Catholic Church to Ease Ban on Condom Use (Deutsche Welle)
Sounds of Earth Moving Captured (Discovery Channel)
posted by Theologienne @ 3:01 PM
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Monday, April 24, 2006
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4 Comments:
Ooh, be careful of proof-texting. The Bible is not a moral manual but a spiritual text meant to be meditated on and digested (one of the texts in my biblical spirituality class is actually called Eat This Book.) A lot of people think that Onan's sin was breaking a covenant, not using contraception per se--his marriage represented a promise to his wife to help her have children who could support her in life. Whether or not you think raising your own genetic children should be a fundamental part of marriage today--and some Catholics don't--it's hard to argue with the notion that a spouse's role involves preserving their partner's life and health. Remember we are talking about a fatal disease that is decimating Africa. Church teaching in moral matters has long been that intention counts, and in the specific instance of contraception, that the intention to contracept matters. (I guess that's why you never hear a bishop railing against marital sex after menopause.) I hope the Church will move to approve of condoms used with the intent to preserve the life of a spouse when one has AIDS.
Very amusing use of the Discovery Channel. Assuming the story is accurate, maybe it will engender some humility, and even patience, among those who presumed to vilify the new Pope a year ago.
This is an interesting issue because so much of what we know now about healt hwas not known in biblical times.
I imagine the possibility of people extending the AIDS permission to use condoms outside of that context is one of the main concerns of the Vatican study group. This would especially be a problem if Catholic relief organizations chose to distribute condoms for AIDS protection--which, given the scope of Catholic action in the developing world, could have an emormous impact on the spread of HIV/AIDS. There's a lot to be weighed.
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