GCN.ie

I really should stop being surprised by Pope Palpatine...

POSTED BY Brief Lives 18 Mar 2009

Ah fuck - the man should be carted off to a mental institution. Who in this day and age, third world or not, is going to practice abstinence?

POSTED BY Queer Duck 18 Mar 2009

I'm not surprised by this rubbish anymore but he's missing one glaring flaw - the HIV/AIDS epidemic is being spread predominably not by people who choose to have sex without condoms, but those who choose to exert their power and rape individuals in order show that they are in charge. This man knows nothing about the real world - living high up there in his ivory tower is all very well and good, let him on, but dont go spouting this rubbish and giving the biggots in the world more chance to say 'this is the teaching of the church!'

POSTED BY claonadh 18 Mar 2009

Seriously would you expect anything else from him? You do have to give him one thing though, he is consistant!!

POSTED BY swordsguy 18 Mar 2009

He certainly is consistent, but it's no less worrying. Having said that, he is alienating the Catholic Church further and further from the ideals of normal, everyday people and his lack of intelligence is a mirror of the lack of intelligence in the Catholic ideal, which is anti-women, anti-sex and certainly anti-individual. God gave us free will, remember? The Vatican forgets.

POSTED BY Lindy 18 Mar 2009

Why is a man who lives blissfully in a complete fantasy land of isolation offering advice to people who live outside in the real world. He should stick to comments on things he knows about, like which slippers are the comfiest, which incontinence pants are the most absorbent and which fossilized cardinal he thinks reeks of piss more than the rest. I think his track record speaks for itself in indicating that he is a total ass. Bless him; he should be in a home and not telling other what he thinks in his current state of dementia. Hes in another world.

POSTED BY Molly Virgina Tartan 18 Mar 2009

What an evil old Nazi. It's easy for us to dismiss the old bastard but the sad truth is that he still exerts infuence in Africa. By claiming that condoms spread Aids he is engaged in genocidal policies. Obviously the lessonhe learned as a member of Hitler Youth made a lasting impression on him.

POSTED BY Glamorama 19 Mar 2009

Firstly I want to say that I don't much care for this Pope but, as a RC, I find the image used in this article deeply offensive and I am going to report it to the relevant authorities. Gay people, of which I am one, want their rights and views respected by all, yet show a total unwillingness to respect those of others. The level of hatred that this publication has shown towards religion and the catholic church is nothing short of disgusting. Even a review of the 'Priests' album in the Decemeber ed. descended into a tirade of journalistic tripe. Why there is such an adverse reaction to anything with a religious or spiritual tag raises a lot of questions about the agenda of the gay media.

POSTED BY Peter B 19 Mar 2009

And, has anyone actually stopped to consider if there is a valid point here? I worked in Kenya where condoms are generally available and AIDS is rife. Here in Ireland and in other developed countries condoms are also abundantly available and yet rates of HIV infection continue to rise. So, on that limited basis alone, it would seem that condoms are not the answer - by themselves. The one method of preventing HIV is by being faithful to one person and the fact that such diseases exist would indicate that this was the biological intention for human beings. The other way is through abstinence. It comes down engendering in people a sense of respect for their own health and the health of others and this can only be done through education and people taking responsibility for their actions. Promiscuity and the sex driven agenda of the gay media is neither productive or helpful. There is plenty of coverage given to the rates of depression and suicide - In my experience a lack of spiritual ...

POSTED BY Peter B 19 Mar 2009

...harmony and fulfillment are the main causes for people feeling suicidal or depressed.

POSTED BY Peter B 19 Mar 2009

While Peter B has a point about condoms alone not preventing the spread of HIV – empowerment of women and an effective criminal law system might help – I think he ought not be surprised at gay people's adverse reaction to anything with a religious or spiritual tag. When the organisation that claims to represent and interpret the message of Jesus on earth repeatedly tells homosexuals that their legal and natural sexual expression is 'disordered', while turning a blind eye to the truly disordered activities of some of its agents, why is that surprising? He says: 'The one method of preventing HIV is by being faithful to one person and the fact that such diseases exist would indicate that this was the biological intention for human beings'. This indicates a possibly deliberate

POSTED BY Stephen Meyler 20 Mar 2009

... misinterpretation of modern biology. The existence of species such as HIV, spread almost entirely by sexual contact, in fact relies on infidelity: as transmission from mother to child at birth is a relatively rare event, if all heterosexual couples were entirely faithful, HIV and several other STIs would disappear in a generation. God does love his little jokes!

POSTED BY Stephen Meyler 20 Mar 2009

And may I ask Peter, who do you think gives the slightest shite about something on a website that you find offensive? What are they gonna do, charge the owners with having a sense of humour? Authorities have enough trouble with child porn. and being constantly hassled by the music and film industry. Good luck to you with that one! You'll need it, I assure you.

POSTED BY whoisthis 21 Mar 2009

Peter, if you are RC and gay, I suspect then you have more issues to deal with, like why you would associate with an organisation that spends so much time working on removing your very rights as a person, than worrying about a silly picture. Perhaps you'd be better off back in the closet, if an amusing photo of an ex-nazi on a gay site offends you so.

POSTED BY MacFheorais 24 Mar 2009

Prove to yourself in 5 minutes that the Bible has nothing to do with god and Jesus was not the son of god by watching this clip -> http://www.godisimaginary.com/video4.htm also -> http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/god5.htm

POSTED BY bearlyy 24 Mar 2009

Let's not confuse the messenger and the message! What the Pope said is factually correct, irrespective of the RCCs stance on contraception, which I believe to be wrong. The main way of spreading HIV is by multiple sexual partners, so this needs to stop. In Africa millions of condoms have been showered about and they have been totally ineffective - the rate of HIV infection has increased! Similarily in developed nations. So what is the solution? It clearly isn't condoms. The most effective solution and perhaps the most difficult for many, is not to have multiple sexual partners. Another is education, changes in mind-set and culture. Having worked with an aid agency in Africa the latter is a momooth task. Most of Africa is not Catholic and the rights and dignity of women are deplorable. There is no easy solution to the fight against AIDS and it definitely is not as simple as giving people condoms.

POSTED BY Peter B 26 Mar 2009

MacFheorais I have no issue with be a christian in the RCC and being gay. My spirituality and my faith have provided me with enormous peace and make my life very interesting. Sure, I have been angry at the RCCs stance on homosexuality, but the reality is that most religious are totally accepting of gay people, so it really isn't a real issue. WHOISTHIS: What you say is precisely what I mean but gay people always whining on about lack of rights and discrimination, yet being totally closed and ignorant to the rights of others. It's not on and is doing gay people no favours. I am disappointed at the predictable, consensus driven responses to this article, with the exception of Stephen Meyler. Clearly there is a total inability to see the 'wood from the trees' or be in any way objective.

POSTED BY Peter B 26 Mar 2009