Condoms are not the Pope’s favorite subject.
It wasn’t until year
four of Benedict XVI’s reign that the Holy Father formerly known as
Joseph Ratzinger even managed to string the syllables con and dom
together in public.
So you got to give him credit for recently throwing
his hat (glamorously known as the papal tiara) into the eternal
religious debate over contraception.
As quoted by author Peter Seewald,
whose book-length interview Light of the Day came out last
week, Benedict XVI says, “There may be a basis in the case of some
individuals” for the use of condoms, as it may represent “a first step
in the direction of a moralization.”
So how did the holy war that
continues to test the durability of rubber against fire and brimstone
begin, and what sort of wacky path has it taken?
Here are seven major
moments in the history of condoms versus the Catholic Church.
1400 B.C. – The Book of Genesis forbids artificial contraception
In the beginning, God said contraceptive sex was evil. In both instances
where contraception is mentioned in the Bible, it’s condemned. But if
that’s too dubious for you, then we’ll stick to historical figures: one
of the original Fathers of the Church, Clement of Alexandria, wrote that
“the seed is not to be vainly ejaculated, nor is it to be damaged, nor
is it to be wasted.” Least we can take this guy’s stance on spitting vs.
swallowing to the bank.
December 1984 – Pope John Paul II reinforces the ban on contraception
A seminal moment that set the stage for a new era of Holy Grinchdom. Six
years into his term as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope
John Paul II let it be known
that the Vatican had no intention of easing up on birth control.
In a
series of lectures given in the Holy City, the Pope declared that
artificial contraception is “harmful to man’s interior spiritual
culture” and that the ban has been “reaffirmed with new vigor.” In other
words, this guy wasn’t budging.
October 2003- Vatican claims condoms don’t stop AIDS
The Church’s attitude toward contraception has always been complicated
by a third party: the AIDS virus.
But things turned downright sinister
in 2003, when it was discovered that the Vatican was telling AIDS-stricken Third World countries that condoms did NOT, in fact, prevent the spread of the disease, and that the virus could easily permeate the condom barrier.
Jan 2005- Amidst debate within church, John Paul II puts foot down (again)
Hope for modernization sprang eternal in early 2005 when prominent
figures in the Catholic Church opened up a debate on whether the use of
condoms could be justified in the battle against HIV/AIDS.
Church
representatives even mentioned that priests working in the field might
advise the use of condoms to especially vulnerable people.
Alas, the
Pope still insisted that they be forbidden. This apparent contradiction
was best summed up
by Monsignor Angel Rodriguez Luno, who noted, “The problem is that
anytime we try to give a nuanced response, we see headlines that say,
‘Vatican approves condoms.’ ”
April 2006 – Pope Benedict XVI calls for inquiry into church’s ban on condoms
Less than a year after succeeding John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI called
for a report on whether condom use might be acceptable between married
couples when one partner is infected with AIDS.
This rethink
came at the strong urging of the Pope’s Health Minister, and also
answered the call of health organizations long-critical of the Vatican’s
stubborn and dangerous views. Although only reconsidering one specific
scenario, this inquiry was still viewed as a significant shift.
March 2009 – Pope Benedict says condom use actually worsens AIDS crisis
This one’s a doozy. On the first day of Pope Benedict’s
week-long trip to Africa, the Head of the Catholic Church declared that
condoms are not only an ineffective tool in overcoming AIDS, but
actually “aggravate the problem.”
Organizations across Europe took out their pitchforks in response to
the papal silliness, remarking that the Pope was out of touch and even
contributing to the problem.
The Pope’s statements were particularly
dangerous because of the growing number of Africans converting to Roman
Catholicism.
November 2010 – Pope says condom use OK in certain cases
And that brings us to present day.
Little more than a year after
publicly stating that condoms worsen the AIDS epidemic, Pope Benedict
XVI suggested that condoms might be deemed acceptable
in certain cases.
Specifically, those where a person is taking
responsibility for the lives of others. Benedict’s dense, murky response
included the notion that using a condom may be a step toward
understanding that “one cannot do whatever one wants.”
But of course,
one can say whatever one wants.
Right?
SIC: LICS/INT'L