From:	Matb <mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM>
Subject:	Re: Catholic Church...Help!
Date:	Sun, 18 May 1997 16:51:26 -0700

> <Snip (a lot of) Catholic Questions from Scott Spencer and Matb's
> answers and statment about bringing back the Inquisition in SR>

> > Inquisition of whom? It's tolerant of metahumans and decidedly
> > ambiguous toward magic; most of the Christian sects (and I hate to call
Protestantism and the Orthodox Churchs "sects") have been growing
> closer together in the last decades. And though I hate to start a
> flamewar, the Inquisition is terribly overblown in the modern mentality.

> Out of curiosity, is there something I am missing in reference to the
> Catholic Church in SR?--(see Aztlan Sourcebook p. 36)--it says that
> Metahumanity was declared an "abomination" in a papal Bull. IIRC there
> is another passage in "How It Came to Pass" or something like that
> also talks about the Vatican's negative view towards metahumanity (but
> I
> rarely "recall correctly"). If they have changed since the early VITAS
> days and are more accepting now, could someone please tell me where it
> talks about it...this could affect the course of my game :)

I don't have the Az sourcebook, but I'll provide the quote from the
Grimoire:

"...In 2025, Pope John XXV, the Roman Catholic pontiff, issued a
historical encyclical, _In_Imago_Dei ("In the Image of God") which set
forth the following statements as official Church doctrine:

- That metahumans are possessed of souls and capable of salvation.
Discrimination against metahumans is not Christian. ..."

Could you be so kind as to provide the Az quote?

If anything, it works opposite the way you mentioned - things were
very open in the beginning, and then clamped down. Or maybe FASA's just
contradicting itself again...

> Bye the way, by "over blown"--in your reference to the Inquisition, do
> you mean "ignored" or "exaggerated?" (not flame brewing here,
just
> curious)

Exaggerated, or, more accurately, taken out of context. Inter-religious
discrimination was prolific throughout Europe since... well, before
there was organized religion, really. And, like the Salem witch trials,
there wasn't as much bloodshed as people like to make out. Still, not
a nice time to be an outsider. (Understatement.)

> Thanks,
>
> Jim