Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center
Date: Monday, 13 Apr 1992 11:46:19 EDT
From: <SECBH@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: soc.motss
Subject:    Catholic Killer on the Loose!

Early Sunday morning I was channel-hopping and stopped at the
VISN channel.  This is the Vision Interfaith Satellite Network
which broadcasts a variety of programs by middle-of-the-road
Protestant denominations and Roman Catholics, it may also have
some Jewish groups participating - I'm not sure.

The program topic was "Sex is a Gift of God", sponsored by the
Roman Catholic diocese of Shreveport, LA.  The interviewee was
a Mrs. Maggie Kelly, mother of five, who makes her living going around
the country giving lectures to high school classes promoting sexual
abstinence and descrying "safe" (sic) sex information for adolescents.

She repeatedly denigrated the term "safe" sex and ridiculed the
concept as a sham.  She chose to ignore that the term "safer sex" has
been in use by AIDS education groups for the past five to seven years,
giving the impression that the public is being purposely deluded.

However, she really got down to hardcore Catholic disinformation
when she included "condoms, devices, pills and hormones"  all as
"safe sex" techniques.  The first time around I thought that she
had just fallen into the usual Catholic birth control tirade by
accident.  But very shortly she mentioned AIDS and sexually contracted
infections and again characterized the same group of techniques
as being touted as "safe sex".

I sat there fascinated as this arrogant fool sat there denouncing the
the dissemination of "safe" sex information and including "devices,
pills and hormones" in this term and mentioning "diseases".

An ill-informed adolescent or adult would understand from what this
fool was saying that taking the pill or using an IUD were safer sex
techniques.

The program was scheduled to be rebroadcast several times this week.

I have heard this same disinformation from Catholic spokespersons in
New York City who in their dogmatic opposition to birth control seem
to willfully equate safer techniques with all birth control techniques
and totally ignore the fact that safer sex and birth control are
two entirely different concepts.

This morning I called the VISN network and talked to a representative.
He agreed that even though the speaker on the program, Mrs. Kelly,
had been opposed to what she termed "safe sex" that by classifying
IUD, pills and hormones as "safe sex" techiques that she could
lead many persons, especially teen-agers, into fatal miscalculations.

The program director will cancel the remaining showings for this
week unless they can create a spot to air which explains that
information contained in the program is incorrect and using IUDs and
pills as safer sex techiques could lead to HIV or STD infections and
death.

If anyone wishes to discuss this with network representatives of
the VISN network their number is (212) 602-0738.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Carroll               "When your death makes a gesture to you,
<SECBH@CUNYVM>              an enormous weight of triviality drops away."

                                                       Don Juan