Pope Serious Again
- Thread starter Merlin the Magician
- Start date
Along with the little puffs of smoke from the Vatican chimney, I think I can see some little piggies flying, Gareth... 
Another of the cultural problems faced in non-Arab, non-Muslim Africa is fatalism, Gareth: if I do this, maybe I'll die. Maybe I won't die, but if I do, then that was meant to be, and nothing would have changed it. There's little notion of taking charge of your own destiny or changing the way things have always been, even in the face of terrible consequences.
When Kenneth Kaunda was President of Zambia, one of his sons died from AIDS. Not the best signal to send out to your people about poor sexual practice, but it was largely accepted with a fatalistic shrug. Syphilis and other STD rates have always been fairly high in males, so it was looked upon as just another bit of naughtiness catching up.
Thabo Mbeke in South Africa could've tried to convince Africans not to have casual, unprotected sexual encounters, but instead he burbled some nonsense about the link with AIDS not being proved, and the problem wasn't that serious, anyway, and therefore witheld the offered supply of retroviral drugs from the thousands visibly dying around him. He's backed off that ignorant stance NOW, but that came too late to stop the HIV-positive from slipping into full AIDS, and nothing is protecting babies in the womb from contracting it, and being born virtually ready to die. It's a truly dreadful business, with African leadership failing miserably to have admitted the problem much, much earlier, its' reasons and causes, instead of trying to pretend it didn't exist.
Another of the cultural problems faced in non-Arab, non-Muslim Africa is fatalism, Gareth: if I do this, maybe I'll die. Maybe I won't die, but if I do, then that was meant to be, and nothing would have changed it. There's little notion of taking charge of your own destiny or changing the way things have always been, even in the face of terrible consequences.
When Kenneth Kaunda was President of Zambia, one of his sons died from AIDS. Not the best signal to send out to your people about poor sexual practice, but it was largely accepted with a fatalistic shrug. Syphilis and other STD rates have always been fairly high in males, so it was looked upon as just another bit of naughtiness catching up.
Thabo Mbeke in South Africa could've tried to convince Africans not to have casual, unprotected sexual encounters, but instead he burbled some nonsense about the link with AIDS not being proved, and the problem wasn't that serious, anyway, and therefore witheld the offered supply of retroviral drugs from the thousands visibly dying around him. He's backed off that ignorant stance NOW, but that came too late to stop the HIV-positive from slipping into full AIDS, and nothing is protecting babies in the womb from contracting it, and being born virtually ready to die. It's a truly dreadful business, with African leadership failing miserably to have admitted the problem much, much earlier, its' reasons and causes, instead of trying to pretend it didn't exist.
I felt quite upset at the news that he was going to die so when he did actually go it seemed a relief. What else can you say? I believe that he was a great man and his successor will inevitably find it difficult to follow him. I would imagine that the Cardinals will make it as easy as possible for that to happen by choosing somebody with a similar outlook.
Those criticising his views on condoms and Aids should consider that nobody is forced to follow his teachings and that he was selling a whole lifestyle package to believers, not one-off solutions to problems created by non-believers.
Those criticising his views on condoms and Aids should consider that nobody is forced to follow his teachings and that he was selling a whole lifestyle package to believers, not one-off solutions to problems created by non-believers.
BrianH
At the Start
terry, that is not a true statement as many of us, including you and I, should be aware.