Is Pope Poised to sanction use of Condoms?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

<snip>
The Catholic Church is on the brink of a historic change of approach over condoms which could bring hope to millions in Africa and other parts of the developing world devastated by Aids.

"We are conducting a very profound scientific, technical and moral study," said the head of the Vatican Council for Health Pastoral Care. The church is expected to give a guarded, provisional blessing to the use of condoms by married couples when one of them suffers from Aids, as a way of protecting the health of the other partner. It is only a technical concession, based on two ancient principles, but, against the background of the stolid refusal by church authorities to countenance even the slightest deviation for more than a generation, it amounts to a revolution.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article361564.ece

Can I just say: Everyone thought that the current pope wasn't going to make progress at all, and most thought they were going to hate him. Those in the know are actually saying he's probably going to ok this. It's only provisional, but it's a HUGE STEP!!
Duckie

[Matilda]

1. It is a huge step in the right direction.

I wouldn't think the study would be undertaken at all without the tacit consent of the Pope, so it's
very encouraging.

I was never a huge fan of JPII, and I thought his attitude to AIDS in Africa downright inhumane. The
hard line came direct from him.

[JohnKleeb]

2. It's a step in the right direction

I have to admit I was wrong about Benedict. Of course those who call him the Nazi pope will still do it out of sheer ignorance.

[laheina]

9. Well, Going in to this Papacy,

All that I really knew about the man was that he was supposed to be an Ultra Conservative, but after his Easter Address (condemned factory farming) and this--I'm starting to really like the guy. :)

[JohnKleeb]

10. I'll always be partial to John Paul II however

I've taken an appreciation of Pope Benedict. It says more about the morons who call him the Nazi Pope than it does about him as a person. The church has impressed me while taking a fair balance between science and faith. I honestly think balance is what the world needs to work and Benedict through his more pragmatic path is showing that.

[shrike]

3. Guess I read Benedict wrong

at least in this instance.

[hedgehog]

4. I just hope this doesn't turn out like the last time

The committee gave a green light, but Paul VI backed out at the last minute. Ironically, my understanding is that that Paul feared if the teachings on contraception were changed, the Church would lose teaching authority!

[Matilda]

5. Probably the reverse was true.

The Church was clearly out of step with modern Catholic thinking, with the result that a majority
of western Catholics ignored Humanae Vitae, and are still doing so.

I think that one encyclical may have done more to damage the Church's authority than anything else
I can think of.

[AngryOldDem]

6. It is a huge step

I was involved in a very heated debate about this on another Internet board with a bunch of (what I consider to be) fundie Catholics. It was very disheartening to see the closed-minded attitudes and misconceptions that many of them have about Africa. Even in the face of my facts they were still adamant that the use of condoms to protect against disease was wrong, and that Church teaching on ABC is unchangeable. (But then, these loons think that anything that comes out of the Vatican is sacrosanct.)I had facts out the gazoo but nothing could open their minds. I even described what life was like for the orphans -- those kicked out of their homes because the family could not care for them anymore after the deaths of their parents -- and I was accused of tugging on heartstrings. One implied that it would be better if children were born to HIV or AIDS-infected parents rather than being contracepted. Most said, well, if the husband is basically raping the wife, she should leave. Total ignorance of culture and poverty. It was really eye-opening.

I've walked away from the debate because I think my facts speak for themselves.

My analogy has always been that if your house is on fire, you don't stand around debating about how best to put it out. In Africa, **nothing** should be discounted in the fight against AIDS. Even condoms. I applaud the Vatican for being willing to consider a slight change in their teaching on birth control. Damn, it's just common sense!

[demosincebirth]

7. I never read anything about contraception in the Bible, nor

in the New teatament. I don't think the Church should have ever got envolved in it in the first place.

[AngryOldDem]

8. I agree

The only reference in the whole Bible that I am aware of is Onan. (Forget which OT book at the moment.) But even there, the outrage over what he did was concerned more with the loss of a possible male heir for property rights than it was with preventing a pregnancy. Two different rationales there, just as there are today: People use ABC for a whole boatload of reasons, all of which are between the individual, their partner, and their God. No. One. Else.

Speaking as someone who had two miscarriages (one very bad), followed by two stressful pregnancies, our decision to use ABC (vasectomy) was the best and most logical decision for us and the four children we already have. If the Church doesn't like it, or suspects shady motives in our decision -- well, not our problem.

If you want some enlightening reading on how the whole ABC debate took off in the Church, start with Garry Wills' "Papal Sins," and then "Contraception" by John Noonan.

[regnaD kciN]

11. It's still in the "study" stage...

I certainly hope that reason will prevail in this case, but those of us with long memories will remember when Paul VI put together a similar study to determine whether the Church's opposition to contraception should be modified. The result of the study was an overwhelming affirmative from the commission that there was no theological objection to married couples using artificial contraception to limit the size of their families, as long as it wasn't an expression of an overall refusal to ever have children. The commission's report went to the Pope, with the near-universal expectation that it would be used as justification for a change in Vatican policy. The result? Humanae Vitae. :-(

Now, I would hope that even the most conservative prelate in the Curia would be sensitive to the use of condoms in this case (not to mention the massive negative publicity that would result from a decree that people whose spouses suffer from HIV must either practice abstinence or expose themselves to the disease). Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that there's a long way between the results of a study and the Papal seal on an encyclical. And, until we have the latter, there's no change in the policy.