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Originally Posted by ronmcdon
Idk if its fair to fault the entire Catholic church for the misfortunes of 3rd world nations.
I would think if anything, its better than nothing at all.
The church usually provides some aid that wouldnt be there otherwise.
Better a lousy t-shirt than none at all.
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Oh, I don't fault the catholic church for everything in this, but their apprach is terribly misguided and seems quite disingenuous to me. Yes, it is beyond sad that we have to apply the "well at least they're trying" thing to this, but speaking specifically to the birth control and STD prevention thing, they are complete and utter fucking fail, if only for failing to separate belief from preservation of human life.
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Originally Posted by ronmcdon
Its not like other sects or faiths wouldnt have their shortcomings.
I know I would prefer the Catholic presence over that of a hostile fundamentalists.
The Catholic Churchs position on birth control isnt helping things anywhere in the world.
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Agreed and agreed, but only with the concession that "hostile fundamentalists" are not a mutually exclusive group belonging to one religion.
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Originally Posted by ronmcdon
But then again some level of personal responsibility should also be considered.
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That is victim blaming in my opinion. It is nigh impossible and borderline irresponsible for holding someone accountable for something that they've had NO control over for generations.
Haiti would be an example of this.
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Originally Posted by ronmcdon
Most followers of the church dont exactly obey everything the church preaches.
Its convenient to find somebody else's agenda to justify your own.
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Yes, and therein lies my issue. "Look, we'll help you with the things that you have been institutionally unable to access if you agree to believe what we believe," is how it comes across many times.
I know it seems like I am going in on the Catholic church. I would be less so inclined to do so if their approach was not so seemingly self-serving, which serves as the polar opposite of what they're supposed to be teaching.
This thread isn't about that, so I will leave that back there.
My issue and offering to this discussion would be to beckon people to think about what it is they're saying before laying blame on a set of victims for things they were powerless to create and are even MORE powerless to change.
Since Haiti is the topic of world conversation this week, i will use their plight as an example:
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Haiti was forced to pay France for its freedom from slavery. Let us not forget that they didn't enter this slavery voluntarily. When they couldn’t afford the ransom, France (and other countries, including the United States) helpfully offered high-interest loans. By 1900, 80% of Haiti’s annual budget went to paying off its “reparation” debt. They didn’t make the last payment until 1947. Just 10 years later, dictator François Duvalier took over the country and promptly bankrupted it, taking out more high-interest loans to pay for his corrupt lifestyle. The Duvalier family, with the blind-eye financial assistance of Western countries, killed 10s of thousands of Haitians, until the Haitian people overthrew them in 1986. Today, Haiti is still paying off the debt of an oppressive dictator no one would help them get rid of for 30 years.
The rest of the world continues to refuse to forgive this debt.
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That, gentlefolk, is one example of how a third world country is born. The specifically described set of circumstances is the perfect storm that creates the poorest country in the western world.