[FoRK] Frozen custard will destroy the planet

[Jeff Bone]

On Dec 13, 2007, at 7:31 AM, owen at permafrost.net wrote:

> I was raised as a Catholic, and I remember the one thing I liked  
> about it was the senility of the leader. Stupid and ineffective are  
> really good qualities in a leader, especially one appointed for  
> life, since it blocks the effective and truly evil.
> Owen

Ineffective, huh?

I would say that even one case of AIDS in Africa caused because a  
True Believer was told condoms were sinful --- is too much.  I would  
say that even one day of delay in the arrival of stem cell-based  
therapies caused even partially by Catholic-inspired FUD --- is too  
much.  I would say that even one child's head polluted with  
"creationist" junk science, in part due to the position of the  
Catholic church, is too much.

And the instances of Catholic dogma-inspired "evil" far exceed just  
those, of course.

With over a billion Catholics worldwide and around 80 million in the  
US alone, this is a large group.  And, perhaps now more than ever,  
Catholics comprise a cornerstone of "the religious right" in this  
country--- it's not all weird Southern evangelical protestants.   
(Consider:  of the top right-wing radio and TV personalities, MOST of  
them are Catholic.)

Given the dogmatic assumption of papal infallibility and direct,  
divine inspiration, that makes the Pope's personal opinions very  
influential.  Stupid, almost certainly;  but ineffective is a serious  
stretch.

jb