Mike,
I am a worker and left the Catholic Church at age 13, when I understood the hypocrisy and superstition.
But then I learned more about the awful history of this church - that the Roman Catholic Church does not proudly share.
It promotes a reactionary ideology that carried out an enormous history of barbaric crimes.
Here are some highlights beyond the many wars and murders, too numerous to list here.
(the Albegensian Crusade against the Gay friendly Cathari (1209 - 1229), the 1492 Alhambra Decree (Inquisition), etc, etc, etc..
The Roman Catholic Church divided up the world between Spain and Portugal - and for its "service"
received a percentage of every slave sold. This on top of the confiscated property of "sodomites" that this church benefited of.
The Roman Catholic Church officially supported the Confederacy rebellion, against the U. S. government.
The Abraham Lincoln government withdrew official relations with that church, until president Kennedy restored.
One reason for the Vatican support of the Confederacy, was its opposition to republic form of governments .
This church supported only monarchy government form. It was not until the 20th Century that the church issued
a pope encyclical that permitted Catholics to be employees in a republic government, as no longer a "mortal sin".
This church still holds that their god should decide on which monarch and not people electing government.
And do I need to remind of the church treaties with Mussolini and Hitler - and their flock who supported fascism.
The same church was the main opposition to woman suffrage, women rights, etc.
This corrupt and backward church has been a defender of feudal rule and complicit in anti-socialist activities.
I think comrade fkalosar's use of the term "mackerel-snapping" is a deeply offensive anti-Catholic slur. In my opinion, it's not what Marxists should be doing.
[As a working-class Catholic kid on scholarship to Yale many years ago, that's where I first heard the term, coming from the privileged mouths of the ruling-class assholes being groomed for leadership. It was only one of many reasons why I abandoned Yale and
the scholarship after two years.]
Mike
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