Rather than working to keep allegedly celibate Catholic priests hands off altar boys, Pope Going off-script, the Pope then launched into a long, snicker-inducing Papal list of banned condom euphemisms that included: love socks, love glove, the goalie, jimmy-hat, willie-hat, domers, willie warmers, dobbers, hats, party hats, johnnies, poshies, rubber johnnies, sheaths, rubbers, nodding socks, raincoats, french letters, cock socks, johnny bags, gentleman’s jerkins, and scumbags.
Strangely enough coming from a life-long celibate, the Pope also warned that, "Sex could transform itself into a drug." By the volume and frequency of sexual abuse cases leveled against the Catholic church from those willing to come forward with abuse charges, I'm certainly willing to entertain that hypothesis. But is it the sex or the sexual repression?
Not content to stop there, the Pope went on to cast further insult on reproductively challenged individuals whose only recourse to fertility might be found in artificial insemination. "No mechanical technique can substitute the act of love that two married people exchange as a sign of a greater mystery," Benedict said in his speech. Mechanical? Like with batteries? There goes that repressed sexual mind again.
It's all, of course, further evidence for how the Catholic church is out of touch with reality.
According to the World Health Organization, condoms work. Condoms are the only contraceptive method proven to reduce the risk of all sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. They can be used as a dual-purpose method, both for prevention of pregnancy and protection against STIs.
Seems like plain English to me. But if bulleted lists are your thing, they provide one as well:
• Condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV infection;
• Condoms are effective in preventing some STIs;
• Condoms are effective in reducing risk for HPV and cervical cancer;
• Condoms are effective in preventing unintended or unwanted pregnancy;
• Condoms are effective barriers;
• Condom availability programs increase condom use.
Whenever I'm in Papua New Guinea, I'm reminded of the sheer ass-backwards position on contraception by the church and its profound impact on PNG's people. The patterns of HIV/AIDS infection rates in PNG mirror those in Africa. The disease is being spread mainly through heterosexual contact and social conventions of promiscuity. Current projections from groups such as AusAID estimate that the infection rate could be 18% by 2010, and 25% by 2020, which could see up to one-third of the population dying by 2027.
PNG is a predominantly Christian nation. The pulpit has a tremendous influence on daily life there. Numerous Catholic missions in urban and rural areas could help stem the tide of infection with simple instructions in safer sex and a condom distribution program. Yet young men I have spoken to in PNG consider condoms a "sin" and refuse to consider using them. This from men who have unprotected sex with multiple partners and then bring potential infection back to their wives and children.
At the heart of PNG's inability to stop the spread of HIV is the church and government's failure to acknowledge the actual and potential dimensions of the spread of HIV/AIDS and its effects on the future. The Pope's statements today speak less to the church as a beacon of hope but instead as a death sentence to millions.
6 comments:
The Catholic Church also teaches no sex outside of marriage, so if those boys you were talking about in PNG would actually listen to the ENTIRE teaching of the Church, their wives would be safe from infection.
If you ask me, all those guys having unprotected sex might be... gasp... addicted to sex? Screwing every woman that walks in a country full of STD's....sounds like their priorities are straight. Probably about as straight as yours.
i can always count on an anonymous commenter to try to set me "straight"... so easy to dismiss the challenges of real world problem-solving from behind your laptop, isn't it?
those of us who actually are on the ground trying to make a difference have a rather more challenging task in front of us, anonymous...
and no amount of praying to a sky fairy or handing-out ridiculous nostrums from a "good book" (instead of handing-out much needed condoms) are going to address the scale of a global pandemic or the complexities of human sexual behavior...
but keep wishing and fighting the "good fight" from the safety of your brainwashed certitude, anonymous... you're a paragon of christian love...
It's always laughable when someone tries to defend the Catholic Church, and its ridiculous "teachings".
For those who aren't supposed to be having sex according to the Church (i.e. the Pope, priests, nuns, etc.), they sure like to concern themselves with the sex lives of others.
There are people out there who need medical help to become pregnant. Are they not allowed to experience the joy of having a child because the Pope and the Catholic Church says no to IVF or any other "artificial" means of conception? Get real!!
Quite frankly, the Pope needs to stop concerning himself with condom use and start concerning himself with pedophile priests and nuns. Condoms aren't going anywhere whether he likes it or not!!
I can't believe this. After 2000 years, the Catholic Church still haven't changed- and neither have the people that are gullible enough to believe in it. Opiate of the masses no more; all the diseased and AIDS-stricken Catholics will be crying for is a better religion. Hopefully it won't be too late.
something that I've found interesting is the fact that Italy has one of the lowest birth/fertility rates in the world. I understand that developing countries are often where the Roman Catholic Church has its most influence, but isn't it ironic that the Church's own "paesani" don't bother to listen? Kinda tells you something about the message if you ask me.
jim...
either that or proximity to the holy see ensures miraculous ovulation or low sperm flagellar motility...
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