realitycheck(dot)ie

Irish doctor with too many thoughts, too little time and a blog that's supposed to check in on reality.

Monday, June 13, 2005

Was JP2 the Greatest Mass Murderer of the 20th Century?

An excellent article from Tech Central Station by Michael Cook.
Needless to say, the answer is no despite the crazy assertions to the contrary - Cook goes through these flimsy arguments about the Catholic Church's role in the spreading of AIDS with a big stick and loads of facts. And a little bit of common sense as expressed here -
"Two doubtful ideas run through all these criticisms. The first is basically this: African Catholics are so devout that if they have sex outside of marriage, dally with prostitutes or take a third wife, they will piously refrain from using condoms because the Great White Father told them not to. Ms. Toynbee darkly invokes 'the Vatican's deeper power... its personal authority over 1.3 billion worshippers, which is strongest over the poorest, most helpless devotees.'
But she can't have it both ways: these benighted dark-skinned Catholics can't be both too goody-two-shoes to use condoms and too wicked to resist temptation. "


P.S. If Elton John actually wanted to help those with AIDS in Africa he would try to get the Church onside, not ridicule the Pope at the Live 8 press conference, simply because us Catholics don't believe in condoms....Catholicism does not spread AIDS. I like Sacrifice as much as the next person and Tiny Dancer is pretty brilliant song, but Elton John at a press conference telling the Pope is quite simply
"getting more and more absurd" as he sings himself in "Sorry is the hardest word."

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have to agree with your assertion to a great extent, Auds. On anecdotal evidence, I've been told by French, Spanish and Dutch women that African men are _extremely_ reluctant to use contraception.

Yes, there's a reinforcement of this by the RCC's ban, but this appalling practice would have been dominant regardless of the Church's position.

June 17, 2005 1:40 a.m.  
Blogger Anon said...

An their "extreme reluctance" is a factor because women are not in a position in society to dictate policy in the bedroom. A little equality would go a long way. Women are at greater risk of contracting STDs from sexual intercourse than men.

May 16, 2006 12:27 a.m.  

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