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Need a condom? Naturally, there's an app for that. As a way to encourage safe sex, New York City health officials have released an official smart phone application that helps randy residents track down the nearest location that gives out the city's free, branded rubbers, according to the Associated Press. The free app, currently available for iPhone and Android users, shows up in the phones' respective marketplaces when users search for "NYC Condom Finder." To find protection, couples can manually enter their address or use their phone's GPS; the app automatically pulls up the five nearest locations with the snazzy...

I am trying to relax and watch Star Wars on a beautiful Christmas morning. However, my enjoyment quickly turned to disgust and I had to send the children out of the room and change the channel. Star Wars, obviously an American icon and children's favorite, was interrupted every 8 minutes or so, to sell female self pleasure devices, i.e., vibrators. When they were not selling vibrators, they were selling some kind of lubricated condom guaranteeing his and her fantastic pleasure. Now keep in mind this is in the morning, before noon, on Christmas morning during Star Wars. Who is more...

Pope Benedict's recent comments regarding condom use have some folks and followers confused, but there can be no mistaking the very clear message in PETA's new international campaign:  Visitors to the Vatican yesterday were the first to receive our new "Pope Condom" campaign leaflets, which we'll also soon be taking to cathedrals and churches across the U.S. Simply stated: It's sinful that millions of dogs and cats are killed every year in animal shelters simply because there aren't enough homes for all of them—and that millions more are abandoned on the streets, where they starve, die of untreated injuries or...

TRULY, if one does not understand the days we live in, the recent firestorm over the Pope’s condom remarks could leave the faith of many shaken. But I believe it’s part of God’s plan today, part of His divine action in the purification of His Church and eventually the whole world: For it is time for the judgment to begin with the household of God… (1 Peter 4:17) BINDING THE SHEPHERD’S MOUTHSIn Scripture, God generally purifies His people in two ways: by making them leaderless and/or handing them over to their enemies. St. Gregory the Great, speaking of the Shepherds...

When the Pope made some comments on condoms, the press ran to take his words out of context. Or, as South Australian blogger Peter Wales put it: “Oh my goodness, the legacy media really are a laugh a minute. Three examples: Pope changes view on condom use. No he hasn’t. Pope Agrees Condom Use Can Be Justified. That’s not what he said. Pontiff Blesses Condom Use. Did you even read what he said?” It’s my view that many secular journalists are simply too emotional to cover issues pertaining to Catholics and condoms. Tim Black of London’s libertarian-leaning spiked website also...

Catholic commentators are trying to correct the fact, that the Pope talked about a male prostitute in a weak-headed interview. Pressesplitter. The decadent majority as a measure of the moral. Swiss Television: Mr. Seewald, do you see the Pope as having completely made a change of the Catholic sexual morality?

The truth is still half an hour behind the slander; and nobody can be certain when or where it will catch up with it. The garrulity of pressmen and the eagerness of enemies had spread the first story through the city, even before it appeared in the first printed version.... - The Scandal of Father Brown, by G. K. ChestertonThe press has eagerly seized upon Pope Benedict's statement, in a book to be issued on November 23, that the use of condoms may be morally permissible if the sole intention is "to reduce the risk of infection." This is...

Thousands of secular media outlets-- and more than a few Catholic news services-- are leading their coverage today with headlines about Pope Benedict's statement on the use of condoms. CWN is not linking to those stories because, with rare exceptions, they are inaccurate. Our news service exists to give Catholics (and others who are interested in the Church) an accurate guide to coverage of stories that affect the Church. Often we feel obligated to link to stories that contain some inaccuracies, because informed readers should be aware of what is being reported. But we never intentionally carry, or link to,...

Here is what the New York Times reported to its readers on November 21: “Pope Benedict XVI has said that condom use can be justified in some cases to help stop the spread of AIDS . . . .” No, the pope did not say that in his new book, Light of the World, to which I had the honor of contributing a foreword. Here is what the pope actually wrote, answering two questions from German journalist Peter Seewald: Seewald: On the occasion of your trip to Africa in March 2009, the Vatican’s policy on Aids once again became...

Pope Benedicts XVI's change of heart on condoms marks a significant break with the damage done by one of his predecessors' most romantic, wicked and wrong-headed policies. The idea of an absolute ban on condoms makes no sense even within the framework of Catholic teaching. Since the purpose of the ban on artificial birth control is to make conception possible, it makes no sense at all in situations in which conception is utterly impossible. That is why Benedict chose a male prostitute as his example of someone who might use a condom to fight disease. The really interesting question is...

An excerpt from Light of the World, Peter Seewald’s book-length interview with Pope Benedict XVIFrom Chapter 11, "The Journeys of a Shepherd," pages 117-119: On the occasion of your trip to Africa in March 2009, the Vatican’s policy on AIDs once again became the target of media criticism.Twenty-five percent of all AIDs victims around the world today are treated in Catholic facilities. In some countries, such as Lesotho, for example, the statistic is 40 percent. In Africa you stated that the Church’s traditional teaching has proven to be the only sure way to stop the spread of HIV. Critics, including...

In a break with his traditional teaching, Pope Benedict XVI has said the use of condoms is acceptable "in certain cases", in an extended interview to be published this week. After holding firm during his papacy to the Vatican's blanket ban on the use of contraceptives, Benedict's surprise comments will shock conservatives in the Catholic church while finding favour with senior Vatican figures who are pushing for a new line on the issue as HIV ravages Africa. The comments were made in a book-length interview with a German journalist, Peter Seewald. In the case of a male prostitute, says Benedict,...

Now that I’ve got your attention, please buy a copy of the new book Light of the World, an interview of B16 by Peter Seewald, and find out for yourself. In addition to the question of condoms, you’ll also find that Benedict is an incredibly interesting and deep leader. So, here’s the scoop. L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper (where I once worked), broke the embargo on the book and published some excerpts. Of course, if there’s something to do with sex and anything Catholic, you can be sure that it will get attention.In a detailed section on the question of...

This is a companion to the thread titled: Pope approves use of condoms in fight against Aids Condoms are not the answer to Africa's fight against AIDS, and in fact exacerbate the epidemic, Pope Benedict said at the start of a 7-day visit to the continent today. It's the first explicit statement about condoms from the pontiff, who has said that the Roman Catholic Church is at the forefront of the battle against AIDS. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease. "You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms; on the contrary, it increases...

Pope Benedict XVI says in a new book that condoms can be justified for male prostitutes seeking to stop the spread of HIV, a stunning comment for a church criticized for its opposition to condoms and for a pontiff who has blamed them for making the AIDS crisis worse. The pope made the comments in a book-length interview with a German journalist, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," which is being released Tuesday. The Vatican newspaper ran excerpts on Saturday. Church teaching has long opposed condoms because they are a form of...

He will say that it is acceptable to use a prophylactic when the sole intention is to "reduce the risk of infection" from Aids. While he will restate the Catholic Church's staunch objections to contraception because it believes it interferes with the creation of life, he will argue that using a condom to preserve life and avoid death can be a responsible act – even outside marriage. Asked whether "the Catholic Church is not fundamentally against the use of condoms," he replies: "It of course does not see it as a real and moral solution. "In certain cases, where the...

Oh brother. Even Saturday Night Live, in its 70s-and-80s cocaine-fueled heyday never conceived of anything like this: Having a safe Halloween took on a different meaning in one Oregon neighborhood, where trick-or-treating teenagers received condoms in their goodie bags. Daniel and Kathleen Harris, of Silverton, tell The Statesman Journal the free condoms were part of their effort to promote health. They also handed out toothbrushes as well as candy bars.. Back in 1977, Beldar and Prymaat Conehead only gave out beer and fried eggs to the neighborhood kids at Halloween. Now people are handing out condoms. A lot sure has...

~ EXCERPT ~ CHENNAI, INDIA (BNO NEWS) – A Sri Lankan Man, who had swallowed 2,060 diamonds worth up to Rs. 3 crore ($674,715 dollars) packed in several condoms, was arrested at an airport on Tuesday, local media reported Thursday. Mohammed Shakif, 43, of Galle, Sri Lanka, was smuggling the precious stones in 42 condoms and had just arrived in Chennai, located in the southern region of India, when a team of suburban police acting on a tip off inquired him. According to the police the precious stones were worth between Rs. 1.5 crore ($337,357 dollars) and Rs. 3 crore...

The idea that the pope is responsible for spreading AIDS in Africa has acquired the moral force of a chattering-class commandment. Say it in polite company and you will be greeted by vigorously nodding heads. The pope’s criticism of condom-use ‘sabotages the fight against AIDS’, says a Guardian columnist (leading an online commenter to say: ‘the genocidal freak should be tried for crimes against humanity.’) The New Statesman reckons the Vatican has done more to spread AIDS around Africa than ‘prostitution and the trucking industry combined’. Stephen Fry, that unofficial High Representative of the chattering classes, says the pope has...

Looking for a little action? You might want to try the San Francisco County Jail's San Bruno lockup, where authorities have installed 16 condom machines for the jail's 750 prisoners. The condom dispensers are the latest evolution in a safe-sex program that began in 1989, when health workers began distributing condoms to inmates as part of their counseling before they were released. And although sex among inmates technically is illegal, . . .