Boshko

<a href="http://www.cosmiverse.com/paranormal02080202.html" target="_blank">http://www.cosmiverse.com/paranormal02080202.html</a>
No I don't read a paranormal news site, just got the link off fark

IvanK

The link is to a page copying an article that discusses various Catholic clergy's reaction to a Lenten message that, so far as I know, the Pope hasn't delivered yet. Would you say that the headline is a wee bit misleading?

daemon

The Times article that the Cosmiverse link referred to:

<a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-2002063681,00.html" target="_blank">Illness caused by sin says Vatican official</a>

(Retitled by the Portal of Evil as: Pope Too Sick To Deliver Message That Sickness Is Caused By Sin )

IvanK

So we have the Pope, who says scientists should be careful when messing around with genes, a view shared by many not-religious as well as religious people. Then comes a Monsignor who says that, while sin doesn't cause disease in every instance, sin can be one cause of disease; elaborating on his elaboration, would you say unprotected promiscuous sex, which the Vatican would say is a sin, can in no circumstance lead to disease or not? Next we have another priest who talks about disease as being introduced by Original Sin, an unsupportable statement to be sure but one consistent with compassion toward the suffering as well as settled Catholic doctrine. There's a fourth preist in there at the end who speaks of disease as the result of malfunctioning of the human organism for which no Bible verses need be cited, as well as the Italian press which is always ready (thank Bruno) to jump on any Vatican statement and belabor it about the head and neck.

The headlines read, "Pope/Vatican claims that sin causes illness." I defy anyone reading the piece to conclude that the Pope said anything of the sort. I also defy them to define a consistent message on the subject coming out of the Catholic Church.