Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bishops move

So the Catholic Bishops of NSW are opposed to the greens.

http://www.parra.catholic.org.au/news---events/latest-news/latest-news.aspx/the-green-agenda--a-message-from-catholic-bishops-in-nsw.aspx

Not surprisingly I can't agree with any of their points:
  • No you don't deserve special exemptions from anti-discrimination laws. they are their because we as a society hold that it is wrong to discriminate period.
  • Yes your indoctrination centers schools are getting more than their fair share of public money. And yes the government should spend more on public education.
  • Drug use. Yes it should be treated as a health issue. I have to admit to being a little more hesitant here, but on balance treating the addiction should be preferred to punishing the addict. I'm not sure about what should be done with those who refuse treatment.
  • So when legislation enshrines moral codes you don't agree with (IE anti discrimination laws) you cry religious freedom. But when it enshrines your values, that's perfectly OK. What about the religious freedom of people who don't agree with your definition of marriage? The hypocrisy is rather striking on this one.
  • Again the church is OK with their beliefs being enshrined in legislation. Yes their are both good and bad reasons for abortion, and it is not an as black and white area as the church would like to claim. What about cases where the fetus is know to have little if any chance of survival, what about rape victims? Personally I would like as few unnecessary abortions taking place as possible, but they should never be seen as a crime. As to the personal views of Doctors and Nurses? On balance I thin duty of care trumps your personal religious views, especially in the Public health care system.
  • Euthanasia. In all honestly I don't know where I stand on this one. It is difficult.
On balance the Bishops letter is a stated position of a special interest group trying to look after their own interests, and perpetuated their prejudices being enshrined in law. What they fear is that in the end the Majority of Australians do not actually agree with them , even if they profess to be members of the Catholic faith.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Why does his opinion Matter?

So cardinal Pell, is speaking out against human caused global warming. In all honesty his opinion here matters far less then it does in his normal field of preaching morality.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/pell-row-with-climate-scientist-heats-up-20110313-1bsx6.html

And as usual the Sydney Morning Herald has chosen to not allow comments on this story. Probably for fear that the "good" cardinal would be well and truly roasted in them.

For what my opinion on the subject matters, Which is very little, I have been a skeptic for a very long time. However I think that the position of climate change skeptic is getting more an more tenuous and unscientific with every passing day. And the reality that there is hard scientific evidence for climate change is now well and truly beyond reasonable doubt.