Pallydin..... very articulate and excellent response to my post. After thought you are correct in that I had things backwards. Perhaps it is Catholics that have lost touch with the Church and not vice versa. However, I did not mean to proclaim that I wanted to condone immoral behavior or acts. I am most supportive of having those in religious life be able to marry, women entering the priesthood and allowing married couples to use birth control.
With regard to whether priests should be compensated well, I can't argue that they do a job and should reap the rewards. However, there is such inconsistencies in the Church. There are women religious that are hospital CEOs who could earn $200,000 per year but get "paid" $50 a month. And, if a woman religious choses to leave after a long tenure in what would be a high paying job they get nothing. How can the Church justify paying salaries to preists when women religious live a life of poverty? And, typically it is only dioscesan preists that get paid a salary, others take an oath of poverty. With regard to the priest I knew vacationing in Jamaica, lets just say that I highly doubt he was there on missionary work. You would just have to know him.
With regard to the decisions of bishops running contrary to Church teachings the example I gave (about Catholic Hospitals allowing vasecotmies or tubal ligations) would be an example where the bishop does make the decision but it IS allowed in Church doctrine. There is a prinicipal of undo harm, or something of that nature. At any rate if, in this case, a Catholic Hospital maternity program feels at risk of closing down the bishop can invoke this principal of undo harm and allow the hospital to do tubal ligations in order to have the program be competitive.
The bottom line is that the Church IS out of touch with society in the year 2003. They could allow those in religious life to marry, but they chose not to do so. In so doing they are limiting the pool of high quality people that could provide a valuable service. But, they do so to protect their own self interests, just as compensating SOME priests and not compensating the women serves their own self interest. It is the hypocracy of these actions that alienates many Catholics. And, it is very unfortunate as I said before the Church has, and will continue to, do a lot of good for the poor and needy.
