Pope Benedict XVI seems to be carrying on the Catholic churches doctrine of fear of latex. As in latex condoms. And in doing so, doesn’t seem to mind that the people stupid enough to listen to them may well be sacrificing their life. But I suppose that it’s better to die of AIDS than risk disobedience. Afterall, God would prefer you to succumb to AIDS than defile your body with latex.
I surely don’t believe that but apparently Pope Benedict XVI, who is about as far removed from the realities of life as one can be, seems to think so.
Nicholas Kristoff has a great column in the NY Times about this very subject (which is why I brought it up again).
Let’s hope that Pope Benedict XVI quickly realizes that the worst sex scandal in the Catholic Church doesn’t involve predatory priests. Rather, it involves the Vatican’s hostility to condoms, which is creating more AIDS orphans every day.
The Catholic Church’s obsession with sex will be its downfall. The dissent is growing, not only for priests being able to marry but for the far more pragmatic–their insistance on forbidding contraceptives in a world overflowing with people, and in a world where an insidious disease is spreading like wildfire. The sins of sex? Well, maybe, but unfortunately, unless we can figure out a way to turn humans into creatures that go into heat once or twice a year like other mammals, sinful sex is here to stay.
Kristof goes to complement the Church for the fine work it does overseas and in the US, and the devotion of nuns and priests who care for the sick and needy. However, he also points out that the Vatican’s ban on condoms has cost many hundreds of thousands of lives from AIDS.
So when historians look back at the Catholic Church in this era, they’ll give it credit for having fought Communism and helped millions of the poor around the world. But they’ll also count its anti-condom campaign as among its most tragic mistakes in the first two millennia of its history.
The doctrine of the Catholic Church basically helps increase AIDS in the world. Now that more than 20 million people worldwide have died of AIDS - a toll greater than three Holocausts, says Kristoff, there is growing pressure within the church to reconsider its position on condoms.
Oh my, does the Pope have his hands full. But local clery are realizing that the church has to adapt to the 21st century, if they wish to remain in touch with the population at large.
“If I were pope, I would start a condom factory right in the Vatican,” one Brazilian priest told me. “What’s the point of sending food and medicine when we let people get infected with AIDS and die?”
In his office, that priest keeps a small framed condom behind glass, with a sign: “In case of emergency, break the glass.”
And what is the point? Keeping people alive until they die of AIDS, while doing nothing to help prevent the spread? Yes, I know, abstinence. Go tell that to the horny infected males of the world, who if they can’t get it from their wives or girlfriends, will head over to the nearest prostitute.
Kristoff’s article is interesting, in that he points our examples of a number of Catholic clergy and organizations, primarily in Brazil, who feel that AIDS prevention supercedes the dictates of the Vatican. That it is more important to save lives than obey rules issued by wealthy celibate old men thousands of miles removed.
The Vatican Way
The countries that have been most successful in controlling AIDS, such as Thailand, Brazil, Uganda and Cambodia, have all relied in part on condoms to reduce transmission. Yes, condoms. Condoms, condoms, condoms. But the Vatican has decided to preach the science of George Bush, and has argued that condoms do not protect against HIV.
Amazing, isn’t it. There is no scientific backing to prove that condoms don’t work, but that is the approach that Bush has taken. And the Church has chosen to follow his lead and preach lies. Uh, doesn’t that go against the word of God, to knowingly spread lies–and especially lies which will lead to thousands of deaths?
In El Salvador, the church helped push through a law requiring condom packages to carry a warning label that they do not protect against AIDS. Since fewer than 4 percent of Salvadoran couples use condoms the first time they have sex, the result will be more funerals.
Fortunately, the Vatican’s policies are routinely breached by those charged with carrying them out. In rural Guatemala, I’ve met Maryknoll sisters who counsel prostitutes to use condoms. In El Salvador, I talked to doctors in a Catholic clinic who explain to patients how condoms can protect against AIDS. In Zimbabwe, I visited a Catholic charity that gave out condoms - until the bishop found out.
“What would Jesus do?” said Didier Francisco Pelaez, a seminarian in São Paulo. “He would save lives. If condoms will save lives, then he would encourage their use.”
So, Pope Benedict can truly put his money where his mouth is and decide to follow Catholic tradition by allowing the church to evolve to meet the needs of society. Yes, that is the tradition. The church has changed dramatically since the 4th century. Priests and the Pope used to marry–that was changed. The habits of nuns have changed and some don’t wear them at all. Mass was changed from Latin to the local language. The Church has agreed with Galileo (even though it took a few hundred years) that the Earth revolves around the sun. And so on.
This is an opportunity for the Pope to take a very courageous move. He can decide to move with the times, or watch thousands die and the dissent within the church grow and mushroom. In order to “save face,” he can say that condoms should be used to prevent AIDS, without going near that deadly word “contraception.”
Anyway, Kristoff makes a lot of great points. Pope Benedict should take a look at what he says.