About time…
… let’s hope that sanity prevails and condom use is seen as the “lesser of two evils” (well, it’s a start anyway).
Do you think it’s likely that we’ll see a fundamental shift in official church policy any time soon, or will the more old school elements in the vatican stifle any changes?
Hmm. I’m very much doubting that at this point in time they’d come right out and say “Yes, we don’t like the idea, but we suppose it’s for the best”. I think the text will make it clear condom use is a very bad thing to do, whilst carefully avoiding any use of the words “prohibited” or “acceptable”, and it will imply (as the story says) that condom use is to be begrudgingly allowed.
Apparently when the Vatican II was discussing whether it would approve condom use or not, most people thought that the decsion would be for approval. This is not a decision written in stone. I am sure the Catholic church could change.
I’ve always been perplexed at the decision that any “spilling of seed” that doesn’t result in procreation is killing unborn kids (including masturbation and, presumably, sex between an infertile couple). I mean, the spermatoza’s just gonna die in a couple of days anyway, even if it stays in the testes (IIRC).
Every sperm is sacred
Every sperm is great
If a sperm is wasted
God gets quite irate
I find the Catholic church’s stand on what they call artificial birth control to be absurd, It is far more unnatural to have a good marriage if one can only have relations with one’s partner if it is only during a time when a woman cannot conceive. By the same token they approve of keeping some one alive by artificial means, a contradiction in terms!
The arguement in my understanding is; that God is blocked from producing a child that He wants to be born, but the fact that the same God is still able to end a life if it is on artificial life maintaining equiptment. Doesn’t add up for me.
Only one seed in most cases fertilizes an egg,so the rest of the sperm then die…my, my, all those tiny lives are lost,what was God thinking? :wally
I don’t think the vatican will be able to hold out for much longer on the condoms issue - the sheer numbers of AIDS deaths in the developing world mean they will have to alter their stance or be seen as complete monsters (IMO).
I agree that they will probably stop short of full approval - but hopefully the language will be such that local churches will feel able to promote condom use freely and widely where it’s needed most.
I imagine it’ll restrict it to those already diagnosed, or at serious risk of contracting, AIDS etc - it will be for that reason, not the “side issue” that it also prevents pregnancy.
Whose “decision” was this? As far as I know, this is not, and may never have been, the official teaching of the Catholic Church.
And IANAC, but as far as I understand the Church’s position on sex and birth control (which is very imperfectly), it has something to do with the idea that sexual intercourse is inextricably linked with procreation, and it’s wrong to have intercourse while completely thwarting the possibility of conception (orsomething like that). But there’d have to be a significant reassessment of the whole attitude towards sexual intercourse (which, IMHO, is long overdue anyway) in order for condom use to be ruled okay.
I am a Catholic, and that’s pretty much my understanding as well. Sex, procreation, and marriange are part and parcel with one another. If there is any change to the church’s stance, I think it would be toward more leniency to use birth control methods-- within a marriage relationship. Right now anything other than NFP and its ilk is pretty much frowned upon, but I could see that changing. Of course, any condoning of contraception outside marriage would still be out of the question.
As the proud recipient of a triple-birth-control failure (sponge, spermicide and condom, no tear) I have to say that if God can’t make His Will known through a few micrometers of latex, He ain’t much of a god.
The Book of Sufi Healing says that the only thing that allows it to live is the permission of Allah. Corollary: If Allah gives someone permission to live, nothing can take it away. The author cites an anecdote of a couple who aborted… but still delivered a baby. (no cite in the book)
I think they should have done this ages ago - but then again, I’m not a Catholic I don’t usually agree with the Vatican, so they don’t have much interest in what I say.
Anyway, I’m a little surprised that this is coming from Benedict, who was said to be so conservative and not much different from his predecessor. If the next Pope was doing this, I’d be less surprised.
I’m perplexed at that decision too, especially in view of the fact that you apparently just made it up or imagined it.
There is no such decision, at least from the Roman Catholic Church.
Assuming that the partners aren’t married, they are already acting immorally and do they really care about compounding this with the use of birth control?
So is the Church looking at just condom use within a marriage where one partner is infected?
The received wisdom is that a majority of the commission established by Pope John XXIII recommended lifting the ban on birth control, but Pope Paul VI, in Humanae Vitae, went with the minority position. However, at least according to the Wikipedia article on Paul VI, this may not be true.
Sua
To be fair, this was taught by several church fathers. The one that most readily comes to mind is St. John Chrysostom.
I read this in a press release from the Vatican news agency:
So, yes, it looks as though the study, which the press release makes clear will have no doctrinal weight, is investigating the use of condoms within a marriage.
I read about this in yesterday’s paper, and I say, “Good for them!” While I disagree with the Catholic Church’s stance on birth control, I am willing to respect it. However, their stance on using condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS and other STDs has been something I find problematic, at best. I don’t expect them to change radically, but it is a step in the right direction, however small.
Slight nitpick, but for the RCC, condom use is a dogmatic/doctrinal question and not a theological question.
Slight nitpick, but for the RCC, condom use is a dogmatic/doctrinal question and not a theological question.