Pope Faces Reality on Condoms

The Vatican finally decided to recognize the reality that condoms are effective in fighting the spread of AIDS. After fighting a rear-guard action against condom use, receiving massive criticism, and coming up with all sorts of reasons why condoms are actually bad, the Pope has changed his mind.

it is acceptable to use a prophylactic when the sole intention is to "reduce the risk of infection" from Aids.

While he will restate the Catholic Church's staunch objections to contraception because it believes it interferes with the creation of life, he will argue that using a condom to preserve life and avoid death can be a responsible act – even outside marriage.

This is a major change from the church's previous absolutist position opposing all condom use. As the article points out,

The move by Pope Benedict is particularly surprising because he caused controversy last year by suggesting condom use could actually worsen the problem of Aids in Africa.

I've had little but criticism for this pope, but he should be commended for having the courage to realize that his previous position needed to be changed.

The Intellectual Dishonesty of Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict is at it again, attacking "atheist extremism" and "aggressive secularism" on his visit to Britain.

The leader of the Roman Catholic church concluded a speech, made before the Queen and assembled dignitaries at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, with the argument that the Nazi desire to eradicate God had led to the Holocaust and a plea for 21st-century Britain to respect its Christian foundations. ...Benedict was more explicit in his condemnation of militant atheism, noting that Britain had fought the atheistic evil embodied by Adolf Hitler.

"Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live," he said.

Promoting atheism was not one of the missions of Nazism, and there is no good evidence that Hitler himself was an atheist. The one major political organization directly associated with atheism, the communist party, was a mortal enemy of Adolf Hitler & the Nazi party. Its German members were exterminated or thrown into concentration camps once Hitler gained total control of the state. Anti-Semitism, and the denial of our "common humanity" did not begin with the Nazis. Hitler was able to act on his own radical hatred of the Jews because of the long historical foundation of European anti-Semitism, which had strong roots in certain Christian attitudes and teachings, including those of the Catholic Church.

Pope Benedict is a highly-educated man. It is impossible to believe that he isn't aware of the basic history of the Nazi era in Germany, or the roots and practice of European anti-Semitism and its linkage to Christianity. His attempts to tie atheism to Nazism & anti-Semitism are pure intellectual dishonesty of the worst kind. He is smearing an entire category of people as somehow responsible for atrocities that they had nothing to do with. Portraying atheism as a motivating force for the Holocaust is an outright lie -- and the Pope must know that what he is saying is untrue. He apparently thinks enough people are stupid enough to swallow his ridiculous anti-atheist propaganda.

It should also go without saying that it takes amazing nerve to make false linkages between atheism and Nazism when you yourself were a member of the Hitler Youth. I can't remember a pope in my lifetime that has presented such an ugly face of Catholicism to the world. I wonder how many Catholics will be secretly relieved when this guy is gone and a new pope is in place.

UK Atheist Calls for a Debate with the Pope

Geoffrey Berg, author of "The Six Ways Of Atheism," has challenged the Pope to debate the existence of God during his visit to Britain.

It is very appropriate for the Pope (who is also a noted theologian) to argue the question of whether God exists at all upon a visit to the United Kingdom as the United Kingdom has historically generally led the way in rejecting religious belief in terms of the leading freethinkers who have lived here.

Berg argues that since the Pope often attacks atheism/secularism, he should welcome such a debate.

Rather than just complain about the growing secularism in the world, as he and his predecessor have tended to do, isn't it time he debated the core case that God simply does not exist which actually leads to secularism?

Although the chances of the Pope accepting such a debate are slim and none, it would definitely be interesting to see him take on a prominent atheist in a formal debate. Unlike the ridiculous calls to arrest the Pope when he visits Britain, Berg's challenge makes sense. The Pope is a theologian, he wants to persuade people to accept Christianity, and such a debate would probably be a high profile event where he could put forth his best arguments in favor of the existence of the Christian version of God. He should accept the challenge. But I'd be willing to bet he'd rather just continue demonizing atheists, instead of engaging in reasoned debate.

Pope Attacks Gay Marriage & Abortion

Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in Portugal, attacked gay marriage and abortion as “among the most insidious and dangerous challenges” to society. Even though I disagree, I give the Pope a pass on the abortion issue. If you really believe that even a fertilized egg qualifies as a human being with a right to life superior to the mother's rights, I can understand taking a hard line against abortion. And if you truly believe that abortion represents some sort of ongoing holocaust, it's certainly reasonable to see it as a major danger to society. But gay marriage is another thing entirely.

The idea that government legalization of marriage contracts between two adults, who happen to be of the same sex, is some sort of monstrous threat to society is ludicrous. There are a couple of responses to the Pope's words in the article. This one says it best.

"It is one thing to oppose gay marriage from religious convictions and another to make such a claim about it when you look at issues such as teenage pregnancy, sexual disease, drug abuse, world poverty and war. This is an appalling, unfounded and unjust claim. I do not really see on what basis he can say gay marriage is among the most dangerous challenges to society. It ignores real social evils the Church and others should be addressing with far greater urgency."

That pretty much nails it. No one expects the Pope to abandon his religious convictions and support gay marriage, or even approve of homosexuality. I see no reason why he should tolerate gay marriage for Catholics, since it violates Catholic doctrine. And unlike some, I think he has every right to speak out on the issue and try to influence the passage of laws. But those who disagree have the same right to point out that his attacks on gay marriage are a hysterical overreaction. Gay people are a small minority of the population, and those who wish to get married are likely a minority of a minority. They aren't going to destroy traditional marriage, and they aren't some sort of dire threat to civilization.

I'm Not the Only Atheist Who Thinks the Campaign to Arrest the Pope is Idiotic

A few days ago I wrote about Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins efforts to arrest the Pope. Unlike me, most atheists I've read are at least sympathetic to the idea. So it was nice to see an article by self-described "atheist libertarian," Brendan O'Neill, called "The Pope-hunters' Pathological Campaign." I'm not sure I agree with his psychoanalysis of their motivations, but he's right about their obsession with the Pope. He clearly understands that this campaign makes atheists look bad, and leads people to dismiss them as anti-religious bigots. I was going to quote some sections, but I'm currently at work, and for some reason am unable to cut & paste on blogger. Read the article and see what you think of his thesis. It's a pretty sweeping indictment of the whole "new atheist" movement, which I don't think is warranted. But if applied only to Hitchens and Dawkins themselves, and those who ardently support the pope-hunting campaign, it may have more merit.

Arrest the Pope?

Now I'm no fan of the Catholic Church, or of the current Pope, but this is just ridiculous.

RICHARD DAWKINS, the atheist campaigner, is planning a legal ambush to have the Pope arrested during his state visit to Britain “for crimes against humanity”.

Unfortunately, even the usually more sensible Christopher Hitchens has associated himself with this idiocy.

Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. 

The pair believe they can exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998.

The supposed basis for this nonsense is that back in 1985, the Pope (then a cardinal) delayed the removal of a molestor priest. Was Cardinal Ratzinger a typical bureaucrat more interested in protecting his institution than the people it was supposed to serve? Yes. Is he some sort of heinous criminal who needs to be arrested on sight for "crimes against humanity"? Of course not. And the so-called "legal principle" used to arrest Pinochet was and is nothing more than a politically-based bill of attainder, whereby a single, unpopular individual is marked for arrest, while all sorts of others who have committed real or arguable crimes of equal or greater magnitude are left unmolested. As the article notes, the most recent use of this "principle" was employed by terrorist supporters in an attempt to arrest the former Israeli prime minister. 

The idea that a few people in a country can declare that specific individuals have committed "crimes against humanity," find a ideologically friendly judge to give force to their opinion, and put out an arrest warrant is extremely dangerous. If employed against a U.S. citizen it should be seen as a hostile act toward the United States. Dawkins and Hitchens are publicity-seeking fools who have unfortunately associated atheism with their idiotic campaign against the Pope. All it does it make atheists look like crazed anti-Catholic zealots, and gives credence to defenders of the Catholic church who already think their church and leader are being unfairly singled out for persecution.

Criticism of the Catholic Church Equals Anti-Semitism?

That's the latest line from the Vatican in its attempt to portray the church as some sort of victim.

Attacks on Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church over a sexual abuse scandal are comparable to the most shameful anti-Semitism, said a letter read by a preacher at a Vatican Good Friday service attended by the pontiff.

Last I checked, there isn't a worldwide Jewish church with decades of sexual abuse scandals involving rabbis in multiple countries. And the non-existent worldwide Jewish church didn't respond to those abuses by ignoring or concealing crimes, and by transferring offending rabbis to new locations. I don't seem to remember the Jews running entire parochial school systems where abuse of children was endemic.

the Vatican has accused the media of an "ignoble" attempt to smear the pope at all costs.

That's right, blame the media. Apparently its "ignoble" to ask legitimate questions and expect some responsibility from the head of a huge organization caught up in major scandals of its own making. Regardless of what the Catholic Church seems to think, the pope isn't and shouldn't be immune from criticism, including questions about his personal actions or lack thereof.

If I were a Catholic, I would be embarrassed and appalled by the church. Not only does it bear responsibility for permitting years of abuse to go unchecked, but rather than taking ownership of its problems, and focusing on cleaning up its mess, the church hierarchy prefers to attack its critics with ridiculous analogies to anti-Semitism. And it takes quite a bit of gall to bring up anti-Semitism, when your organization was one of its leading promoters for centuries.

Pope Not a Big Fan of Equality

The Pope is planning a visit to Britain and published a message to Catholic bishops in the UK. In it he made some interesting statements. He's not happy about equal rights for gay people, because that violates what he sees as the Church's right to discriminate against them.

Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.

Here we see one of the biggest problems of natural law arguments. Because natural law doesn't actually exist as anything other than a philosophical concept, it can mean whatever the person citing it wants it to mean. The Christian demonization of homosexuality as a sin, and their desire to discriminate against gay people isn't based on ancient texts and bigotry, it's rooted in natural law. Treating homosexuals equally is the wrong thing to do, because it's a violation of natural law -- a natural law that gives Christians the right to discriminate purely on the basis of their religious beliefs. This is prime example of religious "reasoning." And there's more.

Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others – on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth.

According to the Pope, discriminating against people based on the words of ancient religious texts somehow doesn't restrict their freedom. The freedom of Christians to inflict their superstitions on everyone else is the only freedom that actually matters. And if you dispute that, it's because you don't understand the TRUTH. 

Crazy Prisoner Release

Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II back in 1981, was released from a Turkish prison today. He also killed a man back in 1979 and is a still a raving lunatic. He had this to say upon his release,

"I proclaim the end of the world. All the world will be destroyed in this century. Every human being will die in this century." ... "I am not God and I am not the son of God. I am the Christ Eternal,"

A murderer, attempted assassin and complete nutcase -- just the kind of person who should be roaming free. I guess the Turks are trying to compete with the UK in the legal stupidity olympics.

The Pope: Bad Ideas from Both Sides

The Vatican just released a document containing papal commentary on the world economy. Unlike what you might expect from someone who is usually seen as a hardline conservative, the Pope's positions are nothing more than simplistic, utopian, leftist tripe.

Benedict sketches out a new vision of a world economy radically different from the current model and one where access to food and water is a universal right, wealthy nations share their wealth with poorer ones, and where profit is not the ultimate goal of commerce. He advocated the creation of a "world political authority" to manage the global economy.

The rest of his comments that are quoted in the article are equally laughable nonsense.

For me Pope Benedict XVI combines the worst of right & left. He's an extremist social conservative on issues such as abortion, contraception & gay marriage, while at the same time being an economic illiterate who embraces vague utopian socialist ideals.

Papal Nonsense About Condoms

Not content with the public relations disaster caused by the recent controversy in Brazil, the Catholic Church, in the person of the Pope, has decided to try to cause some actual damage. The Pope is heading to Africa, and on his way he spoke out on the AIDS issue. He attacked the distribution of condoms, claiming that "it increases the problem." That's right, the Pope thinks condoms make the AIDS situation in Africa worse.

Untold amounts of money and the efforts of numerous aid and health workers have gone into promoting condom use in Africa, because we know for a fact that it helps reduce the spread of AIDS. But the leader of one of the world's largest religions doesn't believe it. Not only doesn't he believe it, but he has no problem speaking out and trying to undermine health efforts in Africa. He's not just reaffirming the Catholic belief in abstinence, he's deliberately lying about the impact of condom use, and endangering the health of any Catholics who listen to him.