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The Vatican has announced that part of the reason for male infertility is the catastrophic environmental effects of the female contraceptive pill. That’s right boys, our swimmers are being effected by the hormones released into the environment when women pee. Pedro Jose Maria Simon Castellvi,president of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations was quoted as saying
“We have sufficient evidence to state that a non-negligible cause of male infertility in the West is the environmental pollution caused by the pill,” he said, without elaborating further.
“We are faced with a clear anti-environmental effect which demands more explanation on the part of the manufacturers.” [source]
The claims have been promptly dismissed by several organisations.
So here we have the Vatican, under the stewardship of the regressive Pope Benedict attempting to claw back its control of the faithfull’s sex lives through misinformation. If it’s not promoting the idea that condoms give Africans aids it’s tyring to scare men out of letting their wives use contraception.
Interesting tactic though, to target men’s fears of infertility in order for them to pressure wives, says it all really about the Catholic Church’s view of women.
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I have the feeling that this "Bad Religion" category you have here is going to fill up real fast.
That's why I changed the category to be a bit more inclusive. Mercy Ministries is still located under it. Yes I can certainly count on the religious to keep on doing stupid assinine things in the name of their god(s).
Looks like the "structures of deceit" as Gary Wills' labels them in the sub-title of his book, Papal Sin, are still in place and doing their thing.
will have to check this out James. Oh and welcome to the blog as well
UGH. And the sheeple will believe it.
Actually the introduction of the pill and the Vatican's response to it I think might have caused one of the biggest internal rifts amoungst the faithful. I will ask my mother
next they'll be telling us that's why there are so many gay men these days. the female hormones are turning as to teh gay
next they'll be telling us that's why there are so many gay men these days. the female hormones are turning us gay
Whew, what a relief. I just injected myself with over 40 grams of estrogen. At least it will only make me gay, instead of actually effeminizing me to the point that I look androgynous. Believe it or not, this "hormone didit" theory is actually quite popular among the "you weren't born that way, but I'm not a COMPLETE biological fucktard" crowd, and it might make sense if they were willing to do the damned tests to back it up.
You read the prediction here first folks
Hows about the Catholic Church uses its not inconsiderable resources (That's a very nice embroidered stole His Holiness is wearing. Are those robes real silk?) to fund some scientifically-sound, peer-reviewed research to back its claims, rather than scare-mongering and throwing the onus on manufacturers?
Oh wait, that's right. The Church doesn't need logic, because it is Guided By the Holy Spirit.
Incidentally, can somebody please explain to me how one tells the difference between being Guided By the Holy Spirit and being influenced by Satanic forces? I've often wondered.
Depends if you with them or against them
"Willful ignorance/misinformation" is exactly the kind of dumb I'm talking about. There are so many categories of dumb with religious folks, it's hard to keep track, I know.
Holy hell, this kind of dumb irks me to no end.
It's not the 'dumb' that really bothers me (although that is pretty scary in its own right) so much as the willful ignorance/misinformation.
This kind of dumb flies over the head of most western catholics, its the catholics in developing countries which kind of worries me.
For partial confirmation of the Vatican statement, see http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/its-off... Are you dismissing the Vatican's statement because you have actually studied the science behind it or because of your own preconceived notions? Even if you don't normally trust the Vatican as a source (I am not myself Catholic and, therefore, do not accept what the Vatican says just because they say it), that doesn't mean that everything the Vatican says isn't true. In this case, there seems to be conflicting views in the scientific community. As I understand it, many scientist agree that chemicals and hormones which we have been releasing into the environment over the past several decades may be contributing to a decline in male fertility and in an increased proportion of babies being female. Contraceptive pills may be one of many such chemicals.
Don't dismiss the message out of hand just because you distrust one of the messangers.
I don't have time to study the science behind it, I rely on the people that are paid to do it to ie scientists. So while I agree I will have an anti-catholic bias, I think it is quite obvious from the tone of your comment that you have made a number of assumptions about me.
I dismiss the vatican's claim for a number of reasons:
1. The have been proven to untrustworthy before promoting misinformation for their own ends.
2. A number of other reputable sources dismissed their claims
3. I can't find a source that refers to the pill (other than the vatican) as the cause of this problem.
Indeed I think the Vatican jumping in early and making such claims does more harm than good. Do they attack the use of pesticides and plastics?
So no I am not dimsissing it out of hand and if the scientific consensus backs the Vatican's position then I will change my mind.
And your link is not a partial confirmation. Indeed my reading of it points more towards wide scale uses of chemicals iin pesticides and plastics.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/its-off...
The link appears to have broken on the first attempt.
It sounds plausible to me, but I'd want to see more evidence before wholeheartedly believing it. However, the Vatican's opposition to contraception fails to consider the massive problems that excessive population growth would likely cause if contraception did not exist, the number of people who would DIE if condoms were not used to control the spread of HIV, and the numerous health problems among women that the birth control pill can help fix.
I will dismiss anything the Vatican says out of hand because it has have cried wolf on too many occasions. I will take note of solid, peer-reviewed scientific research that establishes a causal link, but the Vatican is too much of a biased source.
It may be true that even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day, but that doesn't mean I'm going to use it to tell the time.
Emphasis on "most", unfortunately.
There is some evidence out there that the drugs we take can, to a certain degree, end up in our water source. The pill may be one of them, BUT so are drugs for pain, drugs for diabetes, drugs for heart disease and blood pressure. If the Vatican supports the ban of contraceptives on this basis, will they be calling for the ban of all other drugs that are contaminating our water sources and therefore having possible effects on us? Or do they only give a crap if it affects male fertility and procreation??? Just wondering?
I think the bigger concern and the indications are fertilizers & chemicals used in farming