Photo of a self-centered twit.
Posted on 06/04/2004 10:44:37 AM PDT by B Knotts
VATICAN CITY (AP) - In his latest blunt assessment of U.S. society, Pope John Paul II on Friday denounced the acceptance of abortion and same-sex unions as ``self-centered demands'' erroneously depicted as human rights.
The pontiff said that ``in the face of such erroneous yet pervasive thinking,'' visiting U.S. bishops should stress to congregations ``their special responsibility for evangelizing culture and promoting Christian values in society and public life.''
``Rights are at times reduced to self-centered demands: the growth of prostitution and pornography in the name of adult choice, the acceptance of abortion in the name of women's rights, the approval of same sex unions in the name of homosexual rights,'' he said.
The Catholic Church forbids abortion and considers homosexual activity a sin.
Last week, John Paul warned another group of U.S. prelates that American society is in danger of surrendering to a ``soulless vision of life.''
Greeting the latest group of bishops on the same day he held a private audience with President Bush, John Paul acknowledged the challenges to Catholic Church teaching and faith.
``Ambiguous moral positions, the distortion of reason by particular interest groups ... are just some examples of a perspective of life which fails to seek truth itself and then abandons the search for the ultimate goal and meaning of human existence,'' John Paul said.
He urged church leaders to be courageous despite detractors. ``Some today view Christianity as weighed down by structures and failing to respond to people's spiritual needs,'' he said.
Every bishop must visit the Vatican every five years for periodic consultations. This year is the turn of bishops from the United States.
Viva il Papa!
But maybe he has and I missed it.
Photo of a self-centered twit.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Pope also denounce the war in Iraq?
Well, since he's commenting on the U.S., I don't think terrorism is exactly one of our flaws. :)
He has consistently condemned terrorism in more germane situations.
FYI PING
I would like to hear the Pope announce a "re-birth" of the Crusades again so we can go and cleanse the earth of Islam.
Also on Drudge right now is a link to an article about same-sex marriage in France, which would lead me to believe that ever-enlightened Europe is just as "soulless" as the United States. Has the pope denounced all the immorality that goes on in Europe as well? Highly doubtful.
I also think Islam is a threat to the future of humanity, but...how much moral authority do we have, when we are murdering our own children?
Homosexuality is all about "perversive" thinking!
He has repeatedly done so, and is pushing for formal recognition of the contributions of Chrisitianity to Europe in the EU constitution. France and Belgium are fighting against him on that, though.
thanks for the correction.
Well this is certainly going to take him off the Christmas card list of the Kennedy's, Flip Kerry's, and other assorted socialist/liberal/communist democrats who say they are Catholic!
God Bless the Pope John Paul.
BUMP!
God bless Pope John Paul II.
I think we derive moral authority from God, not from our own worth or unworth .... the "no moral authority" charge is often made, and in many situations, but I don't buy it.
I don't think he totally denounced it, I'd say that he tried to prevent it. But he did totally denounce the barbaric acts perpetrated against the U.S. on 9-11.
No offense... but how is this "breaking news?"
The Pope really nailed this issue. A clear, concise and perceptive statement of the truth.
Kudos to the Pope!
Well said and it places the whole agenda into a nut shell!
I was typing as you were posting! ; )
I was just trying to turn the usual "moral authority" argument around. I guess I wasn't as clever as I thought.
Well, Drudge had it as his BIG LETTER headline, and I heard it on the local radio news.
The Pope's vision is more than impressive!
It does give one a sense of a higher power IMO.
Isn't the birthrate in Italy the lowest in Europe?
Thank You John Paul
Is the US now following Europe's moral example? I thought we were the greatest Christian nation on earth...
Bump for truth
I truly believe that the Pope means the United States and our constitution are the last hope for this Satan laden world. He knows Europe is too far gone.
And this has what to do with pointing out the obvious regarding abortion and gay "marriage" in the U.S.?
There's a difference, though. Abortion and homosexual activity is contrary to Church doctrine, but war isn't. He's speaking in terms of the official doctrine of the Church on this.
My thoughts exactly.
That things are worse in his own backyard.
The entire flock is his backyard, and besides, how do you know he has not addressed the problems in Europe? It's not like we are flooded with euro centric news stories here(unless it can put the pope or the Church in a negative light).
Did he also denounce homosexual priests who "prey" on young boys?
Seriously, I welcome any words the pope can offer here. Most American bishops need to be bludgeoned with this stuff as often as possible, because their natural tendency is to ignore it.
For that matter, if he's gonna criticize any segment of American society, maybe he should start with the sexual predators he employs here...you know, the priests with an affinity for young boy-flesh?
JP, if you're still looking, check your filing system. I think you'll find it under "Homo priests who sodomize young boys, then we move them from parish to parish so they can find fresh meat."
Then, get back to us.
He has done so many times.
If he thought that, he wouldn't have granted an audience to Tariq Aziz, praised the man, then used the opportunity to trash the United States.
Sorry. The pope -- to the extent he can still grasp things -- is a hypocrite. His church served as the equivalent of a San Fran bathhouse for priests here, and he sat silent. And he trashes the U.S. for our decadence?
He has no credibility whatsoever.
So? My point is that until he and his churh confront, ex-communicate, and aid in the prosecution of Catholic priests who prey on little boys, he should shut his trap about America. His priests are part of the problem, and the Catholic heirarchy for years moved those guys from place to place.
And he never misses an opportunity to rip America. He's more critical of us than he ever was of Saddam.
OK...I get it...you're an anti-Catholic type.
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Throughout history, the major civilizations major religions condemned homosexuality.1 Until 1961 homosexual acts were illegal throughout America. Gays claim that the "prevailing attitude toward homosexuals in the U.S. and many other countries is revulsion and hostility....for acts and desires not harmful to anyone."3 The American Psychological Association and the American Public Health Association assured the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986 that "no significant data show that engaging in...oral and anal sex, results in mental or physical dysfunction."4 What Homosexuals DoThe major surveys on homosexual behavior are summarized below. Two things stand out 1) homosexuals behave similarly world-over, and 2) as Harvard Medical Professor, Dr. William Haseltine,33 noted in 1993, the "changes in sexual behavior that have been reported to have occurred in some groups have proved, for the most part, to be transient. For example, bath houses and sex clubs in many cities have either reopened or were never closed." Homosexual Activities (in %)US16 US13 US US18 Denmark20 US19 London27 Sydney/London26 Canada25 1940s1977 83/84 1983 1984 1983 1985 1991 ever ever ever in yr in yr in mo in mo last 6mo oral/penile 83 99 100/99 99 86 67 anal/penile 68 91 93/98 95 92 95 100 oral/anal 59 83 92/92 63 69 89 55/65 urine sex 10 23 29/ fisting/toys 22 41/47 34 fecal sex-eating 4 8 enemas 11 11 torture sex 22 37 37 public/orgy sex 61 76 88 sex with minors 37 23 24/ ORAL SEX Homosexuals fellate almost all of their sexual contacts (and ingest semen from about half of these). Semen contains many of the germs carried in the blood. Because of this, gays who practice oral sex verge on consuming raw human blood, with all its medical risks. Since the penis often has tiny lesions (and often will have been in unsanitary places such as a rectum), individuals so involved may become infected with hepatitis A or gonorrhea (and even HIV and hepatitis B). Since many contacts occur between strangers (70% of gays estimated that they had had sex only once with over half of their partners17,27), and gays average somewhere between 106 and 1105 different partners/year, the potential for infection is considerable. RECTAL SEX Surveys indicate that about 90% of gays have engaged in rectal intercourse, and about two-thirds do it regularly. In a 6-month long study of daily sexual diaries,3 gays averaged 110 sex partners and 68 rectal encounters a year. Rectal sex is dangerous. During rectal intercourse the rectum becomes a mixing bowl for 1) saliva and its germs and/or an artificial lubricant, 2) the recipient's own feces, 3) whatever germs, infections or substances the penis has on it, and 4) the seminal fluid of the inserter. Since sperm readily penetrate the rectal wall (which is only one cell thick) causing immunologic damage, and tearing or bruising of the anal wall is very common during anal/penile sex, these substances gain almost direct access to the blood stream. Unlike heterosexual intercourse (in which sperm cannot penetrate the multilayered vagina and no feces are present),7 rectal intercourse is probably the most sexually efficient way to spread hepatitis B, HIV syphilis and a host of other blood-borne diseases. Tearing or ripping of the anal wall is especially likely with "fisting," where the hand and arm is inserted into the rectum. It is also common when "toys" are employed (homosexual lingo for objects which are inserted into the rectum--bottles, carrots, even gerbils8). The risk of contamination and/or having to wear a colostomy bag from such "sport" is very real. Fisting was apparently so rare in Kinsey's time that he didn't think to talk about it. By 1977, well over a third of gays admitted to doing it. The rectum was not designed to accommodate the fist, and those who do so can find themselves consigned to diapers for life. FECAL SEX About 80% of gays (see Table) admit to licking and/or inserting their tongues into the anus of partners and thus ingesting medically significant amounts of feces. Those who eat or wallow in it are probably at even greater risk. In the diary study,5 70% of the gays had engaged in this activity--half regularly over 6 months. Result? --the "annual incidence of hepatitis A in...homosexual men was 22 percent, whereas no heterosexual men acquired hepatitis A." In 1992,26 it was noted that the proportion of London gays engaging in oral/anal sex had not declined since 1984. While the body has defenses against fecal germs, exposure to the fecal discharge of dozens of strangers each year is extremely unhealthy. Ingestion of human waste is the major route of contracting hepatitis A and the enteric parasites collectively known as the Gay Bowel Syndrome. Consumption of feces has also been implicated in the transmission of typhoid fever,9 herpes, and cancer.27 About 10% of gays have eaten or played with [e.g., enemas, wallowing in feces]. The San Francisco Department of Public Health saw 75,000 patients per year, of whom 70 to 80 per cent are homosexual men....An average of 10 per cent of all patients and asymptomatic contacts reported...because of positive fecal samples or cultures for amoeba, giardia, and shigella infections were employed as food handlers in public establishments; almost 5 per cent of those with hepatitis A were similarly employed."10 In 1976, a rare airborne scarlet fever broke out among gays and just missed sweeping through San Francisco.10 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that 29% of the hepatitis A cases in Denver, 66% in New York, 50% in San Francisco, 56% in Toronto, 42% in Montreal and 26% in Melbourne in the first six months of 1991 were among gays.11 A 1982 study "suggested that some transmission from the homosexual group to the general population may have occurred."12 URINE SEX About 10% of Kinsey's gays reported having engaged in "golden showers" [drinking or being splashed with urine]. In the largest survey of gays ever conducted,13 23% admitted to urine-sex. In the largest random survey of gays,6 29% reported urine-sex. In a San Francisco study of 655 gays,14 only 24% claimed to have been monogamous in the past year. Of these monogamous gays, 5% drank urine, 7% practiced "fisting," 33% ingested feces via anal/oral contact, 53% swallowed semen, and 59% received semen in their rectum during the previous month. OTHER GAY SEX PRACTICESSADOMASOCHISM as the Table indicates, a large minority of gays engage in torture for sexual fun. Sex with minors 25% of white gays17 admitted to sex with boys 16 or younger as adults. In a 9-state study,30 33% of the 181 male, and 22% of the 18 female teachers caught molesting students did so homosexually (though less than 3% of men and 2% of women engage in homosexuality31). Depending on the study, the percent of gays reporting sex in public restrooms ranged from 14%16 to 41%13 to 66%,6 9%16, 60%13 and 67%5 reported sex in gay baths; 64%16 and 90%18 said that they used illegal drugs. Fear of AIDS may have reduced the volume of gay sex partners, but the numbers are prodigious by any standard. Morin15 reported that 824 gays had lowered their sex-rate from 70 different partners/yr. in 1982 to 50/yr. by 1984. McKusick14 reported declines from 76/yr. to 47/yr. in 1985. In Spain32 the average was 42/yr. in 1989. Medical Consequences of Homosexual SexDeath and disease accompany promiscuous and unsanitary sexual activity. 70%25 to 78%x,13 of gays reported having had a sexually transmitted disease. The proportion with intestinal parasites (worms, flukes, amoeba) ranged from 25%18 to 39%19 to 59%.20 As of 1992, 83% of U.S. AIDS in whites had occurred in gays.21 The Seattle sexual diary study3? reported that gays had, on a yearly average:
No wonder 10% came down with hepatitis B and 7% contracted hepatitis A during the 6-month study. Effects on the LifespanSmokers and drug addicts don't live as long as non-smokers or non-addicts, so we consider smoking and narcotics abuse harmful. The typical life-span of homosexuals suggests that their activities are more destructive than smoking nd as dangerous as drugs.
The median age of death for homosexuals, however, was virtually the same nationwide--and, overall, less than 2% survived to old age. If AIDS was the cause of death, the median age was 39. For the 829 gays who died of something other than AIDS, the median age of death was 42, and 9% died old. The 163 lesbians had a median age of death of 44, and 20% died old. Two and eight-tenths percent (2.8%) of gays died violently. They were 116 times more apt to be murdered; 24 times more apt to commit suicide; and had a traffic-accident death-rate 18 times the rate of comparably-aged white males. Heart attacks, cancer and liver failure were exceptionally common. Twenty percent of lesbians died of murder, suicide, or accident--a rate 487 times higher than that of white females aged 25-44. The age distribution of samples of homosexuals in the scientific literature from 1989 to 1992 suggests a similarly shortened life-span. The Gay LegacyHomosexuals rode into the dawn of sexual freedom and returned with a plague that gives every indication of destroying most of them. Those who treat AIDS patients are at great risk, not only from HIV infection, which as of 1992 involved over 100 health care workers,21 but also from TB and new strains of other diseases.24 Those who are housed with AIDS patients are also at risk.24 Those who are housed with AIDS patients are also at risk.24 Dr. Max Essex, chair of the Harvard AIDS Institute, warned congress in 1992 that "AIDS has already led to other kinds of dangerous epidemics...If AIDS is not eliminated, other new lethal microbes will emerge, and neither safe sex nor drug free practices will prevent them."28 At least 8, and perhaps as many as 30 29 patients had been infected with HIV by health care workers as of 1992. The Biological SwapmeetThe typical sexual practices of homosexuals are a medical horror story --imagine exchanging saliva, feces, semen and/or blood with dozens of different men each year. Imagine drinking urine, ingesting feces and experiencing rectal trauma on a regular basis. Often these encounters occur while the participants are drunk, high, and/or in an orgy setting. Further, many of them occur in extremely unsanitary places (bathrooms, dirty peep shows), or, because homosexuals travel so frequently, in other parts of the world. Every year, a quarter or more of homosexuals visit another country.20 Fresh American germs get taken to Europe, Africa and Asia. And fresh pathogens from these continents come here. Foreign homosexuals regularly visit the U.S. and participate in this biological swapmeet. The Pattern of InfectionUnfortunately the danger of these exchanges does not merely affect homosexuals. Travelers carried so many tropical diseases to New York City that it had to institute a tropical disease center, and gays carried HIV from New York City to the rest of the world.27 Most of the 6,349 Americans who got AIDS from contaminated blood as of 1992, received it from homosexuals and most of the women in California who got AIDS through heterosexual activity got it from men who engaged in homosexual behavior.23 The rare form of airborne scarlet fever that stalked San Francisco in 1976 also started among homosexuals.10 Genuine CompassionSociety is legitimately concerned with health risks-- they impact our taxes and everyone's chances of illness and injury. Because we care about them, smokers are discouraged from smoking by higher insurance premiums, taxes on cigarettes and bans against smoking in public. These social pressures cause many to quit. They likewise encourage non-smokers to stay non-smokers. Homosexuals are sexually troubled people engaging in dangerous activities. Because we care about them and those tempted to join them, it is important that we neither encourage nor legitimize such a destructive lifestyle.
References1. Karlen A. SEXUALITY And HOMOSEXUALITY. NY Norton, 1971. 2. Pines B. BACK TO BASICS. NY Morrow, 1982, p. 211. 3. Weinberg G. SOCIETY AND THE HEALTHY HOMOSEXUAL. NY St. Martin's, 1972, preface. 4. Amici curiae brief, in Bowers v. Hardwick, 1986. 5. Corey L. & Holmes, K.K. Sexual transmission of Hepatitis A in homosexual men. "New England Journal of Medicine," 1980302435- 38. 6. Cameron P et al Sexual orientation and sexually transmitted disease. "Nebraska Medical Journal," 198570292-99; Effect of homosexuality upon public health and social order "Psychological Reports," 1989, 64, 1167-79. 7. Manligit, G.W. et al Chronic immune stimulation by sperm alloan- tigens. "Journal of the American Medical Association," 1984251 237-38. 8. Cecil Adams, "The Straight Dope," THE READER (Chicago, 3/28/86) [Adams writes authoritatively on counter-culture material, his column is carried in many alternative newspapers across the U.S. and Canada]. 9. Dritz, S. & Braff. Sexually transmitted typhoid fever. "New England Journal of Medicine," 19772961359-60. 10. Dritz, S. Medical aspects of homosexuality. "New England Journal of Medicine," 1980302463-4. 11. CDC Hepatitis A among homosexual men --United States, Canada, and Australia. MMWR 199241155-64. 12. Christenson B. et al. An epidemic outbreak of hepatitis A among homosexual men in Stockholm, "American Journal of Epidemiology," 1982115599-607. 13. Jay, K. & Young, A. THE GAY REPORT. NY Summit, 1979. 14. McKusick, L. et al AIDS and sexual behaviors reported by gay men in San Francisco, "American Journal of Public Health," 1985 75493- 96. 15. USA Today 11/21/84. 16. Gebhard, P. & Johnson, A. THE KINSEY DATA. NY Saunders, 1979. 17. Bell, A. & Weinberg, M. HOMOSEXUALITIES. NY Simon & Schuster, 1978. 18. Jaffee, H. et al. National case-control study of Kaposi's sarcoma. "Annals Of Internal Medicine," 198399145-51. 19. Quinn, T. C. et al. The polymicrobial origin of intestinal infection in homosexual men. "New England Journal of Medicine," 1983309576-82. 20. Biggar, R. J. Low T-lymphocyte ratios in homosexual men. "Journal Of The American Medical Association," 19842511441-46; "Wall Street Journal," 7/18/91, B1. 21. CDC HIV/AIDS SURVEILLANCE, February 1993. 22. Chu, S. et al. AIDS in bisexual men in the U.S. "American Journal Of Public Health," 199282220-24. 23. Cameron, P., Playfair, W. & Wellum, S. The lifespan of homo- sexuals. Paper presented at Eastern Psychological Association Convention, April 17, 1993. 24. Dooley, W.W. et al. Nosocomial transmission of tuberculosis in a hospital unit for HIV-invected patients. "Journal of the American Medical Association," 19922672632-35. 25. Schechter, M.T. et al. Changes in sexual behavior and fear of AIDS. "Lancet," 198411293. 26. Elford, J. et al. Kaposi's sarcoma and insertive rimming. "Lancet," 1992339938. 27. Beral, V. et al. Risk of Kaposi's sarcoma and sexual practices associated with faecal contact in homosexual or bisexual men with AIDS. "Lancet," 1992339632-35. 28. Testimony before House Health & Environment Subcommittee, 2/24/92. 29. Ciesielski, C. et al. Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in a dental practice. "Annals of Internal Medicine, 1992116 798-80; CDC Announcement Houston Post, 8/7/92. 30. Rubin, S. "Sex Education Teachers Who Sexually Abuse Students." 24th International Congress on Psychology, Sydney, Australia, August 1988. 31. Cameron, P. & Cameron, K. Prevalence of homosexuality. "Psychology Reports," 1993, in press; Melbye, M. & Biggar, R.J. Interactions between persons at risk for AIDS and the general population in Denmark. "American Journal of Epidemiology," 1992135593-602. 32. Rodriguez-Pichardo, A. et al. Sexually transmitted diseases in homosexual males in Seville, Spain, "Geniourin Medicina," 1990 66;423-427. 33. AIDS Prognosis, Washington Times, 2/13/93, C1. |
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But, since I'm Protestant, I don't think any man is infallible. As an American, I take offense to a European attacking our country for what he perceives to be our decadence, when altar boys are menu items in local churches.
The Pope has done some good things, not least of which were his efforts during the Cold War.
But he's just a man, like you and me. Europe is a much bigger cultural wasteland than America is. He employs sexual predators here, then covers up for them. And he is critical of our effort to liberate Iraq, while he called Tariq Aziz a "man of peace."
Am I missing something?
And the Bishop of Rome needs to maintain this mantra against moral relativism...instead of getting sidetracked in political quagmires.
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Obituaries numbering 6,516 from 16 U.S. homosexual journals over the past 12 years were compared to a large sample of obituaries from regular newspapers.