Puppy Punting Pope Ponders Prophylactics
I'd be happy to stop giving religious people a hard time if their bizarre belief stopped killing people.
The Pope is gearing up to announce his momentous decision on whether or not -let me check my notes here –married couples where one partner has AIDS should be allowed to use condoms. My more cynical side is disgusted that nearly five decades after the sexual revolution the Church is just now dangling its pinky toe in the water.
My more pragmatic side recognizes that it took them 350 years to figure out the heliocentric solar system. I assume it took them so much longer to figure that one out because they didn't have access to high speed internet for most of that time. Seriously the Pope is old, but he's wired.
I'm writing this entry now, before a decision is rendered, because I want one thing to be perfectly clear: I don't give a rat's ass what the Pope thinks about condoms. The idea that he is some kind of expert on the science of condoms is laughable. In this digital age I can get to the CDC's website just as easily as I can get to the Pope's. The CDC is a consortium of doctors and scientists – the Pope is an old man steeped in Christian mysticism and ritual. Only in a world of madness and despair would we ever turn to the Pope for guidance on questions of science and practicality.
No, the great irony in this debate is that people waiting with bated breath for the Pope's response are hoping that the Church might finally be calling for a ceasefire in its war against the war against AIDS.
The Church, with an already impressive track record of picking losing horse in important social battles – slavery, universal suffrage, the holocaust, multiculturalism, ect… - does everything in its power to undermine the fight against AIDS in Africa; using the pulpit to decry the evils of condoms. They’re not just kicking puppies, they’re kicking Lassie as she tries desperately to drag Timmy from the well.
How the Church manages to maintain its moral credibility is a mystery to me. And by mystery I mean “I actually know exactly why but this post is getting long as it is.” My point is that the Pope heads up the slowest moving, least relevant philosophical body in the world. In an age where information and communication moves at the speed of light the world is still taking its cues from a group of men hopelessly dated and entirely irrelevant.
The very design of the Church is problematic – the Bishops recommend new members to the Pope. He appoints the Bishops and promotes some to Cardinal, the group that elects the pope. No other system is as perfectly designed to ensure leaders be selected from an entrenched status quo witht eh possible exception of America's "two party system."
As long as the world looks to these men for leadership, it will never be fully committed to the battle against AIDS.
If tomorrow the Pope decides married couples where one partner has AIDS can use condoms, bear this in mind: His opinion is a dime store novelty; given profile, not for its weight, but because it signals a shift in thousands of years of dogma.
The real war against AIDS is being fought by humanists and scientists.
If you want to help, you can start here.
The Pope is gearing up to announce his momentous decision on whether or not -let me check my notes here –married couples where one partner has AIDS should be allowed to use condoms. My more cynical side is disgusted that nearly five decades after the sexual revolution the Church is just now dangling its pinky toe in the water.
My more pragmatic side recognizes that it took them 350 years to figure out the heliocentric solar system. I assume it took them so much longer to figure that one out because they didn't have access to high speed internet for most of that time. Seriously the Pope is old, but he's wired.
I'm writing this entry now, before a decision is rendered, because I want one thing to be perfectly clear: I don't give a rat's ass what the Pope thinks about condoms. The idea that he is some kind of expert on the science of condoms is laughable. In this digital age I can get to the CDC's website just as easily as I can get to the Pope's. The CDC is a consortium of doctors and scientists – the Pope is an old man steeped in Christian mysticism and ritual. Only in a world of madness and despair would we ever turn to the Pope for guidance on questions of science and practicality.
No, the great irony in this debate is that people waiting with bated breath for the Pope's response are hoping that the Church might finally be calling for a ceasefire in its war against the war against AIDS.
The Church, with an already impressive track record of picking losing horse in important social battles – slavery, universal suffrage, the holocaust, multiculturalism, ect… - does everything in its power to undermine the fight against AIDS in Africa; using the pulpit to decry the evils of condoms. They’re not just kicking puppies, they’re kicking Lassie as she tries desperately to drag Timmy from the well.
How the Church manages to maintain its moral credibility is a mystery to me. And by mystery I mean “I actually know exactly why but this post is getting long as it is.” My point is that the Pope heads up the slowest moving, least relevant philosophical body in the world. In an age where information and communication moves at the speed of light the world is still taking its cues from a group of men hopelessly dated and entirely irrelevant.
The very design of the Church is problematic – the Bishops recommend new members to the Pope. He appoints the Bishops and promotes some to Cardinal, the group that elects the pope. No other system is as perfectly designed to ensure leaders be selected from an entrenched status quo witht eh possible exception of America's "two party system."
As long as the world looks to these men for leadership, it will never be fully committed to the battle against AIDS.
If tomorrow the Pope decides married couples where one partner has AIDS can use condoms, bear this in mind: His opinion is a dime store novelty; given profile, not for its weight, but because it signals a shift in thousands of years of dogma.
The real war against AIDS is being fought by humanists and scientists.
If you want to help, you can start here.
Benji @ 3:03 AM
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