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What are your opinionsd on this then?
F.C.F.C.'s page
The Vatican'
Nopedo - Other crimes of the Catholic Church
Is ANY of it true?!
Also remember we can only look so far, the best microscope has a limit and so does the best telescope, and thus no'one has yet to see the core of either what we're made of or what surrounds us. Thus by using that logic alone it makes as much sense to believe in god as it does not to.
All I can say is that there is another aspect of controlling HIV that you, and many others, are completely missing, and this is a major shame - the behavoiral aspect.
Shouldn't the lack of sources strike as suspect?
Can you really validate a statement like that?
This is an oversimplification of history.
There is a behavoiral aspect to HIV - namely that main form of transmission is through sexual contact. Making condoms available, while being very effective in reducing the transmission of HIV when used properly, does not address the behavoiral aspect of the disease.The behavoiral aspect ? What do you mean ? What can be wrong with controlling HIV ? You fear peoples will have more sex partners ?
Who cares ? If they use some sort of protection, I don't care if a guy (or a girl) had one partner in his/her life or one hundred. It is not of my business and it is not of yours neither.
Live and let live, damn it !
HIV infections dropping are definitely a good thing, no doubt about it. However, I think you'd have to acknowledge that the availability of condoms does not equate to the actual use of them. If this were true, there wouldn't still be such a large number of teenage pregnancies (Granted, since the peaks in the 80's, they have dropped - attibuted to both contraceptive and increased absitnence according to American Journal of Public Health, 2007).Or may be you fear that when HIV infection cases will start dropping, peoples will stop protecting themselves ? No, because a well sexualy-educated person will know that there is other forms of VDs and that the pregnancy risk would still be in the picture.
That's why I'm 100% in favor of sexual-education (starting in Grade 6) and condom distributors in high-schools and colleges bathrooms.
Anything that would be easier to source other than me requesting leave to go to Quebec?Well, ask anyone born in the Province of Québec who were still children during the war... They'll tell you exactly what I said.
It's not oversimplification, it was already simple to begin with. It's the Pope who wanted the Crusades.
In Quebec where Maestro lives is majority French population and probably 80% + of the population is Catholic . The church controlled almost all aspects of life . The Catholic church was vehement in its anti war stance in both the first and second war and very anti semetic. Here is an excerpt from the official statement by the church
The senior Roman Catholic clergyman in Canada, seeking to get rid of church baggage and turn over a new leaf, asked forgiveness on Wednesday for sexual abuse and discrimination committed by Catholics in the past.
In an open letter published in newspapers in the province of Quebec, Quebec Archbishop Marc Ouellet said that society in the Canadian province was burdened by wounded memories and that the Roman Catholic Church's moral authority had been damaged.
"It is time to take stock and make a fresh start," Ouellet wrote. "Mistakes have been made which have tarnished the image of the Church and for which I humbly ask forgiveness."
He spoke of the abuse of youth by priests, "causing them serious and traumatic damage that shattered their lives."
The same type of statement can be made about all groups - I don't see this as any more or less prevalent in Catholic groups.Ouellet also sought forgiveness for certain "narrow attitudes" before the 1960s, when what is known as the Quiet Revolution ended the pervasive Catholic grip on Quebec society. He said some Catholics tended towards anti-Semitism, racism and indifference to natives, and discrimination against women and homosexuals
Attendence in the Catholic church has dropped from 75% to less then 25% in recent years
Thanks for the post, Pb. I think Cardinal Ouellette is right.
The same type of statement can be made about all groups - I don't see this as any more or less prevalent in Catholic groups.
What he is saying, is that they're looking for forgiveness for something themself don't forgive, or...?
Something they don't forgive themself when others do it....
There is a behavoiral aspect to HIV - namely that main form of transmission is through sexual contact. Making condoms available, while being very effective in reducing the transmission of HIV when used properly, does not address the behavoiral aspect of the disease.
HIV infections dropping are definitely a good thing, no doubt about it. However, I think you'd have to acknowledge that the availability of condoms does not equate to the actual use of them. If this were true, there wouldn't still be such a large number of teenage pregnancies (Granted, since the peaks in the 80's, they have dropped - attibuted to both contraceptive and increased absitnence according to American Journal of Public Health, 2007).
Another issue I have with public availability of condoms is why should the public at large be financially supporting protection for sexual behavoir?
Something they don't forgive themself when others do it....
Why do you say this?
Maestro - you can use all the boldface and large font that you'd like; it still doesn't mean I'm going to agree that your approach is what is going to be successful or that it is what is needed. What's more, it doesn't create the statistics and backing for success.
It's expedient to write me off as burying my head in the sand and denying reality - it's easy and acceptable in today's political climate. There is a major difference in the approach to the problem of teenage sexuality - and it is a problem. You favor a more clinical approach to the problem, focusing on mitigating the risk through contraceptives and sex education. I favor an approach based on addressing the behavoir that is at the root of creating the risk.
I grew up in NJ, one of the most liberal parts of the US. The NJ school system has long prided itself on its program of sexual education. Before looking at numbers and possible effectiveness, you can first off argue as to whether or not NJ's sex ed program actually entails the necessary education (whole other detailed argument). Now, we can look at the situation in NJ and attempt to judge statistically how this aggressive program has actually worked.
Here is a link that details the topic and sexual eduaction in NJ.
The Failure of Sex Education - 94.10
Here is another link to Guttmacher which produces a lot of good information regarding teen pregnancy. If you focus on NJ, a very "progressive" state, the statistics are indeed terrible. Unfortunately, comprehensive teen pregnancy data more recent than 2000 for the US I don't think is available.
Here is the most recent comprehensive detail of teen pregnancy data from the Guttmacher Institute:
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/09/12/USTPstats.pdf
You can see NJ saw has seen somewhat of a drop in teen pregnancy, but it has remained relatively constant throughout the '90s. I'll be interested to see more up to date complete data when available. Noteworthy is that NJ is 16th in teen pregnancy, 43rd in teen births, and a whopping 1st in teen pregnancy.
Guttmacher also reports that the US teen pregnancy rate remains almost double that of other nations, including Canada, England, Wales, and eight times the Netherlands and Japan. This opens up a possibility that education could be an important issue, although NJ has long had a well established sex education program. Perhaps there is another issue.
Some interesting details regarding condom usage: 49% of women who received abortion reported that their condum use was inconsistent.
An interesting fact - NJ teen pregnancy cost taxpayers an estimated $167 million in 2004.
Teen pregnancy is a problem, regarless of how you think the problem should be addressed. Even with the implementation of comprehensive sex education programs throughout the US, it remains a major problem, especially in NJ. I believe that it is a problem that is rooted in the deterioration in traditional values. I agree with you that sex ed and contraceptives do in fact reduce teen pregnancy rates to varying degrees of success (I don't think you can argue this one), but there is more to the problem than that. The first article covers many other aspects of the problem that sex ed and contraceptive simply cannot address.
A strict interpretation of the Establishment Clause would serve to destroy the legal foundation for the continued discrimination against Christianity in American public education, legislation, and jurisprudence that has fostered the coordinated offensive against Christian values.
The government must also acknowledge the societal benefits of the traditional family unit. This is why the traditional family deserves special status and recognition under the law. It is the core unit that Christian culture (indeed almost all cultures) is built upon, yet it is under attack by the very same forces that seek to remove all influence of Christianity in the US.
Granted, this will not bring about immediate effects, but it will lay the foundation for the return of traditional values that America was founded upon. Bear in mind, we are presently fully reaping the damages that the "progressive" movement has been sowing for decades.
This is what I think. It goes 180* against what many out there will say.