Catholic Melinda Gates defies the Vatican with $560m birth control funds

[SecularMotion]

Source: Belfast Telegraph

Melinda Gates, billionaire philanthropist and practising Catholic, yesterday laid down the gauntlet to the Vatican by vowing to dedicate her life to improving access to contraception for women in the developing world.

At an extraordinary summit in London, Mrs Gates announced that the charitable foundation she set up with her Microsoft founder husband Bill was donating $560m to family planning services.

The size of the donation is intended to emphasise the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s commitment to reducing unwanted pregnancies in poorer countries, which experts say lead to more than 100,000 women dying prematurely every year.

A life-long Catholic, Mrs Gates said she had grappled with her faith before deciding to speak out against the Vatican’s opposition to contraception.


Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/catholic-melinda-gates-defies-the-vatican-with-560m-birth-control-funds-16184138.html

[Poll_Blind]

1. The Catholic church needs a Third Vatican Council.

Good for Melinda and thank you.

PB

[caseymoz]

5. It won't happen.

Vatican II was a failure, and the Catholic Hierarchy learned its lesson from it. The Church can't reform itself. Conservative Popes are completely in charge now of appointing Bishops and Cardinals, and they've loaded the hierarchy with hardline conservatives to make sure more conservative Popes get elected.

It can continue to splinter and lose membership as more and more people become alienated until the only members left are the most conservative hardliners, perhaps only the Bishops, Archbishops and Pope, and few Holy Orders.

But no, it can never reform.

[caseymoz]

12. I'll add:

There's a few other reasons: real reform would involve admitting that all the Popes throughout history weren't infallible after all, and that the Bishop of Rome (Pope) gained his special standing in the church through fraud (the Legacy of Constantine). For the Church to admit these would mean something more like dissolution.

No, it can't reform.

[HockeyMom]

27. Benedict is even more conservative

and wants to take it back to the dark ages.

[caseymoz]

33. That's not the way he would put it.

But since the 1860s, the Pope and the Catholic Church have taken a hardline stand against "modernism." The year 1870 is when the Pius IX declared himself infallible and all Popes before and after infallible on matters of faith. The entire reason was he did not like having the Papal States taken from him, and the new, unified Italy was very anti-Catholic.

[Marrah_G]

2. Good for you Mrs. Gates

[JNelson6563]

3. I applaud this move!

Bravo Melinda Gates!

[lovuian]

18. Me too

Birth control is important to women

[caseymoz]

4. Wait for it: Excommunication.

They're going to refuse her Eucharist and probably declare that she's going to Hell. The church will fight high-profile people like that.

Though, they probably will try to talk first, bring her back into the fold. It depends on what her Bishop or Archbishop chooses.

[Mz Pip]

6. I hope this does turn into a high profile fight

The Church has antiquated and mysoginistic views on women and the more people hear of it the better.

I am so sick of churches sticking their noses into public policy when they don't pay taxes. Although Gates is a private citizen it really doesn't change the fact that the hierarchy of the church goes after both public and private policies.

Go Melinda!

[steve2470]

7. +1 nt

[SomeGuyInEagan]

14. + A bunch! n/t

[JBoy]

9. There's an answer to that...

[caseymoz]

11. Yes, I am waiting for a high profile Catholic

to tell them to stick it, and inform them that, no, they don't have "the Keys to Heaven." Which is part of its doctrine, BTW.

[iandhr]

10. Because every sperm is sacred

[Rozlee]

16. They might excommunicate her or think about it.

But, after much prayer and meditation, they either wouldn't or if they did, they'd welcome her back in the name of the beloved "I" word.

Indulgences. Lots of them.

[caseymoz]

17. Indulgences aren't what you think.

I could tell you weren't educated Catholic. They actually have to do with time out of purgatory once you are already forgiven and have absolution, which means you're going to heaven eventually. An indulgence just gets you there faster. Honestly, that's what they are. They have nothing to do with absolution. They can't give her an indulgence unless she confesses, promises not to sin again (withdraws her funds), is given absolution, and does penance (I don't know what it would be for "killing babies" and thwarting God's will to create, which is the way they see this. I have to think it would be more than the 10 Our Fathers and 10 Hail Marys I was always given.)

You completely misunderstand the Church if you think they're going to let this slide. No, they might drag their feet, but they'll come down on this. They have to. She's challenged them publicly.

[Mz Pip]

19. Indulgences are kind of like

getting a reduced sentence for good behavior.

I spent years in Catholic school and if anything turned me off to Catholicism it was Catholic school. At least where I grew up it was so judgmental and authoritarian. You believe it or else. And the or else wasn't pretty. Rule by fear, rule by intimidation. To a little kid it was scary stuff.

[caseymoz]

20. Same here.

And at least in my time there, homophobia. Not that I was gay, but ended up being mistaken that way simply for being different and showing any doubt. My experience was that the bullying and homophobia was at least unconsciously directed by the authority figures, that is, the teachers, nuns and priests. And sometimes the Catholic parents, but their purview was mostly racism, where at least the clergy and nuns tried to teach racial tolerance, it was met with rejection and cynicism.

And it's not like they were mostly competent teachers, either.

[Rozlee]

21. Thanks for the correction.

I actually was raised Catholic and am from a huge Hispanic Catholic family. But, I started becoming skeptical very young and an outright non-believer by my pre-teens.

I really wasn't talking about the type of penance and intercession asked by Church members. I was actually referring to the type of speedy turn around service given to those with considerable financial and politcal pull such as Newt Gingrich and Rudy Guliani; It took my sister a year and a half to get an annulment to marry her deacon husband, but those who have greater pull and influence in the church usually get better, speedier service. If that sounds like I'm accusing the Church of taking bribes from the weathy and powerful to grease the skids, well, in all respects to your faith and my former one, I won't say it.

And yes, I do believe they have to make an example of that good lady. She's lucky it's not the 1400s and Tomas de Torquemada isn't around.

[caseymoz]

22. Well, the big loophole, of course

Is promising to try not to sin again. Which means a serial adulterer can get the pass as many times as necessary. Also, you could sin, such as Newt does, cheating and marrying multiple times, but as long you don't set yourself against Church teachings. Then you can go to confession and say, "Oh, look, I did it again. I'm weak, I'm a sinner, I'm sorry," and they'll take your word on it. That also applies to child molesters. If they go to confession, say they're sorry, say they've repented, they see the light, they won't do it again, the Church almost has to grant them absolution.

But that's impossible to pull off when you have a fund that's paying to go against church teachings. You can't really claim repentance and remorse without pulling the plug on the fund.

[HockeyMom]

28. I have no regrets using BC and having "only" 2 kids

I will NEVER regret that, or parting ways with the Catholic Church almost 50 years ago.

[Iliyah]

8. Over half of the Catholics approve of

birth control. Seems like its the "men" that are opposed to them with a few kiss arse women who support the men...

Even many Priest are in support of birth control but of course the corporate media say otherwise.

[DallasNE]

13. The All Male Catholic Leadership

Constantly forces Catholic women to grapple on issues central to their well being and that is so wrong on so many levels, especially moral. Increasingly, we are seeing Catholic women come down on the side of ignoring the marching orders of the male Catholic leadership and risking the consequences. That cannot be healthy for the future of the Catholic Church because at some point there will be a major eruption within the Church that will tear it apart.

[MicaelS]

15. Catholic Melinda Gates tells the Vatican to get screwed (pun intended)

Now that's putting your money where your mouth is. More power to both of the Gates with their philanthropy.

I bet this will have the Conservative Catholics foaming at the mouth and calling for her to be Excommunicated.

[MichiganVote]

23. Ok, so when will Gates stand up for the women in THIS country? Planned Parenthood?

[pnwmom]

30. Their work on developing new contraceptives will help women in the USA, too.

They're going beyond what Planned Parenthood can do.

[freshwest]

32. Yes, a public statement on that would be helpful.

[tanyev]

24. You go, Melinda.

[24601]

25. More 1 Thousandth of 1% money avoiding US taxes. But we'll give her a pass because

we like her choices. Tomorrow we condemn those who avoid taxes by funding causes we don't like.

[lilithsrevenge12]

26. Bravo!!!!

[patrice]

29. Where. is. the. dogma. ?.

[ljm2002]

31. Wow. I'm shocked.

Good on you, Melinda Gates!

The ability to control one's own reproduction, especially in today's world, and especially in poor / "developing" nations, is a huge, huge deal for women. And studies have shown time and time again, when women have more control over the size of their families, everyone benefits.

The all-male and supposedly celibate hierarchy at the Vatican has their collective head up their collective ass on this issue.

It is good to see someone with some clout using it for good.