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Pope expands condom views to include women
Source: Agencies |
November 24, 2010, Wednesday
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POPE Benedict XVI's comments about condom use being a lesser evil than transmitting HIV also apply to women, the Vatican said yesterday, a significant shift for a Pope who just last year said condoms only worsen the AIDS problem.
Benedict said in a book released yesterday that condom use by people such as male prostitutes was a lesser evil since it indicated they were taking a step toward a more moral and responsible sexuality by aiming to protect their partner from a deadly infection.
His comments implied that he was referring primarily to homosexual sex, when condoms aren't being used as a form of contraception, which the Vatican opposes.
Questions arose immediately, however, about the Pope's intent because the Italian translation of the book used the feminine for prostitute, whereas the original German used the masculine.
The Vatican spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, told reporters yesterday that he asked the Pope whether he intended his comments to only apply to male prostitutes. Benedict replied that it really didn't matter, that the important thing was the person in question took into consideration the life of the other, Lombardi said.
"I personally asked the Pope if there was a serious, important problem in the choice of the masculine over the feminine," Lombardi said. "He told me no. The problem is this ... It's the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship."
"This is if you're a woman, a man, or a transsexual. We're at the same point."
The Pope is not justifying or condoning gay sex or heterosexual sex outside of a marriage. He reaffirms the Vatican opposition to homosexual acts and artificial contraception and reaffirms the inviolability of marriage between man and woman.
While that concept has long been a tenet of moral theology, the Pope's book "Light of the World" - a series of interviews with a German journalist - was the first time a Pope had ever publicly applied the theory to the scenario of condom use as a way to fight HIV transmission.
Benedict said in a book released yesterday that condom use by people such as male prostitutes was a lesser evil since it indicated they were taking a step toward a more moral and responsible sexuality by aiming to protect their partner from a deadly infection.
His comments implied that he was referring primarily to homosexual sex, when condoms aren't being used as a form of contraception, which the Vatican opposes.
Questions arose immediately, however, about the Pope's intent because the Italian translation of the book used the feminine for prostitute, whereas the original German used the masculine.
The Vatican spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, told reporters yesterday that he asked the Pope whether he intended his comments to only apply to male prostitutes. Benedict replied that it really didn't matter, that the important thing was the person in question took into consideration the life of the other, Lombardi said.
"I personally asked the Pope if there was a serious, important problem in the choice of the masculine over the feminine," Lombardi said. "He told me no. The problem is this ... It's the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship."
"This is if you're a woman, a man, or a transsexual. We're at the same point."
The Pope is not justifying or condoning gay sex or heterosexual sex outside of a marriage. He reaffirms the Vatican opposition to homosexual acts and artificial contraception and reaffirms the inviolability of marriage between man and woman.
While that concept has long been a tenet of moral theology, the Pope's book "Light of the World" - a series of interviews with a German journalist - was the first time a Pope had ever publicly applied the theory to the scenario of condom use as a way to fight HIV transmission.
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