With all the credibility of a ...

Well, you name it. Somehow, taking the advice of a Catholic bishop on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases doesn't rank much higher than asking a Golden Retriever how to prevent shedding.

Alberta's Catholic bishops are warning parents to think twice about letting their daughters be vaccinated against a cancer-causing, sexually transmitted virus.

But the bishops, in a joint statement issued Monday, stop well short of barring Catholic schools in Alberta from administering the vaccine, and acknowledge that parents are the "primary decision-makers" when it comes to their children's health.

That's right. And it might do well for these supposed celibates to keep their mouths as shut as their minds when it comes to the sex lives of others and the prevention of disease.

The bishops said the HPV vaccine has raised questions about whether it sends a message to girls that casual sex is acceptable.

"Catholic teaching is that sexuality is a God-given gift that should be reserved for marriage," the bishops wrote.

I'll give you good odds that if you conducted an honest survey of Catholics in Canada and the US, and received honest answers, that you'd find that "reservation for marriage" was regularly preempted in wholesale numbers.

And let's see what else the Roman Catholic clergy is up to. Oh yeah. They're a real prize lot alright.

(And, yes, we're all about looking things up for others. Google search: 3 seconds. Knowing another blogger is on it: 2 seconds. Adding Catholic hypocrisy: timeless.)