Godless and flammable?

[mrph]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Glasgow's Catholics want to set fire to LGBT folk. That's a little bit 15th century, after all.

On the other hand, handing out safety information that might stop those people catching fire from other causes... that seems to be a little more controversial, doesn't it?

The BBC states that some firefighters viewed it as something that would "contradict their moral beliefs", presumably because it meant visiting Pride to hand out the leaflets. Archbishop Mario Conti seems to agree with them, saying that "The duty to obey one's conscience is a higher duty than that of obeying orders".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/5301334.stm

Hmm. Does anyone local have a little more information on this tale?

Comments

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

You know, this is a thing I find fascinating, this "I refuse to live up to the responsibilities of my professional ethic because of my personal conscience."

The big one over here in the States was the pharmacist debacle - refusing to provide emergency contraception because it "contradicted their moral beliefs" - and, in some particularly stunning cases, refused to fulfill prescriptions for the pre-natal vitamins to ensure a healthy birth because the 'scrips were issued from a clinic that also counseled abortion. There's a moral quandary, eh? And we had all this hooplah about how they shouldn't be required to contradict their moral code.

There's an easy solution here, especially for the folks over here who say "women who don't want to be pregnant shouldn't have sex." so clearly. The duties of your job are pretty damn up-front, and unlike sex, the job can't be forced on you. If your conscience prevents you from conforming to the ethics required of the profession, if you can't in good conscience save the lives of "those people"... quit. Go find another job. You want to stand up for your convictions? Stand up for your convictions, and deal with the consequences. Show me you meant it. Don't just sit down on the job and excuse yourself. That's the laziest conscience I've ever seen.

This rant brought to you by hatred, rage, and the letter N.