Who Says Religion Doesn't Kill?
Is The Catholic Church guilty of murder -- with spreading their ideology the motive? Probably, if the claims of a program screened Sunday on BBC One are true. The Panorama program, called "Sex And The Holy City," accuses The Vatican of telling people in countries rife with AIDS that condoms don't protect against the virus. According to this BBC News report:
...One of the Vatican's most senior cardinals Alfonso Lopez Trujillo suggested HIV could even pass through condoms."The Aids virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the 'net' that is formed by the condom," he says.
The cardinal, who is president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family, suggests that governments should urge people not to use condoms.The Archbishop of Nairobi Raphael Ndingi Nzeki told Panaroma that condoms were helping to spread the virus.
"Aids...has grown so fast because of the availability of condoms," he said.
In Kenya, one in five people are HIV positive.
Gordon Wambi, director of an Aids testing programme in Lwak, near Lake Victoria, told the programme that he could not distribute condoms because of opposition from the Catholic Church.
"Some priests have even been saying that condoms are laced with HIV/Aids," he said.
According to Panaroma, the claims about condoms are repeated by Catholics as far apart as Asia and Latin America.
Just think of it as The New Crusade -- a crusade against science and reason, and for dying a horrible and unnecessary death. Of course, it's brought to us by the same people who gave us The Spanish Inquisition and a lot of other fine examples of tolerance, sweetness, and light.
(also spotted in Treacher-land)
The RC church has a long and sordid history of violence. For instance, the phrase, "Kill them all and let God sort them out," is attributed to Dominic Guzman. He's the founder of the Dominican order of priests. He and an armed troop of heretic hunters had come across a town that was supposed to contain a number of heretics. Guzman gave orders to kill everyone in town. When one of his subordinates told him that there were probably a lot of good Christians mixed up with the heretics what Guzman actually said was, "Kill them all and God will know his own." The Dominicans were also responsible for the three degrees of torture -- the thumbscrews, the bastinado and the burning of the flesh under the armpits. That's how we got the term "The Third Degree." And in more modern times, let's not forget that RC priests were involved in the some of the Rwanda massacres. They didn't do any actual killing. They just told the mob where to find people that were hiding. I know this sounds like piling on. But you know what? The church deserves to get piled on. As a former altar boy and recipient of a Jesuit education my sense is that the church is corrupt beyond rehabilitation.
Wally Fay at October 13, 2003 10:36 AM
Isanity. Whats scary is; someone is actually listening to these morons. as Offensive as I find the constant-creation-of-god when-current-science-has-no-answer, I find it ENRAGING when religion challenges good, effective science.
Action Vance at October 14, 2003 7:27 PM
I think it truly is a crime to take advantage of ignorance especially about life and death matters.
Why do mainstream churches repeatedly get away with immoral practices?? Is it the 'turn the other cheek' ethic? Or do people simply refuse to believe wrong of the establishment that teaches them their worldview, despite being faced with witnesses and facts? I would be ashamed to support an organization purely for the reason that it made me feel good, at the cost of others.
But thats ok, it mainly effects the poor and disadvantaged in third world countries...aren't they fodder for our standard of living anyway? They aren't complaining loud enough for 'us' to hear...yet.
rowena at October 19, 2003 4:11 PM
Guilty of murder? Absolutely. Throughout history the Roman Catholic Church has been guilty of murder. The Crusades? What about not denouncing the Holocaust? I find this report about condoms not preventing AIDS, and in fact spreading it, to be sickening. Science has proven that while they won't completely stop the AIDS epidemic, they are the only protection in slowing it down. What is sad is that many people will listen to and believe this propoganda.
Sarah at October 20, 2003 9:03 AM