The first few years of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy has not been a smooth transition into religious power.
He has been criticized by different groups of people regarding certain issues. The most recent one is about his stand against artificial birth control. And he is getting a lot of rap from Facebookers.
At a recent trip to Africa, he commented on the issue of HIV prevention.
“You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” the pope told reporters. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.”
To which a number of Facebook groups have reacted without really thinking it over. See “Condoms for Pope Benedict XVI” on Facebook.
I read from CNN.com that one member had this to say on the page:
“The clergy aren’t supposed to have sex at all, but they are free to tell people how to conduct themselves? That’s like a girl who wears no make-up as the CEO of CoverGirl.
Another member from a different page said,
“It frightens me that a man who has devoted his life to moral guidance … and is undeniably a learned, intelligent man can be at the same time so narrow-minded, bigoted and irresponsible,” posted another person on a different page.”
You know what frightens me? The fact that there are a lot of people out there who are so obsessed with their own hedonistic interests that they are willing to disregard the sanctity of marriage and lower their dignity.
I guess you can call me biased, as I am a Roman Catholic and defending the Pope comes as an automatic response, but think about what I’m going to say for a moment.
Although most of us don’t want to admit it, it’s pretty obvious that one of the main reasons why there is a mass outbreak of HIV/AIDS is the outright ignorance of moral values.
Promiscuity is accepted in an unprecedented level nowadays that a man or a woman couldn’t really be considered beautiful unless he or she has exposed a considerable amount of skin or exuded a large amount of sexuality. It seems that the content of your character or the use of common sense is just a plus, rather than a necessity and is considered only after your physical appeal.
People have not only learned to make sexual relationships before and outside of marriage, but also learned to perform sexual acts in more ways and with different partners or groups of people from the opposite or same gender.
People don’t just make love by connecting their penises and vaginas nowadays. Fellatio, Cunnulingus, Soixante-neuf, Sadism and Masochism are just a few of the things that they do. This is the era of complete utilization of the human body in sexual practice. And not too long ago, it gave birth to STDs and HIV.
HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids that not only include seminal fluid and vaginal secretions, but also blood, amniotic fluid (the fluid in which the embryo floats in the womb of a mother) and breast milk. It can also be transmitted after exposure during delivery. That is why HIV and AIDS can’t just be prevented by giving people condoms. Same goes with a lot of the STDs.
Take note, I didn’t say that it’s impossible to prevent them through the use of condoms.
It’s true that at some level, condoms provide protection for their users. But there are certainly other factors to consider.
Millions of people who are infected with HIV, AIDS and STDs live in third-world countries. Most African nations and their governing bodies couldn’t even afford to feed their citizens or provide proper shelter for them. And now, some clueless individuals and organizations are suggesting that the only way to prevent the spread of HIV, AIDS and other STDs, just because they are equipped with all the proper tools in the world and because they are or have been privileged enough to not be at high-risk of getting infected, is by using condoms.
I acknowledge the efforts of certain individuals and groups that help those who are at risk of being or are already stricken with HIV/AIDS or STDs. They have probably done a lot more than most of us in educating people about the proper use and benefits of condoms. But their numbers are not enough to cover millions more out there who don’t have a clue what STDs are.
Most of the education that we receive about HIV/AIDS and STDs are through advertisements in print media, commercials, news, documentaries and even movies. The problem is, how can the message that they convey be effectively delivered when most of the world’s population can’t even read or write or don’t earn enough money to buy television sets?
See my point?
Let’s say they do get the proper education about condoms as an effective way of preventing HIV/AIDS and STDs and that they get supplies of condoms. What happens next? What happens when the free supplies run out? It’s not like most of them can reach out for money in their pockets and buy more condoms. The truth of the matter is that millions live on barely a dollar a day. Why would they buy condoms instead of food?
What’s there to stop HIV-positive rapists from spreading HIV and why would they wear condoms? Seriously, when was the last time you heard of a rapist who used a condom?
Maybe in rich countries where the government could afford to keep track of people and their crimes through hi-tech gadgets. But anywhere else, I doubt it.
It’s easy for other people from certain western nations to claim that condoms are really helpful. They’re mostly concerned with preventing unwanted pregnancies and not with the physical and moral effects of HIV infection.
I live in one and from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s the awful truth.
Even though HIV infections and other STDs are easily avoided or controlled in my country because of the availability of resources, millions still get infected. A proof that HIV can’t just be resolved by the distribution of condoms.
I admit, Pope Benedict XVI could’ve elaborated more on the subject so as not to be misunderstood by vulnerable people, but his comment is justifiable, especially to an educated man.
He isn’t narrow-minded, bigoted or irresponsible. This subject is something that he thought about carefully and with great consideration to modern reason. So did the late Pope John Paul II.
The Holy Catholic Church’s stand on the matter of artificial birth control is firm. She is against it because of the fact that it not only tells people that sexual relations before and after marriage are being tolerated, but also because of the idea that preventing the creation of life is okay. It isn’t. It’s not up to you who gets born or who doesn’t once you decide to have sexual intercourse. Unless you or your partner has some form of disability or disease that prevents you guys from having kids, it’s totally immoral to go against the laws of nature.
I’ve had a lot of people ask me why the Catholic Church is still against artificial contraception when the other denominations and religions have already allowed it.
The answer is as simple as this. It’s because the Catholic Church is not those other denominations or religions.
She doesn’t just pluck her teachings out from other teachings because she and her members are the ones who wrote, preached and died for the word of God for two thousand years, longer than most religions out there.
So she must know what she’s preaching or else she wouldn’t have survived that long. That’s exactly what Pope Benedict XVI is standing up for.
Give him a break.
It’s not easy to lead a billion people and speak the truth about the things we are too coward or ignorant to speak of to billions more. It takes a lot of courage and an even stronger moral conviction to do so. If you have an ounce of dignity left, you’ll listen to what he says more.
And since dignity is all that those high-risk individuals have, do you seriously want to deprive them of their right to say no?
A lot of us are quick to resort to what should be a secondary or tertiary preventive method of HIV/AIDS infection when most of the time a simple no would suffice.
There is nothing wrong with sexual abstinence and celibacy.
I know that Abraham Maslow said that physiologic needs are necessary in order for human beings to achieve or get to another level of need. And most of the time it’s true.
But what separates us from animals is our ability to think and choose. The fear of not being sexually healthy is sometimes all in our heads. If men can think of formulating an equation to create a powerful bomb, then surely we can think of other things to preoccupy ourselves.
u.i.o.g.d.
