Celibacy for priests is a discipline in the Roman Catholic Church, not a doctrine: in other words, a church regulation, but not an integral part of Church teaching. It is based upon the life of Christ and his celibate way of life. However the first pope, St. Peter, as well as many subsequent popes, bishops, and priests during the church’s first 270 years were in fact married men, and often fathers!

Some priests today are married, especially those who were formally Anglican priests!

Well, looks like we are back to square zero, but ah well. What points can be driven home, without hurting anyone? Lets stick to the student/cracker case. Even if we hypothetically agree that he was wrong in taking that cracker from the church, it was the people sending him death threats that opened the real can of worms. PZ Myers desecrated his host in protest to those people and the people who called for the suspension of this student. Yeah, perhaps this hurt other people too, but do you have a better idea of how to achieve it? Talking to Crazy Bill Donahue, of the Catholic League, didn’t help. The Catholic church themselves stayed very quiet, not urging its members to cease the death threats.

The cartoons the same. The cartoons were printed as a protest for an increasingly violent group of people, posing a threat to civilisation as we know it. It’s true that it, again, hurt other peoples feelins too, but if they are hurt by it, perhaps they should see the message behind it and actually stand up to the real offenders.

Your joke was hilarious though. Daphne, don’t let your devotion to grammar numb your sense of humour.

Another of my personal favourites, not on a totally different line:
As Moses descended the mountain, his followers stood in awe and expectation. Moses spake:
– People, people, gather around me. I have some good news, but I also have some bad news.
– Oh Moses, said the people, tell us the good news.
– I finally got him down ten
– Oh Moses, said the people, then what are the bad news?
– Adultery is still in

On a lighter note:
A new monk arrived at the monastery. He was assigned to help the other monks in copying the old texts by hand. He noticed, however, that they were copying copies, not the original books. The new monk went to the head monk to ask him about this. He pointed out that if there were an error in the first copy, that error would be continued in all of the other copies.

The head monk said, ‘We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son.’ The head monk went down into the cellar with one of the copies to check it against the original.

Hours later, nobody had seen him, so one of the monks went downstairs to look for him. He heard a sobbing coming from the back of the cellar and found the old monk leaning over one of the original books, crying.

He asked what was wrong.

‘The word is ‘celebrate,’ not ‘celibate’!’ sobbed the head monk.

Good night :)

[Daphne – John, in my experience you can’t send 15-year-old boys anywhere. They go. But seriously, if he’s still going to tal-Muzew by the time he’s 16, get worried. Your joke: hard to take seriously, given that the first is a verb and the second an adjective, so it would have been rather difficult to confuse them in context. Also, it’s how all the strange interpretations of the New Testament got in there – including, so it’s said, the meaning of ‘virgin birth’. But nobody is going to look too hard at that one, as it undermines the core foundation of belief.]

[Daphne – John, I can’t understand why you’re still trying to sell tal-MUZEW’s doctrine classes. I’m not in the market. And if your son was confirmed years ago, why is he still voluntarily going to tal-Muzew instead of to Paceville or somewhere more thrilling?]

What is the norm in number of days kids attend these things here? According to John it seems to be every day. My wife seemed to remember something like once or twice a day.

Both my sister and brother went through holy communion, but in Sweden it’s some they go to once a week for a few months, then attends church to eat a cracker, gets some presents and then forgets all about it.

“the MEPA auditor is a member of this society”

errr so?

“here in Zurrieq our kids go to play some football for half an hour in the evening and then they gather in their class room to learn about the scriptures for not more than half an hour , after that they linger around a bit and by half past eight in summer they are home.The lessons are on Mondays , Tuesdays , Thursdays and Fridays . On Saturdays they can stay in the games room or playing football from half six until nine in the evening , they also have the half hour lesson in between.On Sunday morning they have the same as on Saturday evening and on Sunday afternoon they go out to swim in summer or for a walk or a football game in winter .”

My God!!! It’s even worse then I thought! Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday?

Do you ever get to enjoy time with your kids? Or is that limited to Wednesday? In my time, when I finished my homework I was out with my friends on the front on the bike, especially on Saturday or Sunday, or at a picnic with my parents on weekends. We had religion twice a week at school. I think that is quite enough for a child thank you very much!

No wonder so many teenagers turn away from religion, after being force-fed long enough one tends to turn off it!

Isn’t there any EU regulation against too many lessons for kids? They should make one!

[Daphne – There’s no MUZEW in Bidnija because it isn’t a parish. Bidnija children go to Mosta. Mine didn’t go at all because I consider it a form of child abuse to send children to doctrine classes four afternoons a week after they have been at school until 3.30pm and have returned home exhausted at 4pm with homework still to do – and that’s quite apart from the rubbish they’re taught. Do children have to be regimented into organised activities all the hours God sends? I read your Zurrieq MUZEW schedule and almost passed out with horror. Honestly.]