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| One Part Blood Clots, One Part Genocide, One Part Papal Idiocy |
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| The Catholic Church has been in the news a lot lately, and not just because of altar boys and their frequent molestations. Pope John Paul II's health has been ailing for quite some time, but don't you worry, for the pope still has enough cognizance to write books, including his fifth that just came out, entitled "Memory and Identity" (which is an ironic title, since at his age the former is fleeting while the latter doesn't seem to be helping much). Most people could care less about his new book, myself included, but there is one claim that he makes in it that needs to be attacked not only because of its absurd nature but also because of its appalling ignorance. |
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| In "Memory and Identity," Pope John Paul II, when reflecting on the fact that Adolf Hitler was democratically elected as chancellor of Germany in 1933, states: "We have to question the legal regulations that have been decided in the parliaments of present day democracies. The most direct association which comes to mind is the abortion laws...Parliaments which create and promulgate such laws must be aware that they are transgressing their powers and remain in open conflict with the law of God and the law of nature." So, we're comparing the abortion of what is essentially a blood clot to the extermination of millions of people? I understand that according to Catholicism life actually begins as a fetus, but come on, comparing abortion to the Holocaust? Does anyone else find this absurd, not to mention highly offensive? |
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| According to a Feb. 22 BBC report, the pope's comments were met with a fair share of opposition, including a statement by the president of Germany's Central Council for Jews, Paul Spiegel. "The Catholic Church," Spiegel said, "does not understand or does not want to understand that there is an enormous difference between mass genocide and what women do with their bodies." I don't think it could possibly have been said any better than this. Just in case Spiegel is reading this, though, a good follow-up question would have been the following: where does the pope get off comparing abortion to the Holocaust when he can't even prevent his own priests from diddling around with pre-pubescent altar boys? |
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| According to German Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, "[The pope] calls our attention to the permanent temptations for humanity, and on the need to take care not to fall into the pitfalls of evil." Josef, let's get down to brass tacks here: abortion is a legal practice in most places, so calling it evil is not going to be accepted by many (although I realize that to Ratzinger, Divine Law is infinitely more important than our mere mortal laws). Secondly, and far more importantly, Pope John Paul II has no authority to be commenting on anything relating to the Holocaust at all, seeing as how he held such a favorable opinion of former Pope Pius XII, and in 1998 called him a "great Pope," in spite of his complacent attitude towards Adolf Hitler and the rise of Nazism in Germany. |
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| The pope is obviously a historical and important figure in Catholicism, but when he likens abortion (a legal act) to the Holocaust (murder and genocide), someone has got to draw the line. And when the pope has so many other problems within his religion, one considerably large one being the molestation of altar boys, his comments make one really question his priorities. I know Pope John Paul II isn't used to hearing what I am about to say, but it has to be said for the sake of principle alone: Johnny, will you please just shut up? |
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Copyright Gerry Wachovsky, 2005, and Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. |
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Letters To The Editor Regarding This Article: |
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Catholics Respond To Article On Pope's Book |
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(from March 9, 2005) |
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