with: "You no play the game, you no make the rules."

D. Sampson, Mt. Vernon, USA

In this case the Pope doesn't represent the Church, but he represents and defends the Gospel truth which is well-known to all christians unless they are in some religion group that has sharply deviated from the established chriatian tradition which is still common for main christian denominations. And if they feel they have a right to abortion, they should not pose themselves as christians or dream they could be within the church boundaries, just go on as "free" persons.

Dim, Moscow, Russia

Mr.R.Pascoe: I think that you don't need to be Christian to oppose abortion. Abortion in my point of view is first of all a cowardly. You are killing something that can not defend itself. And don't say that a fetus has no life because everything that is in a stage of biological development has life. And just to show you an example I, myself had an experience during my college days when a friend of mine, a girl, irresponsible got pregnant and asked me financial help to abort. I told her that I was her friend but in this case I was not going to help her because I was against that. Surprised, she asked me if I was religious I said not: for me this not a religion matter, it is a matter of principles. And if the church, Catholic or not is not going to defend life, who is going to defend, then? And if you are protestant don't forget that you are christian like us and we should share exactly the same principles.

Andre Martin, S.Paulo, Brazil-SP

Ahh yes, the Roman Catholic church's inalienable right to talk utter tosh about people who are actually living a real life.

Interestingly, I feel that whether or not I choose to have an abortion - and for whatever reason - it is not the business of a bunch of celibate men in dresses, whose main business ethic is covering up the paedophile tendencies of their best mate down the hall. Oh and wondering whether they look better in red, or in purple.....

Zarich , London , UK

The Pope forgets to look at the calendar and realize that we are in the third millenium and the resukt is that the Catholic Curch is losing adepts day after day. In Italy we are practically all catholic by birth, we have babtesim, first comunion and confirmation just as a habit but atter these events it is is figured that only 10/15 % remain observant.

Roberto Castellano, Salsomaggiore, Italy

This guy has led a most weird, abnormal, cloistered life completely excluded from the real life difficulties and dilemmas ordinary people face. He is particularly ill-equipped to tell any one what to do. I think he should keep his opinions to himself and stop ramming them down the throats of his poor misguided followers.

Phil, Hong Kong,

As a Mennonite, I don't think this or any other Pope is habitually presented in the media, and certainly not in this article, as representing all Christian churches. Regardless of whether or not one thinks they are, however, I find that most of the time I actually identify quite easily and closely with what they have to say on most moral issues. The popes speak from a rich tradition and with a depth and conviction any Christian should have little trouble placing high value on and respecting, whether they agree with everything that's said or not.

Ice Ko, Abbotsford, B.C., Canada

Re. R. Pascoe's posting: the Pope does not even represent all the Catholic church, just the Roman Catholic church (re-read the Anglican Creed). And, speaking as a Roman Catholic myself, while he represents us, he is sadly not always representative of us; the universal and indivisible Church of Christ is greater than its hierarchies.

S. Wilson, Eastbourne, UK

The pope never represents all churches. He only represents the truth which is why he doesn't support murdering unborn babies.

Tom H., Wilmington, DE

“Supporters of abortion have no future in Church, Pope tells faithful”
I wish the media would get it strait and recognize that the Pope represents the Catholic church and not all churches. I’m sick of seeing the Pope at Christmas and Easter representing all churches.

R.Pascoe, Chilliwack, B.C. Canada