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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Pope urges breastfeeding in Sistine Chapel

402 replies

marmitecat · 12/01/2014 21:30

news.sky.com/story/1194030/pope-urges-breastfeeding-in-sistine-chapel

Go Pope Francis Grin

I have to admit I felt a bit awkward feeding in church with dc1 so this is pretty much the ultimate way of dispelling that worry.

OP posts:
atthestrokeoftwelve · 14/01/2014 18:21

Perhaps the vatican could start by disentangling itself with shady dealings and money laundering activities of the Mafia and maybe consider spending some of the £170 Billion Pounds that the church owns ( making it the single biggest private asset owner in the world) actually helping the poor rather than just encouraging them to procreate beyond their means.

Rotten to the core.

Pan · 14/01/2014 18:51

I think in that particular regard re the money, I've been reading since Pope Francis' time there's been quite a shake up in the organisation of the Church's finances and accountability - i.e. former firms and individuals have been 'let go' and he has spent a lot of his time focussed on this issue.
As I said though this is a tanker, of massive global influence and change takes time.

gussiegrips · 14/01/2014 18:56

I think the change is that Pope Frankie is not a career priest, in that, he's not a theologian. He has a secular past, called to priesthood later in life and has worked his way up by being a bloody good priest.

THAT'S why I like him, my impression is that he's not a manager, he wants to do what Jesus said.

Apparently, there's some sort of "worldwide review" by the Catholic Church - looking for opinions over some of the doctrines. I thought I'd go and ask our priest (whom I've never met) - because, seriously, if the contraception nonsense (which isn't even Biblical) were changed then I'd give thought to going back. And, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool lasped Catholic, I can't be the only one who can see a way for me to go back.

Though, this may also have something to do with me having a Thorn Birds crush on my Grandma's priest

atthestrokeoftwelve · 14/01/2014 18:59

Any pope is a puppet- it's the cardinals who hold the real power.
Woe betide any pope who tries to shake the boat. There is a lot of power and money invested in the vatican.

Pan · 14/01/2014 19:03

Well quite atthe which is why upthread I referred to him as being brave. But also, it was the cardinals who voted him in, knowing what was in store. So I wouldn't be too miserable.

atthestrokeoftwelve · 14/01/2014 19:06

Brave- or stupid perhaps.

Pan · 14/01/2014 19:12

Why stupid? He knows what's possible, seems to be well-intended and effective. And I'd hitch my wagon on his more than any other papacy I've know. And obv I'm not the only one.

aciddrops · 14/01/2014 19:21

Curlew the "shut-up" was to do with the old predictable chestnut of sexual abuse which is always thrown into any discussion about anything to do with Catholicism. It winds me up in the extreme as I do not believe that sex abuse is an intrinsic part of the Catholic faith but anyone with anti-catholic tenancies seems to focus on this one thing and totally ignores anything good about the institution. Also, I think that the Church is trying to address the issue. I will not deny the atrocities of the past, neither will I try to suggest no priest would engage in such despicable behaviour. However, it does not define the church.

So, to answer your question - yes, I will withdraw the shut up now as we have moved on Smile

atthestrokeoftwelve · 14/01/2014 19:21

Stupid maybe because he underestimates the risk he is taking, or because he wants to be the figurehead of such a corrupt organisation in the first place. more likely power hungry like the rest of them.

Pan · 14/01/2014 19:23

ah I see! You're in the reactionary brigade then? Be suspicious of any change.Smile

atthestrokeoftwelve · 14/01/2014 19:25

I am in no brigade.

Just have a low opinion of religion generally.

Pan · 14/01/2014 19:33

yes, lots of people do. Which is a real shame imo. Sharing your morals and best life practices with folk who think and feel similarly is such a good thing to do.

atthestrokeoftwelve · 14/01/2014 19:37

Oh I agree, but that's not what religion does- it dictates, controls & subjugates women, - why no woman pope? Using fear and false promises.

The church is not open to hearing your views and "best life practices"- we are not talking about a democratic organization here.
The church tells adherents exactly what to think.

aciddrops · 14/01/2014 19:42

atthestroke I'm interested in what you have to say about Mafia connections. I've heard this before. What is all this about?

I am surprised, however, about your saying that the Pope is a puppet for the Cardinals. Given that he must be their boss, where do you get this assertion from?

aciddrops · 14/01/2014 19:46

Also, I'm not sure how the Catholic Church dictates to me. It offers me a guide and I can take it or leave it. How many Catholics in Europe follow the Church's teaching on contraception? I don't know a single one. Hardly a dictatorship. In a dictatorship there are penalties for not adhering to the rules. There are no penalties in the Catholic church.

Pan · 14/01/2014 19:53

I think the 'dictates' idea comes from being' on the outside looking in'. ime it;s nothing like that - a very good friend of mine, my longest term friend, was in the English College in the Vatican for 6 years. An insider as it were - we have/have had searing discussions and challenges with each other over the years. He would, rightly, recoil at the notion he ever dictated to someone.

JugglingBackwardsAndForwards · 14/01/2014 20:01

"There are no penalties in the Catholic church" ...

Hmm, excommunication (happened to my MIL I think on divorce ?), not being given a Catholic funeral, refused baptism for your children, being ostracised from the community, not getting your DC into the favoured school, 10 Hail Mary's ... all the way up to not getting into heaven/ going to hell (if people still believe in that place - and probably some do)

And it's hardly a pick and mix type religion is it aciddrops ?

aciddrops · 14/01/2014 20:02

I agree with Pan. You have to be in it to really know what it is like. There is a lot of press but you can't understand it unless you have studied it in a lot of depth. (and even then you can't understand it!)

aciddrops · 14/01/2014 20:05

Hmm, excommunication (happened to my MIL I think on divorce ?), not being given a Catholic funeral, refused baptism for your children, being ostracised from the community, not getting your DC into the favoured school, 10 Hail Mary's ... all the way up to not getting into heaven/ going to hell (if people still believe in that place - and probably some do)

I'm divorced and none of this applies to me. This is not something that I recognise. All of my children go to a Catholic school and I'd say that at least one quarter of the kids there are from single parent families. They are all members of our Catholic community.

Pan · 14/01/2014 20:09

Yes my Catholic father was divorced, and none of those 'penalties' were visited upon him. I have little idea what 'excommunication' actually means in practice, but those things seem 'misreported'. Not saying you are being untruthful just that I don't have any recognition of them.

JugglingBackwardsAndForwards · 14/01/2014 20:15

I'm not saying my MIL experience all of those things. In fact she did start going to church again in later years, and when she died they gave her a lovely funeral at her Catholic parish church.
I was just saying (rather badly) that any faith community does have a number of penalties it can bestow on those stepping out of line - chief amongst them I suppose is not letting someone belong anymore/ not making them feel welcome.

Pan · 14/01/2014 20:23

That's quite a different take on your first post Juggling if I may say.
I'd say overall the Church has quite a strong theme of pastoral care - I've experienced it - and 'stepping out of line' isn't something that is dwelt upon. IF someone considers that the Church is no longer for them, brutish punishment isn't a practiced option.

hamneggs · 14/01/2014 20:47

Lovely to read. Although I have never felt uncomfortable feeding in church anyway.

HoneyandRum · 14/01/2014 20:55

There are over a billion Catholics in the world, the majority in South and Central America and Africa. The British press only seems to mention some aspects of the church, the fact that John Paul II condemned any invasion of Iraq and that has continued to be the church's position did not get much emphasis. The huge humanitarian work of the church such as helping refugees the world over is also often ignored. I remember watching coverage of the Tsunami in Asia a few years ago and how the local Catholic parishes were being used as staging areas for all the aid that was pouring in from many governments and agencies worldwide. Catholic organizations and local churches are very often already on the ground with local networks of aid organizations.

As Sean Callahan COO for managing overseas operations for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) the humanitarian arm of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said regarding helping Syrian refugees:
"We don't help people because they are Catholic - many that we help aren't. We help people because we are Catholic."

JugglingBackwardsAndForwards · 14/01/2014 21:09

Well I did acknowledge that that particular post hadn't been very clear Pan - in fact I went as far as to say "I was just saying (rather badly)" so trust you can accept my apology for that.
It wasn't my first post on the thread though - I've probably written at least ten of quite varying content and tone.
To me it's a big topic (broadly The Pope and the Catholic church) which brings up a number of different thoughts and feelings
Honestly I think I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing - it's a very mixed bag