Musafir's Musings

What about Catholics in America and abroad? Do they follow the pope's dictum? Talk to your Catholic friends under 50. Chances are you'll learn that most of them practice some form of birth control, including condoms, and don't even consider that as a sin. How does the Vatican explain the phenomenon in Italy. "The birth rate of Italy, at a rate of 1.23 children per woman is the second lowest in the Western world. Women rarely have more than one child. The government and the Catholic Church in this staunchly Catholic nation are perplexed and concerned by this phenomenon." Are the Italians practitioners of the rhythm method, aka Russian roulette ? That,too, is not encouraged by the church. It considers that sexual intercourse is meant only for procreation. Talk about heads buried in the sand! Unfortunately, there is no doubt that the church's position results in millions of unwanted pregnancies and STDs.

That brings up another question......do Catholic priests masturabate? A medically proven healthy practice, masturbation is also a sin according to the church. Think about the numerous publicized cases about Catholic priests who engaged in pedophilia and you'll have the answer.

The hypocrisy is not confined to the Catholic Church. Politicians play the same game. Republicans, with their moral values facade, are outwardly more prudish than Democrats. But even President Clinton, of all people, let his one time surgeon general, Dr. Jocelyn Elders, go because of her frank comments about masturbation. What did she say? ".............is something that is part of human sexuality and it is part of something that perhaps should be taught." And then Clinton went on to diddle Monica Lewinsky in the White House!