The media players have had a field day with the Pope’s comments dealing with condoms. By review, it started with the pre-embargo publication of the comments of Pope Benedict XVI to journalist Peter Seewald in a book-length interview titled Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and The Signs of the Times (Ignatius). Journalist Seewald noted the criticism of Pope Benedict’s previous comments against the use of condoms to counter the spread of AIDS in Africa. In response, the Pope first noted that the Catholic Church is in the forefront of those who are helping victims of AIDS. Then he added:
“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. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.”
Seewald: Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?
“She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality.”
Those comments unleashed a blizzard of comment. Some opined that the pope was inferring that using condoms was okay if the intention was to try to prevent the spread of disease. Not so. Dr. Janet Smith and Fr. Joseph Fessio explained that he was in no way saying that the use of condoms by homosexuals made their sodomy morally permissible. Fr. Fessio used the analogy of a mugger using a padded pipe rather than an unpadded pipe to knock people over the heads. Would the more merciful use of the padding justify the mugging? Once the subject is turned away from attention-getting sex, the matter becomes very clear. You can read their explanations at www.catholicworldreport.com .
The papal spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombari, S.J. added this on November 24:
… the pope takes into consideration an exceptional situation in which the exercise of sexuality may represent a real risk to the life of another person. In such a case, the pope does not morally justify the disordered exercise of sexuality, but maintains that the use of the condom to diminish the danger of infection may be “a first assumption of responsibility”, “a first step in a movement toward a more human sexuality,” as opposed to not using the condom and exposing the other person to a fatal risk.
It seems to me that the Pope is saying that there can be multiple sins involved. If a person with a deadly disease would copulate to deliberately infect the other person, that would be the sin of malicious homicidal intent, and that could render sinful even an otherwise permissible marriage act, and it would add to the sinfulness of any copulation that is already immoral by reason of not being a true marriage act. If a person who knows he has AIDS or is HIV positive copulates with a healthy person, the infected person adds at least the sin of rashly endangering the health and life of another person. Whether the copulation is homosexual or heterosexual, the use of a condom to try to slow down the transmission of the disease could be considered as at least a step in the right direction of trying not to harm someone. However, such an action even with the best intention in no way lessens the evil of the non-marital copulation, just as the use of padding on a pipe doesn’t justify mugging.
I still think the Pope missed a good opportunity for teaching about the immorality of sodomy, as I wrote in my blog of November 22.
Please pray for the Pope every day. The office of the papacy does not carry with it a guarantee of never making mistakes in prudence. He really needs to give the world an instruction on sexual morality. It is no longer just a private matter. The immoral use of sexuality has generated several of the largest health and social problems in the world today. It’s probably too late for him to come out with a Casti Connubii 80th anniversary encyclical by December 31st but it’s certainly not too late for him to have something of that nature ready by Ash Wednesday. If that sounds like a good idea to you, maybe it might help for him to hear from you. Spread the word. A small avalanche of mail might give him the encouragement he needs. A suggestion follows.
John F. Kippley
November 27, 2010
His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI; Apostolic Palace; 00120 Vatican City; Europe. Or you can email him at benedictxvi@vatican.va.
Your Holiness: The world needs your firm guidance on matters of human sexuality. Sexual morality is one of the most important social justice issues of our day. Please give us an encyclical or something to reaffirm the teaching of Casti Connubii and Humanae Vitae. Ash Wednesday might be an appropriate time to publish such guidance. Sincerely…