Of course we are all concerned and dismayed by the devastation in Haiti. Experts knew that the capital, Port-au-Prince, was on an active fault line; the area had had bad earthquakes before. But the grinding poverty of the country and the corruption in its government have combined to mean that building codes have chronically been ignored; this has combined with overpopulation, caused mainly by the Catholic Church's no-contraception policy, to create a situation that has contributed to the disaster.
In among the aid being given out, we don't see anything from the much-vaunted Catholic charities. The aid may be there, but it certainly isn't very visible. Now Vatican city is a state unto itself, and it has the highest income per capita of any state or nation. Yet we don't see any vast pledges of money or help coming from Vatican City. And further, we are told apocryphically that the Church is still charging standard fees for masses for the dead and for burials. How two-faced can you get? (a) Don't send aid--and (b) profit from the death toll.
When will these people who call themselves compassionate Christians wake up to what their church is doing every day? Take one of Yvonne's one-liners for your own use, if you like:
Good people, bad leaders.
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2 comments:
Greetings:
Let me begin by saying that there is no love lost between us and any christian church; especially, those black robed catholic so and so's.
Devistation as a result of a disaster such as this always lies squarely on the shoulders of dispicable politicans and their governmental roles not some preceived dispicable spirtuality practice. (Katrina is coming to my mind).
Pat Robertson wants to lamely blame it on a pact with the devil and I'm sure some out there are nashing the enamel off their teeth over Haitian (OMG's) Voodoo. Take care, you guys are flirting with a similar kind of insanity from another side of the same podium.
As solitary practioners of the craft and having studied with you in past, it's times like these that we tend to look to the leaders of the pagan commuinity as a whole to see what is being done that we may wish to contribute to. We must say, the pickings are slim or to use your words-not very visible. Have been waiting for your post on this subject as we knew it would be forthcoming and must say found it disappointing and not at all positive in nature.
So a question to you is: As the leaders of the Church and School of Wicca what, if any, are your organizations humanitarian relief efforts?
A final word: Be careful when pointing a finger at another for there will always be three more pointing back at you. A very graphical display of the three fold law of attraction.
Dave and Kathy-
No offense, but do you really think it's fair to expect a whole lot out of Gavin and Yvonne's relatively tiny little organization. I may not agree with them on everything-well, on quite a few things-but they are playing a role here. I didn't know about the lackluster role, or lack thereof, of the Catholic Church until I read this. Is their report accurate? I don't know, and evidently neither do they. That's what the word "apocryphal" means.
Having said that, I think overlooked in the discussion of population problems in poor countries like Haiti is the very real contribution of poverty. When people have no life to speak of worth living, sex can become one of the few available pleasures.
When people have a decent lifestyle, with hope and the potential for a better future, they tend to act more responsibly out of the prospect of building a better life and potential for what children they do have. It's one of life's ironies. Education plays a large role here, though religion and superstition does indeed play roles as well.
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