Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Cold, Quiet, Fury towards the Pope

I apologize upfront for this to my friends and family that are Catholic.  I mean you should move on right away from this post.
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Okay then, it's my blog and I'll vent if I want to.  Yesterday the Pope went to Africa to wave and spread lies.
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He said (and I quote) "AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," the 81-year-old Pontiff told reporters on the flight from Rome"
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I totally agree with the fact that money or distribution of condoms alone cannot solve the problem.
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But to stand there and say distribution of condoms aggravates the problems is a lie that causes death.  And, although I won't cast any, he deserves all the name calling and hate in the world for that.
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When he has sat on the death bed watch, feeding his lover by attaching and removing a feeding tube, then maybe I will listen to him. .... I don't know, watching Mark die slowly - having to change diapers - having to wheel his IV tube around - having to watch thousand watt smile dim to nothing - maybe that just has made me a little bitter.
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It isn't just that I watched too many friends die that I find this offensive.  It isn't just that without condoms, I might have got the disease too, that I find this offensive.  It isn't the fact that I watch Mark melt from a wonderful happy young man that everyone loved into a pain wracked waif that tore out my heart - that isn't why I find this offensive.  I get that the Pope can't see into my heart - and wouldn't choose to even if he could
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No, I don't particularly care what he thinks about me or my friends, any more than he cares what I think about him (bar Steve and some other of my friends who are still catholic and cannot reconcile their love of the church and the hate that streams from it's Pope).  My story is my story and his world is his world.  I am cool with that.
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BUT What I find offensive, almost criminal, is that he chooses to lie (there are NO studies that show condom use aggravates or increases AIDS or HIV rates).  And, in this lie, he condemns people to a slow, wasting painful death.
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He condemns children to be orphans.  He condemns children to be raped (in Africa, many tribes believe that the way to 'cure AIDS' is to sleep with a virgin - so there is an endemic of child rape which is bad enough in itself, but usually infects the child with HIV). He condemns loved ones to watch their mothers and fathers slowly vomit and diarrhea themselves to death.  It is a terrible thing to see happen in a hospital in the west - I am sure it is worse in Africa.
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And he does this smiling, waving as the spokesperson of a loving God.
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There are no sufficient words of anger that I can express towards this heartless expression of callousness.