The pope on condoms....

It appears that a new "pope" scandal has hit the newsstands (or is it that the media has created a new pope scandal? I always get so confused these days. :P)

Anyhoo, I came across this story, about the Holy Father's visit to Africa, where, of course, he was bombarded by questions about the AIDS epidemic.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090317/ap_on_re_af/af_pope_africa

The first thing that struck me in the reactions to this "news" story (and I say that almost in jest--- there is nothing "new" about the pope's stance on the use of condoms) was the flabbergasted response of the masses. "How dare he?" And "how could he?" seemed to be the first questions most people asked. And yet, for more than 2000 years the same Church has been preaching the same things about abstinence and self control. the AIDS epidemic is a direct result of immorality. At it's origins, it was a disease transmitted sexually that literally grew to kill thousands and thousands of people, most of whom initially passed it on through homosexual sex. Now, it has become a disease transmitted by hetero and homosexual sex, by needles, by exposure to blood, etc. In other words, it has evolved into something truly terrifying. Anyways, the Church's position is that if we live a moral life we will avoid many of these types of plagues--- the world will be a better place. We probably wont annihilate AIDS altogether but we will certainly gain some type of control over it and give ourselves some headstart over it. AIDS is not like cancer, if we avoid certain things we can completely avoid exposing ourselves to it. It's really not that complicated.

I have a friend who reminds me often that the definition of Insanity is to perpetually do the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. This is what the news media seems to do with the catholic Church these days-- - they poke and they prod and they ask ... "Come on, aren't you getting with the times YET?" and we just sit back and watch them and say, in the immortal words of Eddie Izzard.... "What ARE you doing?"

You see the faith is the faith is the faith. It doesn't suddenly change just because things get harder or easier. It is what it is. And for people to expect that just because this is the new century with new, more serious problems, etc, we are going to just drop our frame of reference for everything we do and start from scratch with new ideas--- that's ridiculous.

"The grass withers, the flower fades: but the word of our God shall stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

The funniest quote from this article came from here:

Rebecca Hodes with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa said if the pope is serious about preventing HIV infections, he should focus on promoting wide access to condoms and spreading information on how to use them.

"Instead, his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans," said Hodes, head of policy, communication and research for the group.

Now THAT is funny to me. What do the people expect the Holy Father to do? He himself will tell you his strategy, which is as follows:


"The saving message of the Gospel needs to be proclaimed loud and clear so that the light of Christ can shine into the darkness of people's lives," Benedict said as the president and other political leaders looked on.

That is the thing which people keep missing. He is the pope. Not a social worker, not a humanitarian aid provider, not a psychologist, a doctor, or a philosopher. He may ALSO be those things, but his main function is to guide the Christian Church towards holiness, and he does so by promoting morality, ethics, and justice IN LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL. The Gospel is the only thing that will save the people dying from aids in Africa. The Gospel is the only hope of salvation for any of us.

With Christ, even a hopeless child with AIDS is suddenly a beacon of hope, faith, and love. Christ is the answer to every problem. Following Christ prevents rape, poor judgement, sexual immorality, forgetfullness and a lack of diligence in the workplace, drug use, and all of the other causes of the transmission of the AIDS virus. It is in Christ alone that the answer to AIDS is found. Benedict knows that, and he said today the same thing the Church has always said, and which Melinda reminded us a couple weeks back on Ghost Whisperer: "HOLD OUT FOR EVERYTHING."

People need to remember that Christianity is not a humanitarian effort. Although we are called to serve the needy, sick and poor, we certainly are not called to do so without letting them know where they can go to find healing and wholeness. The only road that leads out of poverty, crime, war, disease and AIDS in Africa is the road to heaven, and as the direct descendant of the one who holds Keys to Heaven, the pope is only doing His best to make sure everyone is on the right path.

I like this pope more and more each day.