In his new book, Pope Benedict XVI says male prostitutes using condoms “is the lesser evil than passing HIV onto a partner,” and thus excused-ish. But wait, what’s this? Anybody — not just male sex workers — can use condoms without committing the ultimate sin?
The Catholic Church hates contraception almost as much as it hates abortion, so brace yourselves. Amidst the world’s shock over Ratzinger giving the okay for men who have sex with men to wear a rubber, Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi now says the pope has opened up condom usage to all. But only because it’s not as bad as spreading HIV. And the policy is universal: “This is if you’re a woman, a man, or a transsexual,” says Lombardi. “We’re at the same point.”
The confusion began because in the pope’s tome Light of the World, “the Italian translation of the book used the feminine for prostitute, whereas the original German used the masculine,” reports the AP. So Lombardi asked the pope “if there was a serious, important problem in the choice of the masculine over the feminine. He told me no. The problem is this … It’s the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship.”
Just don’t get too excited: Light of the World of course includes the requisite section about how gay sex is a violation of God’s teaching, and contraception is evil, and marriage is just for one man and one woman, and how the Vatican will be released new flavored wafers just in time for Christmas mass. (Okay, I’m lying about the last one.)
How about we take this to the next level?
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Daez
At least its a step in the right direction. I wonder what excuse Catholic men will come up with now for not using condoms because we all know they aren’t going to suddenly slip one on to have sex with their wife.
Since the stance is that its only ok if you are protecting your partner from STI’s, it seems that its still no alright to prevent pregnancy, which means that good ole’ Catholic men will just insist that they have nothing wrong with them that requires condom usage.
Evan
This is really a dramatic improvement in the church’s teachings, one with major repercussions for public health worldwide, and it should be unconditionally endorsed by anyone with a conscience. The church has acknowledged that people do have sex outside of church-approved heterosexual marriages, and it approves of people being responsible and considerate and protecting their and their partners’ health. This is light-years ahead of the previous policy, best summarized as “filthy homos and sluts deserve to die.”
The contraception ban is still a problem. The anti-gay stance is still a problem. But at least the Pope doesn’t want “sinners” to die of AIDS anymore.
PaulR
Sad so many people care what the vatican says about anything.
Bob
Wait….according to the Catholic Church, condom use has not been permitted since it prevents conception. So why was it ever wrong for a man having sex with a man to use condoms if there was never a chance for conception? And why would someone having gay sex care what the Catholic Church has to say about condom use, since according to the church, the sin of homosexual sex will condemn you to ‘their’ hell anyway? What, the use of a condom will make it even worse? This man in a dress is totally wacko!!!
Evan
@Bob: It’s not really about what individual gays choose – I seriously doubt any guy who’s about to fuck another guy gives a flying fuck what the Pope says about his sex life.
It is, however, more relevant to global public health initiatives. The Catholic Church is a major player in worldwide medical charity work, and if it doesn’t like condoms, then (for the most part) there won’t be condoms, nor will there be accurate safer sex information about condoms available. Catholic-funded schools, hospitals, and clinics in industrialized countries have the same issue: if condoms are bad, then it’s also bad to talk about the good they can do.
If the official church position is now that it’s OK to use condoms to prevent the spread of disease, then it’s also now ok to provide condoms for that purpose and to educate people about the role condoms play in preventing disease. This benefits billions of people worldwide, gay and straight.
Simon
Why do you people care what this old f* has to say ?! He’s an evil hypocrite with bunch of egocentric greedy bastards. I’m saying it as ex-catholic, born in one of most catholic country on this planet. Just screw them, they will loose their ‘power’ within two decades.
Evan
@Simon: so screw all the people who might be infected with HIV over the next few decades because they live in places where most medical services are provided/funded by the Catholic Church? Who cares that this new stance just opened the door to possibly giving the means and information to protect themselves/their partners from dying a horrible and untimely death? All that matters is maintaining complete moral purity by condemning the church no matter what it does.
WillBFair
@Evan, It’s a pleasure reading what you have to say. Not many people can define the issues so precisely without getting all emotional and knee jerky about everything. Thanks.
I agree. Apart from my contempt for the Pope, this is a huge step forward for millions in the third world.
ewe
So this jackass has finally learned the basics of sex education 101? Thirty to fifty years late!!!!!!!!!!! Whatever. He is EVIL and until his fucking message is love your neighbor as yourself he can go fuck himself.
j
@Evan: This. Everyone shut up about how bad the pope is. We get it. This is a MAJOR step forward for billions in the developing world. The catholic stranglehold on sexual health doesn’t just affect catholics, but impoverished minorities in predominantly catholic areas where any chance of sexual health is at the mercy of the church. We’re making progress; we’re making it slowly, but its happening and we can see it.
TikiHead
Let’s all just ignore this bitch. His pronouncements are for Catholics. He has lots of channels of his own to get the word out to his flock. I don’t want to hear it, anymore than I do Fatwas from Imams, or pronouncements from Orthodox Rabbis, Or Sikhs, or… you get the idea.
Hope you feel better, queerty!
[The Pope’s] point, for anybody with two brain cells to rub together to see, is that somebody who has lived a sinful life can take a modest and imperfect step toward forgetting himself and try to do something for somebody else. That doesn’t automatically make him a hero or a saint, NOR DOES IT BAPTIZE THE DETAILS OF HIS ATTEMPT AT SELF-SACRIFICIAL DECENCY AS A “GOOD THING” [emphasis added]. So when Darth Vader — after betraying the Jedi, killing a bunch of children, acting for years as the lieutenant of the Most Evil Man in the Galaxy, destroying Alderaan, torturing Han Solo, and trying with might and main to kill Luke Skywalker — finally feels a tiny pang of conscience after watching his own son be tortured in the most sadistic manner possible and tosses Emperor Palpatine down an elevator shaft, we can say that there has been “a first step in assuming moral responsibility” — a first eensy weensy, itsy bitsy step. We can’t say, “Pope approves throwing people down elevator shafts.”
Hope you feel better, queerty!
@Simon:
Yes, why so much concern? I thought the church is irrelevant. You all seem awfully worked up. Frenzied, you could say!
ewe
@j: yeah right. this is like Hitler telling us to be careful that the ovens are toxic.
Dan
I do not know if anyone has noticed or thought the same like I always intuitively had from the very first time I saw Pope’s picture whenever it appears on the newspaper, that there is a look in his eyes contact that is so similar to a gay cruiser?
Cung Vo
Using condom in preventing desease transmitted is not a new issue for half century ago. I think Benedict wants to turn the media to the other point, in backing up Timothy Dolan and USCC open the battle field against LGBT in USA on the higher level.
Colorado Bail Bonds
lets keep it safe out there
king
can he move to china? i need it!
Bob
I’m gay, but cut the Pope some slack already. The media spinned this whole thing out of proportion and made it look like he was changing what the Church says about condom use, whereas anyone who has a high school reading level can see that he’s focusing upon the moral intention of the prostitute, and not upon the condom.
The only point he’s trying to make is NOT that it’s okay (or, as this silly article says, “a lesser evil”) to use a condom. Instead, he is saying that the prostitute who uses a condom to keep from spreading AIDS is beginning to act in a moral way, since he is CONCERNED about injuring the person he’s having sex with. The Pope isn’t saying that it’s better for the prostitute to use a condom. He’s saying that it’s starting down the right path that he is CONCERNED for his partner.
It’s really that simple.
Devon Hunter
As a gay escort, I will be using condoms whether her worshipfulness approves (to whatever degree) or not.
Bob
@Evan: Nonsense. It isn’t a change at all. Read very carefully what the Pope said.
The media have made this out to be a change, but it isn’t.
Let me give you an example:
If I hold up a bank, and I decide that I will do so with a gun loaded with rubber bullets instead of lead bullets, one might say that I am taking the “first step” toward moral responsibility by ensuring that the bullets I use won’t kill anyone.
Does that mean that it’s better to use rubber bullets than not to use bullets at all, or not to rob the bank in the first place?
No. Of course not.
Apparently reporters who have written on this story, Mr. Tedder included, can’t understand basic logic and have poor reading comprehension skills. No need to blame the Pope for that. Perhaps you can blame the horrible educational system these days.
j
@ewe: No its not, because its positive effects reach billions of people. I’m not absolving the popes moral guilt. Did you read my post? And can we please not envoke hitler unless a proper analogy can actually be made? It’s rather tired.
j
@Bob: I missed this, and its rediculous. Just because the pope’s proclamation doesn’t effect you don’t assume this is the same for everyone. Stop making brash proclamations because of your privilege and consider how things are for billions of poor people within the catholic church’s iron grip all over the developing world. For once, this isn’t about the average middle class american. Weh if this isn’t good enough for you; its a giant leap for people who are tied to their poverty by huge amounts of kids and sexual disease. As the wise christopher hitchens once said, “only by improving the living standards of women can we improve the situation of the poor all over the world. It is the only method that has been shown to work.”
Satan
You go gurl!
ewe
@j: darlin, I don’t need you to be a second moral compass for me either. I also am not interested in fools that guide their behavior based on what some dysfunctional virgin has to say today. It will be somethin else tomorrow.
Bob
@j: @J, your comment is ALL OVER the place. Stop for a second and realize what I said. I simply commented that people have TOTALLY misunderstood the Pope’s words. What he says isn’t what is being speculated upon in the media.
How on earth do you go from that to talking about this not being about middle class Americans and about the standard of living for the world’s women?
Jeffree
Official Catholic teaching or stance on condom use have NOT been changed just because of the Pope’s statement in a book.
It’s a small step toward making a change, but until there’s an official reversal or “clarification” of the Vatican’s existing policies, the various Cardinals/Archbishops etc. won’t be obliged to modify what they preach.
We could still be a long way from when condoms are made available to catholic hospitals/clin.ics/medical personnel to prevent the spread of HIV & other STDs.