An encouraging step

The step forward by the Pope on condom use might be small but it is nevertheless significant.

For some ultra-conservatives, the statement in his new book that condom use might be permissible by, for example, male prostitutes to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids is a dangerous concession that begins to open the door to contraception and permissiveness. It represents a weakening of a staunch moral position.

For most, however, the views expressed are encouraging. They show a degree of compassion, care and realism. They acknowledge, while not condoning sex outside marriage or condoms as a means of contraception, that the Pope can face facts and that he is not necessarily the doctrinal hardliner some had thought.

The Pope, in the lead up to the book's publishing this week, told a trusted German journalist that in certain cases, such as male prostitutes, condom use could be a first step in assuming responsibility for stemming the spread of HIV.

Not surprisingly, the church continues to argue that sexual abstinence and sex only within marriage remain the main advice for fighting the scourge of Aids. How extraordinary, nonetheless, that the Pope even allows for an exception to the anti-condom edict.

The purpose of the exception is to save lives, but on that worthy basis what about sex within marriage where one partner has HIV? What about other sexual situations with high HIV risk? And, if exceptions are allowed for condoms, what about exceptions to other rules? The papal Pandora's box is just about cracked open.

One suspects, and this has already been seen in statements from a spokesman downplaying the significance of the comments, that the church will resist strongly taking more steps down these logical paths, at least for as long as it can.

Fundamentally, it is a deeply conservative organisation and has lived with what might be seen as double standards over sex and contraception for a long time. It did finally concede that sex within marriage need not be just for procreation, and it has not discouraged the rhythm method to try to stop unwanted pregnancy.

While both were important advances, the Catholic hierarchy continues to sanction what is among the least reliable means of contraception. Logically, it should move in this area, just as many Catholics, ignoring official teaching, did a long time ago.

The appeal of the church for many has been its resistance to modernity, its willingness - at least among its more fundamentalist and traditional wings - to stand up strongly for family life and against mores that are often damaging and destructive.

There are also in the secular West those outside Christianity who look to the churches as bastions of established values and for stability. Nowhere is this more obvious than in matters of sex, whether it be casual sex or homosexuality. The conservative church in these areas is, in a sense, countercultural.

Look at attitudes embedded in a typical television sitcom and among younger generations and it is clear such views are no longer dominant.

The message of Jesus did not fit the prevailing attitudes of the time and Christians these days should, indeed, question fashionable ideas and lifestyles.

The difficulty, however, is the massive gulf between those, like the Pope, who see the church as countercultural in upholding outlooks inherited from earlier centuries and those who see the church as countercultural when it comes to issues like consumerism, the environment, and social issues.

While such "progressive" outlooks and moral traditionalists begin from common ground, they diverge quickly and the chasm can be huge.

Each has something to teach the other, however. Christians should not be subject to the latest whims and fancies and should treat change with healthy scepticism. At the same time, they should embrace and even be at the forefront of worthwhile developments; notably when they increase human understanding, acceptance and compassion.

The Pope, a beacon of the traditional camp, is never going to be at the leading edge of change, and some of the official Catholic orthodoxies are, and have been, antediluvian.

The head-in-the sand attitude to condoms and the spread of Aids has been harmful, costing lives and helping to cause misery. No-one can expect the Pope to do other than uphold traditional values. But he and his church face ever-increasing irrelevance if they are never willing to adapt with thought, wisdom and compassion.

Pope Benedict XVI has shown the courage to make an encouraging step, albeit tentative, in the right direction.

 

 

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