As someone who was raised Catholic and has since decided that all religions are talking about the same destination, just taking different roads to get there… I was truly dismayed by the Pope’s antiquated thinking today while visiting the African continent, the region of the world hit hardest by the AIDS virus. The church’s theory that abstaining from sex will win the day has proven hollow, especially in light of all the clergy that have not been able to abstain from abusing young boys and get a free pass from legal prosecution, while some men and women spend years in prison for mush lesser offenses. ‘Abstinence’, unless taught from a young age whilst living in a society of high moral aspirations, will always fail. One only needs to look to modern day music video’s, advertisements, pop culture and see that the days of courting one’s future mate, marrying them first, then having sexual relations, are long gone… perhaps to our detriment, but the fact remains… if the clergy can’t keep it in their pants, how does the Pope expect those who do not profess such holiness to do so? His reaffirmation today in Africa of the church’s stand on the banning of condoms just signed the death warrant of untold numbers of people in that region who hold his words as gospel… and I for one am deeply saddened by his ignorance and/or adherence to a position that was never addressed in the New Testament. How could it be? Condoms were not even invented yet. The Pope may be the direct line to God for millions of Catholics around the world, but is this position on condom use compassion? Is this what Jesus would support if he were alive today? The Pope is a human being, who rose to the top of the ladder in his chosen faith. This truth, however, should not give him any credit to stroll into a country that is riddled with a disease that has stricken young and old, rich and poor, man, woman and child… and then claim to have any moral authority to tell them to abstain from protecting themselves from almost certain death. It is disturbing to say the least.

I will apologize for upsetting any Catholic followers out there that I may have offended with this writing, when the Pope apologizes for his insensitivity to what is happening in these current times.

The dark ages are over. The Roman Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest organizations in the world, while Jesus said give your shirt off your back to the needy. The Church is exempt from paying taxes while the world economy crumbles… and the Church and its clergy are relatively free from criminal prosecution when it comes to their misconduct. Isn’t it about time they live up to Jesus’ words and deeds? Granted the Roman Catholic Church is one of the biggest providers of HIV care giving… and this I will credit them for. But what is it saying giving millions to care for the infected on one hand, while on the other hand you are blindly letting the disease spread through banning condoms?

Today I met the Un-Pope on a street corner and he made a new dictate -

“Oh ye of little faith… please wear condoms if you wish, oh human beings of the world! In these times of overpopulation and disease, I have great faith condoms will do you much good service in the eyes of God… for ‘abstinence’ has failed you so!  Now go forth and multiply!!… or at least ‘practice multiplying’ as you humans seem to enjoy doing so often… and be safe in the process if you so choose! Ok… that’s it, time for me to go back to my non-trillion dollar castle in Rome. Now where did I park my non-bullet proof Un-Pope Mobile?”

Hey… this Un-Pope guy may just be on to something…

Everyone has been asking “When will the new record be released?” and to be honest it is held up due to legal negotiations and will not be available during the European tour, however, in its absence I have put together a live CD from the March 7th show in my hometown of Portland, Oregon, and from the benefit for the Children’s Cancer Society on the 6th of March at Danny Zelisko’s home in Phoenix, Arizona. Many people have been asking after the shows about having the live acoustic set recordings, so this will hopefully satisfy those who wanted live recordings of some Dan Reed Network favorites like Ritual, Salt of Joy, Lover, Stronger than Steel, and others… along with a preview of the new solo material played as they were written- on the acoustic guitar. This Limited Edition Live CD will be available at the live performances only and I hope you all will enjoy it.  I apologize for the very long wait on the studio album. I look forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming shows… thank you for your patience and your faith in the music.  Dan