General Chat

Thanks nice to see some body agree with me. I can't ever see it happerning though. :-)

Cynthia
Joeva was posting an awful lot of information and the facts from a website that may or may not be correct.
Again, I would rather do my own research and engage in genuine debate based upon my knowledge

Once again, can we return to the thread topic Cynthia - if you want to argue about individual postings then fine but I would rather debate the topic

what about their rights to live over the brush ??? ;-)

It would certainly be interesting to see how the catholic church would deal with that question BK. However, I have a feeling that they would take a negative stance. What do others think?


No such rules Joy.......open forum. All thoughts welcome. :-D

Ron........... Thats what I mean when I say I do not agree with all Doctrines of the Catholic Church .

Its a changing world the Catholic Church has to change with it !!

It wont be in my lifetime......but it will succumb.


I'm still a Catholic !! :-D

I will do Rose, providing I understand what I read :-D
The Quakers interest me more so because my daughter, a non believer, once worked with a lady who was a Quaker, and my daughter would often say, that if she had to have a religion, it'd be Quaker, as the lady she worked with had such a wonderful view on life, which she had because of her beliefs, that sounds good to me :-D

I think from a practical point of view nuns would be unlikely to want to / be able to marry?

In closed orders they deliberately choose comtemplation and prayer away from the outside world, In open 'working 'orders they live together as a community, serving God through serving their fellow man.

I don't think it would work if they had to stop prayers to feed the OH and bath the kids, hoover etc etc... convent life is geared to devotion to God and planned around that, family life is not, just in the practicalities of it.

Not wishing to be sexist lol, but a male priest /vicar etc who marries will have a wife at home while he concentrates on his religious duties and devotions... a woman will be expected to do all that AND the rest... ;-) ( a generalisation but not too much of one?) No disrespect to the house husbands and those who go 50/50...just that I am not convinced they are in the majority as yet, maybe one day :-D

Rose i worked in a convent when i was 18
and i have seen goings on


that made my hair curl without a perm ;-)

sure opened my eyes

I am also fascinated by the Quakers. Many years ago read a book about Fox. And some of my distant rellies up in Cumbria were Quakers in 18th century, and it was very strong in those parts.

Tried a few times to attend a service, but never happened. Please keep me in loop.

Rose a valid point but very much a generalisation and slightly sexist.

Also, if a person married someone who was already "in the ministry" then it could be argued that they knew what they were marrying into.

I think closed orders are not really part of this debate because of their very nature. Open orders are a different matter but it still goes against the very basics of the catholic church surely?

John what happened although you tried?
Would they not allow you? Not very inclusive if that is the case!

I don't doubt it Joy :-)

I think the Quakers have the right idea.

No sermons,

No clergy.




just sit in a circle of silence at meetings , mulling.

But they have everyones interest at heart,,,,,,,they will be on the ball to conduct same sex marriages.

I did recognise it as sexist Errol, but nevertheless not entirely inaccurate in my experience .

But I was addressing the queries re nuns specifically, because I consider that a different choice, to becoming a 'minister', whether that be a male or female priest or vicar.

As the first paragraph in Joeva's post so simply puts :- the laws and doctrines of the Catholic church are MAN-made, so surely MAN can change these if he so desires? Just like our government can change laws on Sunday trading, same-sex marriages or tax loopholes.

The goverment, of course, is slightly more representative in that it includes WOMEN.

But Sheila, many who make such laws and subscribe to such doctrines claim they are from god. If you asked a genuine christian who has been involved in making such laws he/she would claim that they were made because god led them to come to that decision and instigate that law or doctrine. To say they are purely man-made is very simplistic surely?

Simplistic but right :-D :-D ;-)

but if they are purely man-made then that negates the whole thing - you cannot say this is god's law but comes from man!
Religious law, rules, ethos etc etc is based on what people from those religions and with those beliefs genuinely believe has been either dictated to them by their god or they have been l;ed to it by prayer.

If that is the case, Errol, then surely the debate about allowing priests to marry is pointless because the Church's doctrines are God-given and cannot be changed.

precisely my point Sheila
Thank you

Lol, I've just found some info that says that celibacy is a discipline rather than a doctrine, so perhaps it's not dead in the water :-D. But that's for another day.....