Direct from the Vatican

This is a Catholic church about 1.5 hours south of where I live. It is in some hot turmoil and tonight it might not be operational ANYMORE after a meeting. If it is forced to close, it would be the first Catholic Church in Australia ordered to do so.

Here is a snippet of its activities:
*women can preach
*homosexual couples are blessed
*allows a Buddhist Meditation Group each week to meet in the church
*encourages love to all walks of lives
*strong role on social justice issues
*Roman Catholic
*up to 700 people attend mass on the weekends, which is one of the largest mass' held in the city


This above snippet list is NOT what has landed the Church in turmoil... this has...

Well, you see, a "right-wing parishioner" (quoted from the courier mail, 2008 August) was offended by a statue, took a photo of it and sent the photo to Rome, along with a letter to the Bishop.

Whats the statue of? According to various news articles, its either a small statue of a Buddhist monk praying (which was placed INSIDE the church), OR..a praying monk which had been mistaken as a Buddha.

You heard it right. A buddha, or a praying monk.. inside a church... a statue of 1 metre tall has created a heap of controversy for the Roman Catholic Church who has opened the doors to all walks of life.

Where is the statue now? Well, a parishioner from the GOD loving church has been removed from the church and smashed. The Archbishop has been quoted, "the 'violence' used to destroy it was unjustified".

Sad, but true. So much for not judging and accepting others. Whats your thoughts on the issue? Is the statue a wrong item to have in a Church? Was it justly removed? Should the church be forced to close? Is the issue of the statue important enough for the Vatican?

Stay Tuned...