creed of reason
“The only people who are obsessed with food are anorexics and the morbidly obese. And that, in erotic terms, is the Catholic church in a nutshell.” —Stephen Fry
Today, I’m on the train from Düsseldorf to Hamburg, and back again tonight, to follow a party invite by Elbkind that I couldn’t refuse ;-) So I ’ll leave you with something to watch: The Intelligence2 Debate with Archbishop Onaiyekan, Ann Widdecombe, Christopher Hitchens, and Stephen Fry on the motion “The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world.”
Regrettably, the version just linked to at Intelligence2 is edited down to a quarter of an hour, from a debate that actually went on for around two hours. Instead, watch the full version below! Two hours are quite a bit, of course, so if you have to pick & choose, at least watch the wonderful Stephen Fry, arguing against the motion (his speech starts around 48:00, I think).
As a spoiler (or appetizer, it depends), here’s a quote, shortly before he closes his argument:
It’s the strange thing about this church: it is obsessed with sex, absolutely obsessed. […] The only people who are obsessed with food are anorexics and the morbidly obese. And that, in erotic terms, is the Catholic church in a nutshell.
And there’s another great quote, from the wrap-up statements:
I suppose I’m slightly disappointed that, uh, nobody in particular, said, oh, I knew they’d bring up condoms, and child rape, and homosexuality. It’s a bit like a burglar in court, saying, “you would bring up that burglary, and that manslaughter, you never mention the fact I give my father a birthday present!” You know, its—yes, yes, are you getting the message—there is a reason we hammer home these issues: because they matter.
Enjoy!
If you have something valuable to add or some interesting point to discuss, I’ll be looking forward to meeting you at Mastodon!