Could we have a source which shows conclusively that the Pope is (a) not telling the truth; and (b)doing so intentionally?
Fact is, the Pope is more concerned with pushing "morality as the Church sees it", than with saving lives.
That's not a fact, it's a conjecture. There are plausible indications that societal dysfunctions resulting finally in premature death may arise from the acceptance of Artificial Birth Control.
Further, I don't quite get the selective contempt for morality. The value of saving lives by whatever means at whatever future cost in premature death is a moral value. It's not a contest between morality and something else. It's not even a contest between preventing premature death at the expense of chastity and preventing unchastity at the cost of premature deaths. It's a contest between different ways of viewing the consequences of unchastity and the use of Artificial Birth Control
Did you read the Eberstadt article to which I linked?
That, very plainly is a bogus claim ...
If it's "very plainly" bogus could you show how it's bogus? It's not so plain to me.
"Oh well, we TOLD them to abstain from sex...they chose not to" is not going to save those lives.
But it might save other lives.
Ignoring that from behind a veil of superior religious morality will not save lives. The way to save MORE PEOPLE, which is my only task, is to attack the problem with every weapon available, not to choose one weapon and then sit back on a high moral pedestal while people die.
It would be amusing if it were not painful to see somebody proudly and boldly proclaim that his moral view is superior and at the same time mock people who think THEIR moral view is superior. OF COURSE you think your view is superior. You wouldn't advocate for it otherwise. And just as obviously, we think our view is superior.
This is EXACTLY how progressives argue: You are an EVIL person because you don't have my view. Well, maybe so, maybe not. But it certainly doesn't advance the argument to take a kind of time out for proclaiming the moral superiority that somehow arises from not claiming moral superiority.
Well it does advance it a little bit. When I encounter someone who thinks I am evil for thinking my view is better than his while at the same time he proclaims that his view is better than mine, I adopt the working hypothesis that he doesn't understand how to evaluate moral questions.
The Pope is making it up as he goes and is telling an untruth to people that must abide by his words. Condom use will not INCREASE HIV infection rates in a population and, to appeal to ridicule....it is patently LUDICROUS to think that condom use will increase HIV infection rates in a population.
But it might save other lives.
...but it might not. Bet Obama's got some jobs "saved or created in the future" to show you. Way I see it is that your way will save X-lives in 100. I'd rather try to save the same X-lives and then try to save the rest too, through other means. Very simply because I know that your way is an untenable ideal in a population.
There are plausible indications that societal dysfunctions resulting finally in premature death may arise from the acceptance of Artificial Birth Control.
Wow....because people use condoms, society gains a possible dysfunction making people die earlier? REALLY?
I don't quite get the selective contempt for morality.
I have contempt for ANY morality-set that is supposedly compassionate and "cares" about life so vehemently, but only that life that abides by their specific idealistic rules. The rest, F-'em...they made their choices.
The value of saving lives by whatever means at whatever future cost in premature death is a moral value.
Manufacturing future premature deaths as fact? If you want to call saving lives through multiple means a "moral value"....so be it, it's a moral value. Got cancer? We'll only try to get rid of it this one way and if that doesn't work....we tried, so screw!! I see that as nothing more than the "evolution is a religion" tactic to change the discussion. Go bicker in the corner about morals while us public health types save lives you won't bother with. You wanna call that a "moral issue" to twist into on-line comments of superiority/inferiority discussions...call it a hippopotamus for all I care. Meanshile, more people die every day because the ideal you set while trying to control behaviors WILL NEVER BE MET.
Go ahead, call me a liberal, a progressive....such a GREAT tactic...haven't seen that one before.