As we approach another World AIDS Day the media is reporting on comments made by Pope Benedict concerning condom use. The Vatican wants to make clear that the pope isn't reversing course and changing the Roman Catholic Church's position on safe sex. Catholic News Agency reports:
Vatican City, Nov 20, 2010 / 07:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Excerpts of Pope Benedict XVI’s new book are already causing a stir. Though some media reports claim he offers a change in papal teaching about condom use, Pope Benedict in fact says that a humanized sexuality, not condoms, is the right response to HIV.
The Nov. 21 edition of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano (LOR) will release excerpts of the pontiff’s book "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times.”
The book contains the Pope's responses to questions from Peter Seewald, a German reporter who spoke with him over a week last summer about the most sensitive and important questions in Church life today.
The themes treated in the book are edgy and the reception of the Pope's words is likely to be varied, but his answers offer a unique look into his teachings and his perspective on the Church and the world.
In the excerpts offered in LOR, just two brief paragraphs provide the Pope's response to a question on sexuality in the world today. He says that concentrating on the use of the condom only serves to trivialize sexuality.
This trivialization leads many people to no longer see sex as an expression of love, but as a self-administered drug. The fight against the banalization of sexuality is part of a great effort to change this view to a more positive one.
According to one much-commented excerpt printed in L'Osservatore Romano, the Pope concedes that there can be single cases in which the use of a condom may be justified.
He uses the example of prostitutes who might use prophylactics as a first step toward moralization, that is, becoming moral. In such a case, condom use might be their first act of responsibility to redevelop their consciousness of the fact that not everything is permitted and that one cannot do everything one wants.
While secular outlets such as Time Magazine characterized this remark as “a stunning turnaround” for the Church, Pope Benedict goes on to explain that this is not the true and proper way to defeat HIV. Instead what is necessary is the humanization of sexuality.
The Roman Catholic Church's position on condom use has caused untold death and suffering in Africa and other parts of the world, including the United States. Their position is not born out of malice, of course, but rather what I would consider a misunderstanding of human nature and faith. Many Christian churches, including the United Church of Christ, support condom distribution as a tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
In 2009, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ adopted a resolution calling for 'Comprehensive HIV Prevention in Church in Community" which reads, in part:
As Christians, we are called to follow the teaching and ministry of Jesus Christ. The gospel narratives are full of stories about the life and ministry of Jesus and the many ways Jesus reached out with compassion and healing to those who were sick and marginalized. Jesus sent his disciples out to heal the sick (Luke 9:1-2). Jesus also encouraged people of faith to be ready and alert, saying, “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.” Luke 12:39. In terms of HIV, we know how it breaks into the body and robs the immune system of its capacity to respond to disease but too many people, young and old, are not effectively prepared with the information and tools they need to prevent infection.
Our Christian tradition speaks of the already and not yet character of our faith in a way that brings hope in the midst of difficulty. We know that we all are God's beloved children, worthy of love, dignity and respect, but that we have not yet fully realized God's realm in our midst. Even when we find ourselves in the pit of life, as the Psalmist laments, we know that the pit is not the place God intends us to be (Psalm 40:2). Our resurrection faith inspires us to trust the power of God to make a way out of no way.
Also from our biblical tradition, the apostle Paul challenged the early Christian communities to keep their eyes on the prize, run the race with perseverance and pursue their vision for mission and ministry until it was attained.
The HIV and AIDS pandemic is one of the most serious health crises the world has ever faced. UNAIDS estimates there are 33 million people living with HIV worldwide and 5 million people die each year from AIDS (June 2008). The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a new report in August 2008 revealing that for the past several years the annual number of new infections in the U.S. has been underreported by 40%. The CDC estimated that there are 56,300 new HIV infections in the U.S. per year, more than 1 million people living with HIV (about 0.5% of the total U.S. population) and 250,000 of them are not aware they are HIV positive.
Visit the United Church of Christ HIV and AIDS Network for more information.
