Catholic Church of Hypocrisy
by David Waldock
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The catholic church is actively encouraging people to participate in
actions which lead to them contracting HIV and die. That was the message
delivered by the catholic church, as exposed by BBC's Panorama tonight.
In an excellent piece of reporting following up on last years
revelations that
"condoms have holes in which allow HIV to pass thru and
infect people", not only did the BBC debunk this myth, they showed the
true level of hypocrisy and ignorance in one of the worlds biggest
religious institutions.
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When it comes to people dying from HIV, the church doesn't care. When
asked "Is is possible you are making a mistake?", the bishop said "yes".
The reporter asked the bishop:
"Are you saying it would be better to die than to use a condom?"
"Yes"
"Isn't that doctrine a little harsh?"
"Christ's teachings were never easy."
As an organisation, the catholic church speak the words of love for your
neighbour, but the perform the actions of hatred, death and damnation.
Christ said, "for the tree is known by his fruit" (Matthew 12:33) - like
the fundamentalist pharisees of whom Jesus was speaking, the catholic
church is filled with hypocrites who say one thing and do another.
The fruit of this tree is maggot-ridden, moudly and poisonous. I cannot
put into words how such a position reviles me. It goes against every
fibre of my being: to continue to teach something which will, without
doubt, kill people who need not die is murder as surely as it is murder
to plunge a knife into someone's heart.
Many Baptist and Anglican Christians, many of whom are close, dear
friends, say, "but that's the Catholic Church, we're different. Don't
tar us with the same brush." I know these friends believe that the
position espoused by the catholic bishops is extreme and wouldn't go so
far as to say that death is better than using a condom, but they cannot
in outright condemn the position either.
They support the position that sex outside of marriage (and marriage is
a holy institution between a man and a woman, lest you forget it) is
sinful. They would agree with the bishops position that there must be
something wrong with someone who cannot say no to sex. Many of them
agree that abstinence is the way forward.
It's a position of denial. The deny that people might have sex. They
deny that poverty and social circumstances increases the amount of
"promiscuity". They deny the very existence of gays. People who believe
this ignore reality. Ignorance is not a lack of knowledge; it's having
the knowledge and choosing to ignore it in favour of a more acceptable
position. And boy are these people choosing to be ignorant.
The concept of "natural law" is another example of deliberate ignorance.
"Dog's don't use condoms" said another ignorant catholic bishop. He's
quite right of course, dog's tend not to use contraception. Equally,
dog's tend not to be around to look after the puppies later on. A dog's
commitment at the stage of the fuck isn't to 20 years of upbringing and
the social economic strains that places on an individual. The dog isn't
even too concerned about prevent HIV, gonnorhoea, herpes or any of the
other free gifts you can get when you go skinny dipping.
"Natural law" is an entirely artificial construct. It's a promotion of
all that is perceived to support the doctrine in question, and
deliberately ignoring anything which might hinder "the truth".
Remarkably like the concept of "family values". Equally arbitrary,
equally vague and equally ridiculous.
We live in a society which accepts ignorance-by-choice and promotion of
murder in the name of religious freedom. I don't personally see how we
match our values of human rights with these murderous hypocrites.
Perhaps it's time we re-evaluated what is more important to us: freedom
to hate or freedom to live.
You can find out more about the Panorama show at the BBC's website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/3844945.stm
- – David Waldock
See also:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3843797.stm
EU criticises Vatican's condom 'bigotry'
by Mukul Devichand
BBC Panorama reporter
* The European Union has condemned Catholic Church "bigotry" over the
use of condoms to fight HIV. *
European Commissioner Poul Nielsen made his comments on the BBC's
Panorama programme, to be broadcast on Sunday.
Mr Nielsen said: "They are hurting and bringing into great danger the
lives of millions out there."
His comments were in response to a Vatican paper that claimed the HIV
virus - which leads to Aids - can pass through latex condoms and cause
infection.
The paper, published by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of
the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family, backs up its claims
with scientific references.
The Panorama team spent six months researching whether there was any
truth behind Cardinal Trujillo's claims about condoms and HIV.
Cardinal Trujillo, who is known in the Vatican for his hard-line stance
on contraception, told Panorama last year: "The Aids virus is roughly
450 times smaller than the sperm."
He said: "Scientists realise that there is a degree of uncertainty - it
might be 15%, 18%, or 20%."
In his paper, Cardinal Trujillo argued that there could be "millions of
leaking condoms".
He said there was no such thing as safe sex, adding that sex with
condoms was like playing "Russian roulette" with Aids.
Cardinal Trujillo also argued that promoting family values would be more
effective against HIV than condoms - giving Uganda as an example of a
country where abstinence and monogamy had reduced HIV prevalence.
Despite intense opposition from pro-life groups, the Vatican has refused
to change its opposition to all forms of contraception.
The use of condoms to prevent HIV infection is also prohibited - despite
considerable opposition from within the Church itself.
* 'Lack of love' *
Mr Nielsen, EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, said:
"This is where bigotry gets into the big discussion."
He condemned the Vatican's "lack of love for human beings" and
"unwillingness to take their situation seriously".
Mr Nielsen said it forced people into "a terrible choice of abstinence
or lose the blessing of the Church".
The Vatican refused to be interviewed for the programme.
But Bishop Rafael Llano Cifuentes, Auxiliary Bishop of Rio de Janeiro,
told the programme "people are being deceived" by the message that
condoms can prevent HIV infection.
He said: "The Church is a mother. What mother would allow her son to go
on a plane if she knew there was a 15% chance it would crash?"
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