Originally Posted by garinda (Post 704550)

It's a golbal fashion, in the sense that it isn't required. The Qur'an only makes mention of modesty in dress, but that applies equally to men, as well as to women.

Growing up in the seventies I didn't see any Muslim women wearing a burqas in this area, just women in brightly coloured saris, with their heads partly covered.

I recently listened to a radio programme which featured a female Egyptian professor. She said that until the early seventies Egypt, mainly the cities of Cairo and Alexandra, were pretty much like other cities on the other side of the Med. Women happily wore western clothes. Now 90% of women wear the hijab at least, and risk being attacked if not 'properly' attired in public.

Mind you I'm not feeling too kindly tonight to man's interpretation of the teaching of the world's holy men.

I've just sat through a two hour documentary about the 100,000 victims, that have come forward so far, of Catholic priests in the U.S.A.

The way this was covered up, often resulting in more children being raped and abused because the priests were just moved to other parishes, was sickening.

Ex-President Bush gave in to Vatican demands that the present Pope, who knew and did nothing positive about the asbuse, and granted him immunity from prosecution in the States. The Church in the U.S. has so far paid out 1 billion dollars to victims...after many a lengthy battle.

Much of the abuse was just ignored, especially if the victims raped were girls (even as young as nine months), because that was put down to 'natural curiosity'. They interviewed one of the priest, happily living freely back in Ireland, and being paid a pension by the church. His total lack of understanding of what he'd put these children and their families through made me sick.

Disillusioned with organised religion rant over now...back to the thread.

The Qur'an doesn't demand that women wear a burkha, but you could also say neither did Jesus make mention of Christian priests being celibate.

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE (Post 704529)

Just remembered I was taking my eldest grandaughter to Nursery and she is fourteen shortly and we passed a lady dressed in the full veil and my grandaughter asked me why "that lady was hiding"? So seems to me it is within the last ten years it has become the norm or why would a child of four comment?

Originally Posted by accyman (Post 704525)

it was ok to have her vagina seen but not her mush lol

Originally Posted by Eric (Post 704752)

This crossed my mind: I wonder what the sexually twisted freaks in the Taliban think when they see our women; free, equal, well educated, well armed, fighting along side our men, and often leading them, flying our military aircraft, serving on our warships (at least one of our ships, HMCS Halifax, is commanded by a woman, Cmdr. Josee Kurtz) ... it must really pee them right off.

Originally Posted by garinda (Post 704550)

I've just sat through a two hour documentary about the 100,000 victims, that have come forward so far, of Catholic priests in the U.S.A.

Originally Posted by Mancie (Post 704821)

I also watched that docu... the worse thing is that the Vatican would not even recognise the victims of abuse... these people are just "people".. they are not directly in touch with any God..I may believe in God but I don't believe in the Catholic Church nor any Church ... the Ten Commandments seem fair enough..but many regulations that have been added by priests and so called gurus amount to making people bow to an agenda.. they are the regulations of human beings..not any divine instructions... and these so called instuctions from Popes or Ayatollahs to suit thier own ends mean nothing.

Originally Posted by jaysay (Post 704843)

I'm a practising RC Mancie, and in someways you have a point, I'm not one of those people who thinks that everything that comes from the Vatican is right, especially in this day and age. I can't understand why the Vatican seem to condone abuse of this kind, its wrong in any language or culture. I also have a problem with the vatican's stance on contraception, I can see no point in bringing unwanted children into this world at the whim of people who make the rules but don't play the game. Maybe the answer to both these issues would be to allow married men to become priests, we are now in the 21st century, yet the catholic church remains in the dark ages, I think its time it moved with the times and the needs of a modern world

Originally Posted by garinda (Post 704876)

The film, or myself for that matter, wasn't having a go at Catholics, just the Catholic church as an organisation.

The victims and their families were Catholic after all, and many seemed doubly affected, for not only had their children been abused, but it was by someone they trusted, as God's representative on Earth.

In answer to Steelback, yes the victims were helped by lawyers. Nearly as many as the church had to block and hinder any justice that was being sought.

If you ever get to see the film watch it. It's called 'Deliver Us From Evil'.

Sorry for the thread wander, though there is a tenuous link.

Just as there's no mention in the Qur'an of the need to wear a burqa, that's man's later interpretation, there's no mention that priests need to be single and celibate.

Until the fourth century A.D. priests, even Popes could marry, and many were. It was only because the church wanted the estates of priests after their deaths, rather than any heirs, that the rules were changed.

If priests were allow to marry, perhaps it wouldn't be quite as easy for the priesthood to be a cover for serial child abusers.