In the past, the Catholic Church has declared mermaids do not have
souls of their own.  A mermaid hears about this, and disagrees. 
Assuming she's willing to take the risk, what is the formal process by
which she can appeal/change the Church's position?  E.g., is there
some sort of council or procedure she would go through (and what is
it), or is she limited to posting a list of her complaints on the
Church door?

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Request for Question Clarification by angy-ga on 25 Nov 2005 19:52 PST

I take it you'r writing a story ?

Assuming the ruling not to be on the basis that she is mythical - i.e.
assuming thatthe Church acknowledges that Merpeople do exist but
consider them soulless - is this because they are classified with the
animals? - in which case her case could be a kind of class action on
behalf of the animal kingdom

Or is she considered soulless because she belongs to Faerie? - in
which case it is more complicated, since traditionally Faerie were
considered to have no souls, but to balance that they had
exceptionally long lives.

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Clarification of Question by gordok-ga on 27 Nov 2005 20:56 PST

A story idea was the initial inspiration, but I wanted to check
against the "real world."

I do not know the precise ruling or rational by the Church with
regards to mermaids not having souls, but I've seen it referred to in
several mermaid stories.

I also checked with a Catholic Father online, who stated that (in
effect) man(kind) is defined by form and soul. Thus, a mermaid is not
(hu)man, and can not have a soul since souls are uniquely granted by
God to (hu)man beings.  I do not know how universal said Father's
opinion is within the Church.

Somebody's bound to point it out, so let it be me...

She doesn't have a leg to stand on...  ; )

She should fly (er, swim) right to Vatican City and demand an audience
with the Pope.

If the Church is right, and she has no soul of her own, then
presumably she has borrowed someone else's...probably the guy I saw
singing karaoke over the weekend.

She should return it.  Immediately.

This is too deep for me to fathom. It's so much pressure that it's
giving me a haddock. I'm gonna go get tanked.

--Marlin

Mermaids and souls are both figments of the imagination

She obviously needs a lawyer, although I doubt that any sea lawyers
she may be able to contact are recognized by the Vatican.

pafalafa-ga, were you at Pieces Saturday night?

Could be...was that you wailing?

The Catholic Church may not accept her application for conisderation
if she could not provide a certificate that she is not a practicing
lesbian.


Now,who should she approach for this certificate?

She should appeal at the Holy Sea.

Nobody has provided any information as to whether this Mermaid is
Xanthian or not.  If she is, then she may already have a quarter, or
even a half soul, depending on her ancestry and/or social
relationships.

The Good Magican would know.

And I didn't use a single pun.

Cheers
Digs

It would seem to me that a mermaid might be pleased to be dating a
Catholic, especially on Friday. ;-)

Pink

I would have thought that it could be highly dangerous for a Mermaid
to be dated by a Catholic on a Friday especially if there was a lack
of Fish markets and/or fish restaurants in the vicinity. Remember not
all Catholics are good at fasting even if it is a Friday.

Yours Faithfully 

Mongolia

gordok-ga, I think you are missing one important little factor here:
MERMAIDS AIN'T REAL.

Aha! Pink, I'm not sure that that has anything to do with her soul,
and without "a leg to stand on" she won't have a sole either (left or
right), but maybe one of her parents was one.   (Acknowledgements to
W. Shakespeare).