Slashdot Mirror

I would suggest these are the most directly attributable contributions of the (catholic) church to mass death and misery in contemporary times.

The position on the use of barrier contraception to prevent spread of AIDS:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/17/pope-africa-condoms-aids

The position on the vaccination of children against diseases which have caused massive birth defects and deaths prior to vaccines being discovered, have been practically eliminated since introduction of vaccines and which of course could potentially re-emerge in populations which are not vaccinated:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0504240.htm

In both cases, the conflict is caused because the obvious benefits to life and health brought by scientific progress are being held back due to the acceptance of the population of moral guidance from an organisation who draws it's position in the matter from the bronze age.

Micky wrote:
>...hell is filled with unbabtised babies.

Typo there, you meant _Limbo_. However, that view has been changed recently:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0702216.htm

More nerdy discussion of the concept here:

https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rec.arts.sf.written/wPjAlej6vDU/discussion

Except, of course, Intelligent Design is officially denied by the Vatican in favor of something called "Theistic Evolution" which basically is evolution combined with the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Physics, with God as the Observer/Creator (because God's observing the universe, he's affecting the universe).

Oh, so now I've got to buy the White Album *again*?

Yes, but if there is one album worth buying again and again, that would be the White Album.

40 years later, it awakened the Holy See, which was never really a fan of the Beatles or John Lennon particularly (read the history yourself), to the Beatles' genius.

For a different (yes, Catholic) article covering the same event: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1001749.htm

many people believe "Human Life" doesn't begin until after the state that embryo's are harvested.

yes, but this new discovery neatly side- steps that problem.

and for those above who say that McCain will find some way to construe it as unethical, the pope has said that adult stem cell research is fine. Pope endorses adult stem-cell research (catholicnews.com) If the pope is good with it, i don't see any elected official having a problem with it.

"The possibilities opened up by this new chapter in research are in themselves fascinating" because adult stem-cell studies have pointed to actual and potential cures of degenerative diseases that would otherwise lead to disabilities or death, the pope said at an audience for participants attending a Vatican-sponsored congress on stem-cell therapy.

The pope just shit a brick

Why? Didn't you know that the pope endorses stem cell research?

Relativism doesn't cut it here. John Paul II and Benedict have been very concilliatory to Jews. Compare that to Islam! Islam's relationship with other faiths is absolutely abysmal.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/06003 90.htm

Apparently it was a book not just a few lines.

"You will find relatively few atheists or agnostics who do not believe in right and wrong..."

Likewise being religious doesn't exclude being scientific as well. Were you aware that the Catholic Church believes in the co-existence of creationism and evolution? Check out:

Church needs better evolution education, says bishops' official

A favorite quote from the article:

"Denying that humans evolved seems by this point a waste of time"

For more on this redistribution of massive amounts of money inhibiting religion, see the position of a Vatican official

[...] Archbishop Lajolo said limits on religious freedom exist almost everywhere.

For instance, he said, government and taxation policies may limit the rights of parents to choose a religious education for their children [...]