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| Pope Francis meets with Uruguay Ambassador Guzman Miguel Carriquiry Lecour on Saturday at the Vatican. Neither wore a face-mask nor observed sensible social distancing. Photo: Vatican Media/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock |
I know it's unkind but I can't help laughing at the news that Pope Francis is to be vaccinated against Covid-19!
In an interview with the Italian TV station Canale 5, Pope Francis said
I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine. It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others. Next week, we will start doing it here, in the Vatican, and I have booked myself in. It must be done.On the one hand, I have to admire his good sense in setting an example for others to follow, since it really is vital that humanity quickly builds up a sufficient level of herd immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus to stop this pandemic dead in its tracks with over 90,000,000 confirmed cases and quickly approaching 2,000,000 deaths worldwide.
On the other hand, I can't help wondering why he is putting his faith in science and not prayer and why he is so keen to delay his meeting with God! What does he know that he's not telling us?
Then there is also the question of what he thinks God's plan was in launching this plague, assuming he still does subscribe to the view that the god of the Bible is running the show and nothing happens without his agreement and according to his divine and perfect plan. It's hard to see how Pope Francis can now continue to insist on the power of prayer and the intercession of saints on behalf of the faithful, unless he firmly believes that no-one of sufficient faith ever prayed for the pandemic to end or for anyone to be protected against it.
Then, of course, there are the creationists who insist that something like SARS-CoV-2 cannot arise by a natural process such as evolution because the probability of it arising by chance alone is too small, so it must have been intelligently designed, regardless of the fact that any such designer could not possibly be regarded as omni-benevolent. Pope Francis, of course, is not a YEC creationist but nevertheless subscribes to the notion that there is a benevolent intelligence guiding evolution and that this intelligence is one and the same as the Christian god, who has a perfect plan for mankind.
In effect, Pope Francis just threw Intelligent [sic] Design Creationism under a bus!
The coronavirus pandemic is making it increasingly hard for the Christian Churches to sell the notion of a magic, all-loving, creative deity who listens to and answers prayers and of whom the Bible says:
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.Clearly, Pope Francis doesn't believe a word of that wacky-woo and very sensibly knows he needs science, not faith and magic spells, to be protected from Covid-19.
Matthew 7:7-8
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Matthew 17:20
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Mark 16:15-18
Why he wants to delay his meeting with his god is another matter entirely. Perhaps he doesn't believe a word of that wacky-woo either.
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