31 January 2007

"Forgive me father for I may, or may not, have sinned"

Reporters for the Italian magazine L'espresso have gone underground cleverly disguised as Catholics to unearth if Italian priests are toeing the Vatican line in the confessional.

Guess what! They aren't. Well most of the time anyway. According to an article in today's Guardian they come up short in a number of areas. Amongst the more controversial opinions expressed were:

  • On switching off the respirator of a parent - "Don't think any more about it...I myself, if I had a father, a wife or a child who had lived for years only because of artificial means, would pull out [the plug]."
  • On taking a well paid job working on embryonic stem cells. Should the sinner take the job if he would use the extra money to start a family? - "Yes. Yes. Of course."
  • On being homosexual - "Generally, the best attitude is to be yourself - what in English is called 'coming out'."
  • On using condoms during sex when HIV-positive - this was described as "more of a personal problem, one of conscience".

Of course when the issue of abortion was raised by a reporter who said his future child would be born with Down's Syndrome - "I swear to God: if you do it, you'll be a murderer."

What has been the Vatican's reaction to this? Why what else would they do other than "accuse the magazine of profanity.

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