{"id":4268,"date":"2010-11-20T12:37:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-20T12:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/11\/pope-says-sometimes-condoms-can-be-justified-wth.html"},"modified":"2010-11-20T12:37:00","modified_gmt":"2010-11-20T12:37:00","slug":"pope-says-sometimes-condoms-can-be-justified-wth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/11\/pope-says-sometimes-condoms-can-be-justified-wth.html","title":{"rendered":"Pope says sometimes condoms can be justified? WTH?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

IMPORTANT: READ UPDATE III BELOW!<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a headline that is sure to create a firestorm, the Associated Press has run a story about an upcoming book featuring interviews with Pope Benedict XVI<\/a>.\u00a0 Apparently, while still saying condoms are not a moral solution for male prostitutes, the Pope has said their use could be justified.\u00a0 Did the Pope really say that?\u00a0 Was he misquoted?\u00a0 Did the book say that?\u00a0 Is it being misquoted?\u00a0 This will cause an explosion of opinions and articles in the upcoming weeks.\u00a0 I\u2019m curious to see what happens.\u00a0 My first guess is he was misquoted, or they are arranging his words to make them sound as if he said something he didn\u2019t really say.\u00a0 Simply because of the context \u2013 that it would be justified in the case of male prostitutes?\u00a0 I\u2019m waiting for clarification from the Vatican before I go much further.\u00a0 Will it be some strange \u2018justified does not mean right\u2019 argument?\u00a0 We\u2019ll have to wait and see.\u00a0 If, of course, there was no misquoting or misrepresenting of his views, then this is quite a bombshell, says volumes about a legion of things, and will become a mess for apologists on every conceivable side of the Catholic blogosphere\u00a0for years to come.<\/p>\n

UPDATE<\/strong>:\u00a0 I just checked several versions of this story, and they all appear to be coming from the same source.\u00a0 MSNBC, FOX, AP, NPR all are giving little more than the above link.\u00a0 With so little information at hand, waiting would be the best strategy.<\/p>\n

UPDATE II:<\/strong>\u00a0 OK, as the story starts to filter, and more services are expanding their coverage and trying to figure out what it\u2019s all about, more information is coming forth.\u00a0 So the AP has a more complete story <\/a>than the original release.\u00a0 In it, the following quote is given:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201dThere may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility,\u201d Benedict said.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With this, it appears more that the Pope is more less saying that it\u2019s a step in the right direction, not that it\u2019s really right.\u00a0 Though the use of the word \u2018justified\u2019, if he used it, could be a problem. Even so, it is still a little troubling, and some folks are going to wonder if some strange, subtle form of \u2018better to add to the sin if it\u2019s for the right reasons\u2019, thus calling into question such things as the Church\u2019s teaching on other philosophical subjects, is happening here.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see what more comes out.\u00a0 The more comes out, the less bothersome it may look.\u00a0 Or it may look worse.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have to see.\u00a0 But for now, this much more has been released.<\/p>\n

UPDATE III:<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are finally getting down to brass tacks.\u00a0 Kudos to the angels and saints over at Get Religion.org.\u00a0 I was waiting, waiting, waiting for them to sort through the media firestorm, the cheers from Gay Rights and AIDS activists, the finger pointing at liberal blogs and general confusion everywhere else.\u00a0 As usual, it looks like much of the media has made hamburger from the meat of the story.\u00a0 Here is the full part of the interview from the\u00a0book, without any added words (you know, like \u2018justified\u2019) being thrown in:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means that the sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality, which, after all, is precisely the dangerous source of the attitude of no longer seeing sexuality as the expression of love, but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves. This is why the fight against the banalization of sexuality is also a part of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is treated as a positive value and to enable it to have a positive effect on the whole of man\u2019s being.<\/p>\n

There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s Pope Benedict\u2019s actual<\/em>\u00a0response to a question about the media firestorm that broke out in 2009 when he mentioned that a reliance on condoms could make the HIV pandemic worse.\u00a0 Note there is no use of the word justification<\/em>, permissible<\/em>, or anything of the sort, despite headlines like: <\/p>\n

Pope says condoms sometimes permissible to stop AIDS
Pope Says Condoms to Stop AIDS May Be Acceptable
Pope Benedict says that condoms can be used to stop the spread of HIV?
Pope signals historic leap in fight against Aids: Condoms can be justified<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some even had the \u2018quote\u2019 in their stories with those words inserted.\u00a0 Geesh.\u00a0 Is there any wonder that, as Mark Shea says, getting the truth about religion from the media is like milking a bull?\u00a0 Read the analysis of the media coverage at Get Religion here<\/a>.\u00a0 It\u2019s posted by the ever reliable and always enjoyable Mollie Ziegler<\/a>.\u00a0 This, by the way kiddies, is why I wait until I hear from sources other than the first media headlines before formulating an opinion about things. <\/p>\n

Lesson to learn: Do NOT take your instruction about religious teachings from the media!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IMPORTANT: READ UPDATE III BELOW! In a headline that is sure to create a firestorm, the Associated Press has run a story about an upcoming book featuring interviews with Pope Benedict XVI.\u00a0 Apparently, while still saying condoms are not a moral solution for male prostitutes, the Pope has said their use could be justified.\u00a0 Did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPope says sometimes condoms can be justified? 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