The World is Better Off Without the Catholic Church

In this debate, I will have three major points that lead me to the conclusion that the world would be much better off without the existence of the Catholic Church. These are: the oppression of the homosexual community globally, its horrible opposition to the use of contraceptives, and the institutional molestation of young boys. In the last few decades, the Catholic Church has doubled down on its efforts to discriminate and oppress those who are peacefully searching for love with a member of their own sex. One of the most recent instances of this discrimination is present within its opposition to a UN resolution which would decriminalize homosexuality. All this resolution would do is make it so that countries cannot make homosexuality and homosexual acts a crime -- over seventy countries take such positions at the moment (2). However, the Vatican"s UN representative decried the motion. This man, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, actually claimed that the proposal would lead to discrimination of heterosexual relationships, and that the resolution would, in fact, lead to states recognizing gay marriage. What an ignorant and terrible position! The United Nations representative from the Vatican wants to keep thousands of people, every year, being jailed or killed by their governments because of their homosexuality. The Catholic Church, using its enormous influence, deterred countries from decriminalizing the very act of being homosexual. Keep in mind, a significant portion of these countries which criminalize homosexuality are Catholic, who take the word of the Vatican with extreme value. The Vatican is encouraging and borderline endorsing the imprisonment and lawful killing of homosexuals. Why would anyone want an institution that acts so wickedly? However, this is not the only example of the Catholic Church opposing the rights of homosexual men and women, without even considering the money it has poured into stopping the progress of gay marriage movement. In the 1990s, a statement was issued regarding discrimination of homosexuals in employment in the United States. This statement includes, "Such initiatives, even where they seem more directed toward support of basic civil rights than condonement of homosexual activity or a homosexual lifestyle, may in fact have a negative impact on the family and society. .. Even when the practice of homosexuality may seriously threaten the lives and well-being of a large number of people, its advocates remain undeterred and refuse to consider the magnitude of the risks involved. " (3) I have to wonder, can the Catholic Church be morally serious while holding this position which it has not recanted? I do not understand how any Catholic priest could look a homosexual person, in the face, and utter something so hideous. The Catholic Church, using its immeasurable influence, is stating that homosexuals should not be given their civil rights because it may "seriously threaten the lives and well-being of a large number of people". Next, as previously stated, the Church has also used that influence in order to oppose the use of contraceptives, like birth control or condoms. The Pope and his missionaries, go to Africa to preach about the immorality of condoms and the like. Africa, a country plagued by the horror of AIDS. Christopher Hitchens put it nicely, "(The Pope says) Yes, AIDS is bad. But not quite as bad as condoms are bad, or not quite in the same way. " (4) The Church says to have sex without contraceptives or (the incredibly impractical, which it knows) not to at all. So, people do this -- they have sex without using condoms, and contract HIV. By claiming that the use of contraceptives is immoral in every way, shape, and form, the Pope"s influence has led to the death of thousands, if not millions, of his fellow Catholics in Africa. The only qualification of his position was in 2010, when he said it could be used sometimes in order to prevent HIV infection (5). But what the Pope did not do is change his position on the morality of condoms. He still did not say it was permissible, or moral. And the death of Catholics from AIDS goes on and on. Since 2001, a myriad of cases have turned themselves up charging that an official of the Catholic Church has molested a child between the ages of 3 and 14 (6). But this is not to say that institutional molestation has not happened before 2001. From 1992 to 2002, the Archdiocese of Boston has quietly been able to settle almost 70 different cases of papal pedophelia. The next year, when that information was released, he had to fight over 500 (7). This issue is so serious that an organization, SNAP, had to be created: Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. But these are not the actions of a few bad priests. "Hundreds of priests accused of abuse have been moved from country to country, allowing them to start new lives in unsuspecting communities and continue working in church ministries. " (8) Take the case of Reverend Frank Klep, a man who is convicted of child molestation and is on the run from several other charges in his native Australia today. The Church took this guilty pedophile and placed him in other countries to escape such charges, including the Samoa, which Australia has no extradition treaty. An institution which performs such awful actions has no place in the world. So let us sum it up. The Catholic Church still seriously discriminates against homosexuals all over the world -- taking the side that laws which criminalize homsexuality itself should not be banned globally. The same institution"s opposition to the use of contraception, particularly in that of AIDS-plagued Africa, has led to the death of thousands of its followers. And these actions are all committed by the same group which has practically had an epidemic of institutional molestation of young boys. Without the Catholic Church, it is obvious that millions more would be enjoying their civil rights, and many more would be in approval of that. Without the Catholic Church, millions more people would have been able to live longer lives, by using contraception. Without the Catholic Church, thousands of young boys would not have to experience the trauma of being abused by a trusted and respected official. It is crystal clear that this Church has no place in this world. And this is all without speaking of the Church"s influence against gay marriage, against funding for HIV/AIDS research, against funding for stem-cell research, and many more tragedies; the occasional donation to charity does not excuse any of these atrocious actions. Sources: 1 -- . http://uk.reuters.com... 2 -- . http://www.independent.co.uk... 3 -- . http://www.ewtn.com... 4 -- . http://www.amindatplay.eu... 5 -- . http://catholicism.about.com... 6 -- . http://usatoday30.usatoday.com... 7 -- . http://www.boston.com... 8 -- . http://usatoday30.usatoday.com...