{"id":23306,"date":"2010-11-23T11:09:08","date_gmt":"2010-11-23T15:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/?p=23306"},"modified":"2017-03-09T22:04:58","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T22:04:58","slug":"pope-condom-tsa-crucifix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/2010\/11\/23\/pope-condom-tsa-crucifix\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope, Condom, TSA & Crucifix – UPDATED"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

With a title like that<\/strong>, what else could I be talking about but my Tuesday column<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I had been driven to the crucifix<\/a> because I had become overwhelmed with the media\/internet cacophony that had followed L\u2019Osservatore Romano\u2019s<\/em> weekend revelation of Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s thoughts on the use of condoms in certain situations, and by the uproar over newly put-in-place TSA regulations on pre-flight searches and pat-downs.<\/p>\n

In both cases, reactions were swift, and they varied according to agendas but fell along predictable lines: so-called \u201cliberals\u201d\u2014who had screamed about a \u201cshredded constitution\u201d and fretted about fourth amendment rights when the Bush administration looked to wiretap suggested terrorists\u2014suddenly began to coo that they hadn\u2019t been touched in a long time, and didn\u2019t mind the \u201clove pats\u201d resulting from the greatly increased scrutiny of airline passengers in the U.S. Meanwhile, those who had defended the Bush wiretaps wondered if the new screening measures were an Obama-devised plot meant to make obedient subjects of raw, fiercely independent Americans.<\/p>\n

On the condom front, the extremes of the \u201cleft\u201d and \u201cright\u201d brought us contrasts in hysteria that ultimately came to a similarly flawed conclusion: that Benedict had \u201creversed\u201d a church teaching. He had not.<\/p>\n

Its funny how often extreme factions end up arriving at the same place, even as they start off from divergent perspectives.<\/p>\n

In contemplating the crucifix, my attention was drawn to the horizontal plank to which Jesus\u2019 arms were attached. That beam extends to the left and to the right. Christ is between them, in the center. He is the balance. If one moves too far in either direction, one moves away from the central Christ, and into imbalance. Move too far and you can no longer see him; you will be too far out, on the periphery\u2014pulled there by the 10,000 things you have chose to focus on, and to fret about, and which ultimately pull you so insistently that, without a counterbalance, you slip away from
\nChrist, altogether.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read the whole thing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sharing the Square today<\/strong> with Benedict XVI<\/a> and Archbishop Chaput!<\/a>. Heady company, indeed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Tony Rossi<\/strong> finds a way to mix the condom story with flying, as well, but differently<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201c. . .Up in the Air, starring George Clooney. The story begins with Clooney\u2019s character, Ryan Bingham, believing that love and human connections should be avoided at all costs because they\u2019re unnecessary burdens that hold one back from living a fun and accomplished life. As a result, he spends his days engaging in sexual relationships with lots of women, essentially focused on his own pleasure. Through the course of the film, however, Bingham unintentionally develops bonds with two very different women and discovers that his views become skewed; he begins to actually yearn for the sort of love and stability he has previously denounced.<\/p>\n

While still willing to engage in sex outside of marriage, he no longer sees it as the meaningless, self-centered biological act, as he had. In that sense, Clooney\u2019s character is in the type of situation the pope is referring to in his example. He\u2019s still doing something wrong, but he\u2019s on the road to acknowledging that it is actually wrong and therefore, he is making progress. Again, a gradual moral awakening \u2014 after a long and culturally-approved slumber \u2014 is a positive move in the right direction. This is what Benedict is discussing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony also brings Flannery O\u2019 Connor into the discussion so you\u2019ll want to read it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Simcha Fisher<\/strong> is also thinking about grace coming in increments<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, Deacon Greg<\/strong> has Archbishop Timothy Dolan (in snazzy cassock) talking Pope, Prophylactics and Preaching<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pope didn\u2019t say, \u2018Oh good, you should use a condom,\u2019 \u201d Archbishop Dolan said, referring to a controversial comment the pope made in a book that is being released worldwide on Tuesday. \u201cYou get the impression that the Holy See or the pope is like Congress and every once in a while says, \u2018Oh, let\u2019s change this law,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Dolan is going to be a very good<\/strong> and productive president of the USCCB. He is an American Original, with a genius for getting beyond stuffy constraints and teach clearly.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:<\/strong>
\nThe Press Office of the Holy See issues further clarification<\/a> and it\u2019s safe to say this story has legs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a title like that, what else could I be talking about but my Tuesday column: I had been driven to the crucifix because I had become overwhelmed with the media\/internet cacophony that had followed L\u2019Osservatore Romano\u2019s weekend revelation of Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s thoughts on the use of condoms in certain situations, and by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14,26,44,45,58,59,61,62,256,258,261],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-remaking-ourselves","category-american-genius","category-benedict-xvi","category-catholicism","category-celibacy","category-crisis-opportunity","category-critical-thinking","category-crucible-of-faith","category-culture-of-lifedeath","category-timothy-dolan","category-tsa","category-tvpop-culturemusic"],"yoast_head":"\nPope, Condom, TSA & Crucifix - 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