At first, I dismissed his words as something a wacky religious person toeing the party line would say. After all, all educated people know that next to abstinence (cause, you know, that's realistic for most horny kids) condoms are the most effective way to reduce one's chances of contracting HIV. But then, I remembered that not all people are educated. Worse, some people are religious. Worse still, some people elevate the words of an old religious man who wears funny hats above the words of wise scientists. And then... I got angry.
It's poignant that the Pope spoke these terrible words on a trip to Africa. There are still people on that enchanted continent who think that when you dance you cause rain to fall from the heavens or babies to pop out from wombs. These people are not only not reading the latest scientific news on the Internet, they haven't even heard of the germ theory of disease. They're what one might call... susceptible to friendly white missionaries carrying books that teach of new gods. And some of these missionaries speak of an exalted man in white robes and red Prada shoes in a magical place called "The Vatican." And this man is never wrong. Oh, and did we mention, this man just said to ditch condoms. All hail Pope Benedict, spreader of AIDS!
Interestingly enough, CNN reports today about a number of Catholic churches closing in the Cleveland area. People are moving out of the area; fewer churches are needed. And this is, no doubt, part of the reason for such closures. But Catholics aren't just migrating geographically, they're migrating out of Catholicism. The article states that according to The Official Catholic Directory 2008, there were a whopping 400,000 fewer Catholics in 2008 than in 2007. And the Pew Forum found that approximately a third of its survey respondents who were raised in the Roman Catholic Church no longer attend services.
Not just Catholicism, but almost all religions in the U.S. are declining surprisingly fast. A recent survey found that 15% of people (up from 8% in 1990) now claim no religion at all. So it's not entirely fair to single out the Pope's idiotic statements and link his words to the stampeding parishioners running away from Mass. But... do you think there might be some correlation?
There are plenty of bright Catholics. (I even call a few of them "friends.") And they have to be rolling their eyes when their fearless leader stubbornly toes the party line in such a way that anyone listening to (and believing) his misguided words will undoubtedly put themselves at much higher risk of contracting an incurable disease. And if they're slightly more pissed, they may do more than roll their eyes. For example, they may stride out of next Sunday's service, bid adieu to Father Whats-his-name, and never return to a house whose leader just told poor Africans to throw away their condoms in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Unless you're homeschooled in the U.S., I don't really feel bad for you if you elevate the words of a religious man above the sound advice of science. You get what you deserve. But not all of us are fortunate enough to learn even 17th Century science in our classrooms. Those people deserve better medical advice than an ignorant man in funny hats is currently providing. And if there is a God up there, I have no doubt He'd expect that man in funny hats to provide advice with an eye toward decreasing human suffering.
Recall: It was Pope Benedict (before he took over for Pope John Paul) who wrote a letter to Catholic churches instructing them to keep those pesky child abuse reports a secret until the statute of limitations had run.
So for those keeping score at home:
- Child abuse -- OK!
- Condoms to prevent HIV -- Not OK!
Got any other bright ideas there, Pope?
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Bonus Catholic Fun: Bill Maher's thoughts on the Pope.
Condoms = Bad. Molesting kids = Good.
ReplyDeleteDon't you know they put the HIV virus in condoms? :) Great post!
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