Sunday, November 21, 2010

I guide for those perplexed by the Pope's statement on condoms

Here is an analogy that may help.
A while ago there was a story about a professor at a university in England who had his laptop stolen. Some time afterward, he received an envelope with a USB stick that had all the data from his computer on it.

In returning that data, the thief took, as Benedict puts it, "a first step in the direction of moralization". We can say this because we can see that he or she has realized that their stealing this computer had moral consequences and they chose to act to mitigate those consequences.

That does not change the fact that they should not have stolen the laptop in the first place nor does it change the fact that they should now return the laptop and turn themselves into the police.
It's not the condom that is being praised but the intention behind it. And we can see this in the follow up question and the Pope's anwer.
Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?
She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality.
You may ask, how much of this do I accept? Well, the sexual revolution more or less corresponds with my life. I've seen people who've tried to live according to the church's teachings and I've seen other people try to realize what they saw as the full benefits of the sexual revolution. Oh yeah, I also lived it myself. On balance, I think that even if the church's position is not perfect it's a lot closer to the truth than the supposed sexual liberation offered elsewhere.

After a lot of muddling around and screwing up (if you'll pardon the expression), this libertine arrived at the position that we have to find a different, more human, way of living sexuality. If I have to pick a side on this one, I'm with Benedict.

By the way, anyone who simply who simply takes it as a given that encouraging condom use would help stop the spread of HIV might want to look at the case of birth control. In theory, making birth control easily available should have sharply reduced or eliminated unwanted pregnancies. In practice, well, it didn't work out that way did it?

3 comments:

  1. This flap rather reveals that the developement of too many people's moral universe has not progressed beyond the age of five (especially journalists'). Actions are all clearly labelled x,y,z and are either right or wrong.

    The Pope's religion is for grown-ups. So there is no news in absolute terms here. But what a teaching opportunity here for the media (if the media believed in doing any good)! What is news to most people is that the church's teaching (once the rubber hits the road anyway) is every bit as nuanced and complex as a person's life and situation.

    And here we have something bridging so-called liberals and conservatives: how many preachers if they taught what the Pope does here (context is everything) would be branded as relativists and dangerous liberals who don't believe in right and wrong?

    Maybe we get what we deserve.

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  2. I think I agree with both of the above comments. You can't expect much from the media, and I give the average lay person more credit than the media. But I don't think that they are going to split hairs the way "those in the know" are doing, its too complicated for most people. Yes Billy, the Church's teaching on sexuality is every bit as nuanced and complex as a person's life and situation, but somehow that never made it to most of the people in the pews. For those of us Catholics who have taken the time to dissect Augustine and Aquinas and the (not anymore)New Chatechism, we've been able to inform our consciences and act accordingly, which at least for me, has changed over time. I believe Sexual Ethics are different at 20 than at 60, but thats another story. I would also say that your Church has done a better job of educating people in that regard than the RC Church has.

    As far as birth control is concerend, teen pregnancy has declined sharply here in the US. Those in favor of "abstinence only" programs give them credit for that, those in favor of easy access to birth control credit that with the decline, so we really don't know.

    Here's a link to a report on Yahoo News on how lay people are interpreting the Pope's remarks:

    Believers find mixed blessings in Pope's comments - Yahoo! News

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101121/ap_on_re_us/pope_condoms_reaction

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  3. Jules, don't you think that most people fall somewhere between the Church's position and the "supposed sexual liberation offered elsewhere?" Maybe Rome needs to spend more time listening to real people and less time watching what comes out of Hollywood, because Benedict's description of the way he thinks real people live sounds skewed to me.

    I think we all enjoyed the benefits of the sexual revolution that you are so quick to condemn. It gave us permission to experiment, and those experiences that we had enabled us to grow, they were part of the process. That wasn't the case for people who lived prior to the sexual revolution. They were expected to be married in their '20s--a woman who reached 30 without getting married was considered an old maid--and many lived the rest of their lives in quiet desperation.

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