VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - "The use of condoms to stop the spread of AIDS may be justified in certain cases, Pope Benedict says in a new book that could herald the start of sea change in the Vatican's attitude to condoms..."
"While some Roman Catholic leaders have spoken in the past about the limited use of condoms in specific cases to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS as a lesser of two evils, this is the first time the pope has mentioned the possibility himself in public..."
1 comment:
Not so fast Bridget Mary.
If you read the pope's comments in context you will see that the pope not only said no such thing, but he never even implied it.
The pope's statement in context does not even speak to the issue of whether condoms are justified in any circumstance.
The pope gives an example of a homosexual prostitute, and then specuates whether or not such a person who utilizes a condom is expressing an awareness that sexual pleasure is not the highest goal, but rather taking care not to harm people with our choices. Use of the condom in such a senerio is step one of a greater moral awareness that the pope would hope might lead the person to realize homosexual relations are not in keeping with God's plan for humanity. While the pope gave the specific example of a homosexual prostitute, I think the same thinking can apply to hetero-sexual couples who have relations outside of marriage, or hetero-sexual prostitutes.
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