Debating Pope’s remarks on condoms
To say that Pope Benedict XVI’s recent comments about the distribution of condoms caused a stir is an understatment.
Anytime the pontiff mentions this sensitive subject is draws attention.
His latest remarks on the issue, made during this week’s papal trip to Africa, are no different.
The Associated Press reported that the pope told reporters on his flight to Cameroon that a responsible and moral attitude toward sex would help fight AIDS, not the distribution of condoms.
His remarks brought both support… :
“Anyone who thinks that condom distribution, eduction and/or research is going to solve a problem which is mostly a function of behavioral recklessness is positively clueless. Not only that, such persons unwittingly contribute to the problem by distracting attention and resources away from that which works,” Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League For Religious and Civil Rights, said in a prepared statement.
… and opposition:
“We call on the pope to revisit the teaching on condoms with a view to lifting the ban at the earliest possible moment. In his review, he should include experts who are unequivocal that condoms can help prevent the spread of HIV, like UNAIDS, the World Health Organization and HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations around the world,” Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, said in a statement.
Meanwhile …
George Wirnkar, director of outreach for Human Life International’s Francophone Africa Region, said the media missed the “true” story behind Pope Benedict’s African trip. Wirnkar expressed surprise over the “furor” over the pope’s remarks:
“I would say that this problem of AIDS canot be overcome with advertising slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem,” Wirnkar said in a statement.
“The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanization of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly true friendship, above all with those who are suffering, a readiness — even through personal sacrifice — to be present with those who suffer.
“Perhaps the historic first visit of the Holy Father to Africa and his providential first stop in Yaounde, Cameroon should herald an era where the authentic voice of Africans is heard rather than the imposed views of Western press who do not speak for the people of Africa — the continent of hope.”
———-
Reading the comments made by this diverse trio, it is obvious that the issue of condom distribution to combat AIDS continues to spark debate.
(AP PHOTO above: Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd upon his arrival at Luanda International Airport in Angola, today.)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Pope’s message for Lent 2009
It’s the first Sunday of Lent.
See what Pope Benedict has to say in his message for Lent: Lent 2009
(AP PHOTO: Pope Benedict XVI is seen in Santa Sabina Basilica for the Ash Wednesday service in Rome on Feb. 25. Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of the Christian season of Lent.)
Look for more Lent-related blog postings here on the Religion and Values blog in the days ahead.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Obama inauguration: Pope sends telegram
A congratulatory telegram was sent to President Barack Obama from Pope Benedict.
The Religion News Service reports that the pople sent the telegram urging Obama to “promote understanding, cooperation and peace among the nations.”
The pope said he hoped that Obama’s leadership would foster the “building of a truly just and free society, marked by respect for the dignity, equality and rights of each of its members, especially the poor, the outcast and those who have no voice.”
“I pray that you will be confirmed in your resolve to promote understanding, cooperation and peace among the nations, so that all may share in the banquet of life which God wills to set for the whole human family,” Benedict wrote.
The RNS reports that according to Vatican protocol, the pope sends greetings to all new heads of state when they take office.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Golden tickets?
I’m a romantic at heart and Scott Williams of Crofton, Md., recently made my day.
According to a Capital News Story distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, Williams is frantically searching for someone who will give him two tickets to Thursday’s papal Mass at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
Williams said his girlfriend, who is completing her theology degree at Mt. St. Mary’s University, wants to attend the Mass and see Pope Benedict XVI.
Williams wants to propose to her, either at the Mass, or present them to her during his proposal beforehand — the wire story wasn’t clear about that.
One thing is clear – those papal Mass tickets are hot items.
Here’s the thing: It’s wrong to sell such tickets, according to the Archdiocese of Washington.
A spokesman for the archdiocese is quoted as saying a Roman Catholic Church Mass is considered a sacrament, and scalping the tickets (which were free, but in limited supply) is equivalent to selling a sacrament, which is forbidden according to church law.
This has not stopped some folks from trying to sell the tickets, though.
As of April 11, there were 28 “tickets wanted” posts in the Washington section of classified ad Web site Craigslist, with one post offering to sell, according to the Capital News Service story. The story went on to say that the Archdiocese of Washington had the site remove about 20 posts selling the tickets or passes.
Anyway, I’ll be curious about Williams and his proposal plans. Interestingly enough, Williams doesn’t want to buy the tickets since that’s wrong. He is proposing an in-kind exchange. He has information technology skills and is offering to fix a computer for someone who might want to give him two tickets to the Mass. Or he’ll even clean someone’s house.
People who want to help him are probably going to proceed with caution, according to the wire story. You see the tickets are the nontransferable property of the archdiocese and there is a designated process for assigning “unneeded” tickets.
The archdiocese spokeswoman said each ticket is seat-specific and bar coded so officials should be able to track who is supposed to be sitting in any given section. If archdiocese official see a seat or section number on sale, they can cancel that ticket or flag a row for monitering, the wire story said.
Imagine being pinpointed as an illegal ticket holder at the papal Mass –beyond embarrassing.
The spokeswoman said 200,000 people applied for 46,000 passes and there are 10,000 people on the waiting list.
Romantic though he may be, Williams may wait in vain for these golden tickets.
Pope poll
As he prepares for his upcoming visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI might be interested to know that many Americans see him in a positive light.
By a ratio of four and a half to one (58 percent to 13 percent), people surveyed during a recent poll said that they had a favorable or very favorable view of the pope.
The poll was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus and conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion between Feb. 25 and March 5. Carl Anderson, supreme knight for the Knights of Columbus, recently discussed the poll results at the National Press Club.
According to the poll 42 percent of Americans said that they would like to attend one of the pope’s public appearances while he is in the United States and 66 percent of Catholics said they would like to attend one of the events.
Pope Benedict is set to visit New York City and Washington D.C. April 15-20.
According to the recent poll, 72 percent or more of the respondents want to hear the pope talk about allowing God to be a part of their daily lives (73 percent), finding spiritual fulfillment by sharing their time and talent (71 percent) and how they can make a positive difference in the world, their state and communities (70 percent).
Nearly two-thirds (64 percent), according to the poll, expressed an interest in hearing the pope talk about how they can have a society where spiritual values play an important role.
“The bottom line is that, despite years of very negative stories about the Catholic Church scandals, and dissenting view of the Pope as some sort of ‘panzercardinal’ determined to pursue the unorthodox to the ends of the earth, the American people have a very sensible and balanced view of Benedict and the Church,” Anderson said in a prepared statement on March 25.
“And they are very open to hearing his views on matters of how they might live their faith and put it into action in their daily lives.”
Anderson unveiled a new Web site, www.papaltrip.org for those interested in learning more about the pope’s upcoming visit. The site offers detailed information about the pope’s trip, along with historical material about previous popes and their experiences with the Catholic church in the United States.
Sin-sational list getting longer?
Any whisper coming from the Vatican about any particular subject might as well be shouted from the rooftops. If the communique gets twisted or misinterpreted, there can be all sorts of reports made on the issue before it all gets sorted out.
Such was the case when a Vatican official recently gave his opinion about ”new sins of the modern era” to the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
All of a sudden there were reports that the Vatican had published a new list of the seven deadly sins of modern times that included such things as economic inequality and genetic manipulation.
Soon, however, a wire report turned up, saying that an interview with Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, regent of the tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, (the Vatican body which oversees confessions and plenary indulgences) was misinterepreted in the media as an official Vatican update to the seven deadly sins laid out by Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century.
Too late — conversations and stories about the so-called new list of sins were already taking place.
For a quick update, the mortal sins known as the Seven Deadly Sins are gluttony, sloth, anger, envy, pride, avarice and lust.
Girotti, in the newspaper interview, said he could see sinful attitudes in relation to individual and social rights. Making his list of new sins to watch out for are drug use, which he said “debilitates the psyche and darkens the intelligence”; abortion; pedophila; environmental pollution; social injustice causing the rich to become richer and the poor to become poorer; and genetic science manipulation.
Whether or not these were meant to be “updates” or additions to list of sins that threaten the soul, one thing is clear: The list of sins always captures folks’ attention.
I’ve asked myself what sins I would add to the list, along with justifiable punishments. In a study I did last year for a blog series on the Seven Deadly Sins, I found that the original list had an accompanying list of horrible punishments to go along with them.
For instance, if you were guilty of gluttony, you would be forced to eat rats, snakes, spiders and toads. If you were guilty of wrath, you would be torn apart limb from limb (ouch!).
What would you list as a sin that is not already one of the seven deadly? Take it a little further: What punishment would you mete out for the sin that you added on the list?
Let me know, by sending an e-mail to chinton@oklahoman.com or send a note by regular mail to Carla Hinton, P.O. Box 25125, Oklahoma City, OK 73125.
