And the Goose replies ...
Nothing personal, man. I think all religion is inherently destructive. The whole idea of forcing highly intelligent monkeys to believe non-provable facts (called faith) is flawed.
But, in regards to the Pope ....
I applaud him for the good things he has said and done, and I think Pope Benedict XVI is an outstanding human with a good heart.
BUT ....
The Vatican's staunch position against artificial birth control has done massive damage to the Planet and has brought incredible suffering to humans around the world. In fact, a case could be made that the Holy Fathers that head the Roman Catholic Church are perhaps the greatest criminals who have ever lived, and who have harmed humanity far worse than Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Pol Pot combined. Of course, it wouldn't be nice to say that, so I won't say it.
While the Roman Catholic Church and the many other Christian denominations around the world are feeding the hungry, sheltering orphans, and doing other good deeds, the ban on contraception is encouraging massive and unsustainable population growth throughout the developing world. Mothers suffer from exhaustion, diseases spread, and villages explode in size to the point where resources are stretched thin. While good deeds may help some immediate suffering, the next generation only grows larger and more desperate.
From The Catholic Faith website:
HOGWASH, the Goose says ...Contraception is wrong because it’s a deliberate violation of the design God built into the human race, often referred to as "natural law." The natural law purpose of sex is procreation. The pleasure that sexual intercourse provides is an additional blessing from God, intended to offer the possibility of new life while strengthening the bond of intimacy, respect, and love between husband and wife. The loving environment this bond creates is the perfect setting for nurturing children.
But sexual pleasure within marriage becomes unnatural, and even harmful to the spouses, when it is used in a way that deliberately excludes the basic purpose of sex, which is procreation. God’s gift of the sex act, along with its pleasure and intimacy, must not be abused by deliberately frustrating its natural end—procreation.
First, there is no law that says humans must procreate until extinction. Part of understanding nature is recognizing its limits. Every habitat has a carrying capacity, and Earth is a giant habitat for people. What the Catholic Church is saying is that we must follow "nature." Try this simple test — allow a handful of rats to multiply in a cage and see what happens. Keep the rat's food and water at the same level, and then see what happens. It's nature, man, so don't be afraid to look after a few months.
Secondly, we are supposed to be really smart monkeys, so we should be able to recognize the inevitable consequences of overbreeding without diseases and predators to maintain balance. What will happen is that humans will breed to the extent of our food supply, and then there will come an unpleasant adjustment. Maybe we can prevent this disaster by using our brains and making contraceptives easily accessible. We can voluntarily avert disaster.
Thirdly, nature ALSO includes millions of other animal species that we share the Planet with. Shouldn't we honor and respect our fellow creatures, or should we push them all to extinction by adding endless billions of people?
Fourth, the Roman Catholic Church is courting a global disaster. Doesn't anyone in the Vatican know that rapid population growth causes environmental damage and social disruption? How about wars over resources? How about malnutrition? How about a woman having the right to just have a rest from child bearing if she wants one? We are adding 80+ million people to the Planet each year. No ecosystem or species can handle such massive and rapid change without major impacts and consequences. What the hell are you thinking, your Holiness?
Fifth, let's not play games or look the other way. Climate change, war, terrorism, water and food shortages, fished out oceans, and destoyed habitats are just SOME of the side effects of rapid population growth. Every person with a moral conscious has an obligation to pressure the Vatican for a change in this policy.
There is an excellent organization that is working to bring positive reform to the irrational and archiac thinking of the Roman Catholic leadership. It's called Catholics for Choice. I used to always display their literature at tabling events, and in fact, I still have a supply of brochures. Whether or not you are Catholic, I encourage you to support this excellent organization.
ACTION ITEM: Ask Pope Benedict XVI to Lift the Ridiculus Ban on Condoms and please support the Condoms4Life campaign!!!
Supporting Source: International Debate Education Association (IDEA) - Catholic Chruch's Contraception Policy
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