Comments on: Vatican daily says pill pollutes, causes male infertility

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:46:29 +0000

Thinking about it - that is a bit much. However, it would be good if the authors could make it more available. It would be even better if the authors subjected their work to peer review - that is the standard by which science should be initially screened.

By: Tom Heneghan

Tom Heneghan — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:29:27 +0000

ERic, I hope someone can help you but we simply don’t have the time. We write reports from the originals and include the links whenever we can, so those who can read the original languages can consult the same source documents we use. We sometimes translate a few paragraphs to provide the full context of a quote. But translating 100 pages … sorry, that’s just too much.

By: ERic

ERic — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:05:17 +0000

Could the people who are fluent in German provide a translation of the original 100 page document for we scientists who do not speak either German or Spanish?

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:26:27 +0000

evangelicals who support creationism and intelligent design have come under far more scrutiny recently for their scientific views. Bad science makes for bad arguments, in religion as well as in politics and other fields.

Ooh! You found the missing link? Thanks Tom. Please share it with us.

Typically, bad science, as described by actual scientists, not Reuters blog antagonists, refers to the use of a hypothesis as fact (see global warming.) So, please describe what facts now exist supporting evolution that are not just assumptions.

By: TheTruthIs...

TheTruthIs... — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:05:14 +0000

read all about it - the Catholic Church pollutes people’s minds with bigoted claptrap!

By: Tom Heneghan

Tom Heneghan — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:07:22 +0000

Terri, I am also fluent in German and I consulted Ehmann’s article before writing that post. The very first claim I looked up, that the pill contributed to male infertility, was mentioned there without any clear citation backing it up. I chose that claim because Bishop Sgreccia cast doubt on it in his interview with Corriere della Sera. That interview, which I have read in full in Italian, shows he has done further reading on the subject. Does this mean he is biased regarding things of faith?

I went back to consult Ehmann’s article but, curiously, the links for it on the FIAMC website have disappeared. Attempts to retrieve it through Google (which is how I found it yesterday) also brought up a “404 Not Found” message.

Maybe what is needed is more unbiased reading regarding things of faith. We neither question a religion’s doctrines nor its right to believe them. It’s not our job to ask whether Jesus rose from the dead, whether the Koran was dictated to Mohammad or whether humans are reincarnated. For example, this post did not say that the Catholic Church should support artificial birth control; that would be biased. But if people invoke the authority of science to support a doctrine, they open themselves to the question of whether the science used is sound. The same happens if people cite historical events to support a doctrine.

This kind of scrutiny is not only directed at the Catholic Church. In fact, evangelicals who support creationism and intelligent design have come under far more scrutiny recently for their scientific views. Bad science makes for bad arguments, in religion as well as in politics and other fields.

By: Terri

Terri — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:25:39 +0000

The article, written in German (in which I am fluent), was copiously cited. The citations were reputable medical journals and peer reviewed publications and cited research long since accepted by the medical and scientific community. Let’s not assume that the Vatican can’t properly reference and interpret scientific works. The Vatican did not reach these conclusions on its own, just put the results in the context of faith. The proof the author seeks would require that some intellectual work, and further reading, be done.

Let’s try for some unbiased reporting regarding things of faith.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:08:13 +0000

It is irrelevant whether Vatican “thinking” is that birth control pills cause pollution and male infertility. It has been the Catholic Church’s position that all chemical or physical (barrier) methods of avoiding pregnancy are morally wrong and, in the case of the Pill, cause abortion, which is the killing of a human being.

That is the story here.

By: Rubio

Rubio — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:03:20 +0000

Why haven’t scientists done test on these pills if they’re dangerous?? What are the risks of taking these pills??