IDS, Condoms, and the Last Straw of the Catholic Church
I was raised Catholic. I know what the Catholic Church means to
so many, and I know how much good it can do, but I can take the
current Church no longer. It’s time for a new attitude, a new
policy and a new Pope in the Vatican.
Pope John Paul II has become kind of like George W. Bush; they
are both completely incapable of making decisions themselves (the
Pope because of age, Bush because he’s dumb); they are both the
puppets of the unidentified people working entirely behind the
scenes; and they are both pushing agendas far more conservative
than advertised.
Recently, the film “The Magdalene Sisters” was condemned by the
Vatican because it negatively portrayed the order, despite the fact
that the Magdalene Sisters themselves acknowledged the truth of the
film and apologized for the crimes of their past. But the Vatican
wouldn’t hear it; the condemnation remained. The movie portrayed
something Catholic negatively, and therefore it should be swept
under the rug.
This is a sign of how far the Church is going to blind its
members from itself, to maintain the absurd facade of
infallibility. This is the same mentality that refuses to apologize
for some of the heinous crimes of its past, even 400 years later.
This is the same mentality that allowed so many abusive priests to
remain in their positions, even after multiple accusations; the
Church leaders stick their fingers in their ears, and scream at the
top of their lungs “We can’t be wrong!” and pretend to hear nothing
else. And they’re telling Catholics around the world to do the
same: if a movie is negative, don’t see it; if a book is critical,
don’t read it. This is scary stuff. This is thought control. This
is a religious organization announcing that it doesn’t want its
members to be thinking critically about their leaders and what they
are doing. A religion should arm its members to face the world, not
try to keep them from it.
Recently, as has been widely published, the Vatican has
instructed Catholics around the world to withhold support of
political candidates who promote gay rights. This, again, shows how
reactionary the Church has become; when the beginnings of positive
social change emerge, because a one-time reference in the Old
Testament goes against it, the Church instructs its members to try
to halt it. This is another sad regression toward the steadfast,
unblinking conservatism of the Church’s dark past.
And now, the Vatican has finally crossed the line. Now the
Catholic Church has lost my respect, my patronage and my soul. I
will go elsewhere for my spiritual needs. The Catholic Church has
proclaimed that condoms do not prevent the spread of AIDS, and that
they should not be used. This is disgusting. These people, so
determined to impose their medieval notions of morality on the
world, are placing millions at risk. “AIDS…has grown so fast
because of the availability of condoms,” says Archbishop Raphael
Ndingi Nzeki.
Now, this has little effect on me personally; I know how idiotic
this idea is. But there are millions around the world who blindly
follow the teachings of the Catholic Church, who subscribe to its
infallibility. And the Church is now taking the very lives of its
members and wielding them, without regard, like a battleaxe against
the social change and sexual liberation of the last half a century.
It’s blaming a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of some
20 million and infected 40 million more, on the one thing that
might stop it. If the Church wants to instruct its members not to
have sex, fine. But because the church is so bent on preventing
sex, and because it believes condoms encourage it, it has now
turned to the most appalling of tactics. It is now instructing its
members not to use condoms through fear: sex with a condom will
give you AIDS. The Church is blaming condoms for the spread of
AIDS.
Think about that.
I am not arguing against the Catholic faith. I have a lot of
respect for it, and I have a lot of positive memories of it. I am
arguing against the current Catholic Church. I am calling on
Catholics who think this is wrong to stand up and make themselves
heard. Because as long as you’re silent, you are giving tacit
approval to recent actions of the Church. It is time for
progressive, forward-thinking Catholics who are not so attached to
the semantics of a book as to disregard the human needs of the
present to change the Church. A religion can only lead its members
as far as they allow themselves to be led. Take a long look at the
leaders in the Vatican, what they’re saying, what they’re doing and
the direction they’re going. The masses are always stronger than
the leader, and they need to recognize it and take the direction of
their religion into their own hands.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.