He said an understanding of the laws of nature could stimulate appreciation of God's work.
Right...a few centuries too late for Galileo, but just maybe the church could turn its attention to recognizing the myriad diversity of the human race - especially in matters related to - oh I don't know - gender and sexual identity perhaps? An even easier start would be to do something trivial - like accepting that making condoms available in Africa isn't an entirely bad thing; and having catholic hospitals teaching people how to use the things properly isn't bad either.
... but then again, I don't think I'll be holding my breath on this one either.
[Update 22/12/08]
So much for reality intruding on the Vatican.
[/Update]
2 comments:
MgS, the Catholic Church doesn’t control and never has controlled Africa. I think Catholics make up about 5% of the African population. As such the Pope is unlikely to have much influence on the sexual behavior of most Africans. We all know the Catholic Church teaches the only real solution to the AIDS problem is for men and women to remain chaste before marriage and faithful to their spouse after marriage. That you and other liberals disagree with the Church’s position on sex is well known, but you ought to stop trying to impose your “have sex with anyone but use a condom” mentality on those of us in the Church smart enough to see how destructive such an attitude can be. Any individual wanting to distribute condoms in Africa is free to do so. But you have no right to demand the Catholic Church and her agencies promote behavior that undercuts her own teachings about correct human sexual behavior.
Also, I suspect what you know of the Galileo incident is more myth than fact. If your “liberal” mind hasn’t totally close itself off to the opinion of others then the following link may be of benefit to you.
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0138.html
Jerry,
I'm referring to the fact that Catholic-funded hospitals in Africa are specifically prohibited from providing or educating people on the use of condoms - one of the few resources known to inhibit the transmission of HIV and other STI's.
It's not about 'having sex with anyone', as you so blithely put it. It's about being responsible and realistic. In my view, the Catholic Church's dogma on matters related to sexuality has long ago lost sight of both reality as well as the emerging body of understanding in such matters - to the point of rendering itself destructive rather than constructive.
Vis a vis Galileo: It was only within my own lifetime that the Church officially forgave Galileo for his supposed heresy. That doesn't exactly make me optimistic that reality of any sort is likely to reach the top levels of the Vatican hierarchy in anything smaller than geological time scales.
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