Conservative Catholics in the US have come out in opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's comments on the use of condoms to combat Aids only days after it was welcomed by liberals, humanitarian relief agencies and others.
They
questioned whether the pope really meant to make a concession on
condoms or whether his words had been misinterpreted by the media, and
said they said they were awaiting a definitive statement from the
Vatican.
Rightwing Catholics are not satisfied by the existing
statement of the Vatican spokesman, Frederico Lombardi, who said the
pope knew his comments – made in an interview for a book released today –
would provoke intense debate.
Lombardi said the pope meant his remarks
to apply not just to male prostitutes but also other men, women and
transsexuals.
The US has in the past been the scene of fierce debates between Catholic conservatives and liberals, often over birth control.
Philip
Lawler, editor of the US-based Catholic World News, demanded the
resignation of his counterpart at the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore
Romano, which published part of the controversial interiew at the
weekend.
Lawler, who is a conservative,denied there had been any change in Vatican policy.
"Pope
Benedict has not changed the Church's teachings, or even intimated that
they might be subject to change. The Holy Father has not called for a
new debate on the morality of contraception. He has not suggested that
condom use might sometimes be morally justifiable."
Yet millions round
the world think he has, Lawler wrote.
He blamed the pope's PR
staff and L'Osservatore Romano.
"With its gross mishandling of this very
serious issue, the Vatican newspaper has given rise to a worldwide
confusion on a very important moral issue – damage that it may take
years of painstaking work to undo," he wrote.
There is confusion
and uncertainty among Catholics in the US.
The US Conference of Catholic
Bishops, the main church body in America, has made no comment and
carried no mention of the issue on its website today.
But the silence
will be difficult to maintain as priests face questions this weekend
when members turn up for services.
John Haas, the president of the
National Catholic Bioethics Centre in Philadelphia, which advises
church leaders, hospitals and Vatican offices, told the Associated
Press: "It's a mess. I'm not ready to say that the pope said what
Lombardi said."
Haas said he had fielded calls all day yesterday from
bishops confused by Lombardi's comments.
But Professor Dennis
Doyle, professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, said
he did not expect a split or even great debate because most Catholics
had long ago made a distinction between the ideal and concessions made
in everyday life on the use of condoms.
"It will not create
eruptions. I think most Catholics are somewhere along a big spectrum.
People at the extremes tend to be the noisiest," he said.
"There will be a media storm and it will lead to change in the future, but gradually."
Father
James Martin, writing in America, the national Catholic weekly run by
the Jesuits, welcomed the pope's comments.
The church has not officially
changed its position on condoms and birth control, he writes.
"But the
previously out-of-bounds discussion about whether condoms can be used as
a means to prevent the spread of disease is now in-bounds. That is
change, by any definition. And that change is a good one, for if it
moves the conversation ahead, it may mean a further lessening of the
spread of HIV/Aids and the prevention of death."
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