Can a Catholic Dissent?

In a word, no.

Let me explain.

I use the word "Catholic" to indicate one who is in communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.

By the Vatican I definition of Papal Infallibility, it is impossible to be in communion with the Pope without assenting to Papal Infallibility. "So then, should anyone, which God forbid, have the temerity to reject this definition of ours: let him be anathema." Pastor Aeternus. Certainly, one cannot rationally hold that Rome does not have the right to define who and who is not in communion with her.

Papal Infallibility applies only in those cases where the Pope makes a definition regarding faith or morals.

The Ordination of Women is a perfect example of this. Pope John Paul II stated explicitely that the Church has no power to confer ordination to women.
In other words, it cannot be done.
It is not a question of justice.
It is not a question of fairness.
It is a question of what is POSSIBLE.

A woman can no more become a priest than can a man give birth.
This is the Church's teaching. And, given that it has been defined both by tradition and by a Pope, it is an irreformable teaching.

One who would dissent from this is denying Papal Infallibility, and, as such, by definition, ceases to be Catholic.
This is not a case of judgment by the Church. It is a case of simple logic.

The Church does not impose excommunication for private opinion.

The situation changes, however, in the case of a woman who attempts to be ordination, or a bishop who attempts such an ordination. Such a person is no longer holding an opinion, but has publicly declared that they are no longer in communion with the Bishop of Rome. They have publicly repudiated Papal Infallibility, and have therefore publicly excommunicated themselves.
Do you see that the Church is not punishing them for dissent? The Church imposes no judgment in this case, but, in declaring them excommunicated, the Church recognizes that they have cut themselves off.

So, a Catholic cannot dissent, because
1) In dissenting, one implicitly rejects Papal Infallibility
2) In rejecting Papal Infallibility, one is no longer in Communion with Rome, and therefore
3) In dissenting, one ceases to fall under the definition of Catholic.

In short, the term Catholic Dissent is self-contradictory and meaningless.

Are Evolution and Reality in conflict?

I received this in an email from a friend, and I thought the information was worth passing along. Lou

Embryology

An example often given to try to convince students of the evolution theory is the long discredited idea that the embryo growing in the mother has "gill slits."

Ernst Haeckel, a German embryology professor, invented this silly idea in 1869, after he read Darwin's book. He claimed that the embryos of all different animals look very similar as they develop inside their mother. He even made huge charts of his drawings of these different unborn creatures and traveled all over Germany and converted people into believing the evolution theory.

The truth of the matter is, he lied. His own university held a trial and convicted him of fraud. While it is true that the human embryo has little wrinkles of skin under its head, these are not gill slits. They never functioned as a breathing appartus at any time. Actually, the little folds of skin develop into bones in the ear and glands in the throat. To teach that the has gill slits is simply a lie.

This teaching needs to be removed from real science text books.

It is interesting that this idea has been proven wrong since 1875, yet it is still used in textbooks all across the world as evidence of evolution. It appears that someone is trying to brainwash you into believing this theory. It is also a heart-rending fact that this is the only scientific evidence used to justify abortion.

Abortionists would like for us to believe that the baby growing inside the mother is not yet a human being. Nothing could be further from truth!
(You can read more at his web-site http://www.drdino.com/)

Daniel Barton (Catholic Christian who believes that God created everthing in His plan).