"I want to point out that the following statement by the bishop of diocese of Youngstown, OH is yet another of an ongoing plethora of statements from members of various hierarchies around the world assuring us that,the recent musings of Pope Benedict XVI regarding condoms to the contrary nothwithstanding, the Church's hard line on condoms remains cast in concrete - contraception remains immoral, under any circumstances, even though it may may not be the intent in using a condom.
Not one of these prelates has had the courage and integrity to admit that millions of monogamous women in Africa have been needlessly infected by their HIV-positive husbands/partners over the past 2+ decades because John Paul II, on whose watch the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa began, and Benedict XVI (upon until now) and their sycophants have failed to tell these HIV-positive men that, if they cannot or are unwilling to refrain from sexual relations with their women, they have a moral obligation to use condoms on a consistent basis - this relying on well-established principles of pastoral moral theology, viz. lesser evil, double effect and the right to self-defense.
Their failure to act as real pastors in this life and death issue for these innocent women, Catholics and many non-Catholics under the care of Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Internationalis, simply reinforces the refusal of many, if not most, African males to use condoms -they demand sex and if a woman refuses a husband’s or partner’s sexual overtures, she risks ostracism, violence, and destitution for herself and her children. Condoms in those real life situations are a "pro-life" strategy. These so-called shepherds continue to fail to protect the women in their flocks and are therefore morally complicit in that horrendous holocaust of suffering and deaths in Africa. Their support of dogmatic orthodoxy over Christ-like orthopraxy is lamentable and pathetic. They have lost their moral capacity to lead and do not deserve our respect. "
by Bill Schuch
Bishop of Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio: The Pope's Comments on Condoms
"International media reports have created a great deal of confusion around Pope Benedict’s recently published remarks with regard to condoms. Some reports have claimed that the Pope is justifying condom use in certain circumstances. Others have accused the Pope of changing Church teaching. A careful reading of his remarks reveals, however, that Pope Benedict neither proposed any change to the teaching of the Church on the immorality of the use of contraceptives, nor does he justify condom use, or characterize their use as a lesser evil. He is, in fact, very clear in the interview that condoms are not either a real or moral solution to the AIDS crisis. Why, then, all of the confusion? Some news reports have taken one sentence from Chapter 11 of the Pope’s book-length interview and given it a broader interpretation than the Pope intended. In this sentence, Pope Benedict states, “There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants.”
"Pope Benedict was not justifying condom use for male prostitutes or for anyone else. Rather he was reflecting on the dawning light of human conscience in a person who lives a sinful lifestyle. In the Pope’s example, even someone whose life is so darkened by sin still has a hope for conversion by reflecting on his actions according to the true inner voice of conscience. Specifically, a prostitute’s use of a condom is not in any way a lesser evil, but rather it is his (or her) desire to reduce the risk of spreading AIDS that may signal a first step in recognizing the human dignity of a sexual partner. In a prostitute’s realization that a deadly disease would not be good for a sexual partner, there is hope that one day he or she will come to see the immorality of that lifestyle and begin to seek the true freedom that is found only in Jesus Christ.I hope this helps to clarify the Holy Father’s remarks."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Once again, the hierarchy has no clue that it's teaching does NOT reflect the compassion in the heart of Jesus for all God's people, including women. We must all follow our consciences in moral decisions. Bill Schuch is right on in his message that millions of women have died because of their partners' failures to use condoms to protect them for infection by HIV AIDS. This does not reflect a pro-life stance toward women that our church professes as central to its teaching on the dignity and protection of life from womb to tomb. We should ask ourselves why does the male hierarchy espouse such a double standard and why are women's lives expendable?
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org
sofiabmm@aol.com
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