Overview
The Hypocrites inhabit the Sixth Bolgia of The Inferno, where they trudge along in robes made out of lead. My Sixth Bolgia features a special kind of Hypocrite: Those individuals and institutions ostensibly interested in bettering mankind that instead do it grave disservice because of dysfunctional religious views on sexuality; or those that used their religious authority to become more effective sexual predators.
Comments
There is a long list of problems and horrors in this area. Historically, religious "values" have included the viewing of women as property or sexual slaves. It has informed the despicable act of female genital mutilation. It has fueled the hatred and persecution of gays. It has enabled pedophilia and child abuse under the auspices of the Church. It has empowered self-loathing hate-mongers like Ted Haggard that have channeled their inability to accept their own sexuality into the derision of others. It has held back scientific progress in the realm of stem-cell research. And it is still exacerbating the AIDS epidemic by actively spreading lies about birth control.
This last point was made quite clear recently by Pope Benedict XVI himself, who, on his way to visit Africa, proclaimed that AIDS was a tragedy "that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems."
This is utter nonsense, but unfortunately, many people actually take his pronouncements seriously. Even though they fly in the face of studies and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, the Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization, among others.
The Lancet medical journal wrote that the pope "publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine on this issue," and asked him to retract his comments. "Anything less ... would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates, including many thousands of Catholics, who work tirelessly to try and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide," the editorial said.
Millions of lives put at risk. Millions. All because of the Catholic Church's bizarre fascination with condoms and the irrational stance they've taken. All because of their interpretation of ancient texts that have no relevance in our age. To see how religious thinking still causes such evil in the world, look no further than the man in the Funny Hat.
