Posted on 06/06/2006 5:43:16 AM PDT by areafiftyone
The Vatican today issued a sweeping condemnation of contraception, abortion, in-vitro fertilisation and same-sex marriage, declaring that the traditional family has never been so threatened as in today’s world.
The document was issued by the Pontifical Council for the Family, whose head, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, is a strong opponent of the use of condoms under any circumstances.
However, the document did not mention an ongoing debate within the Vatican on whether the Roman Catholic Church could permit condoms to battle Aids when one partner in a marriage had the virus.
It reaffirmed the famous 1968 encyclical “Humanae Vitae” that stated the Vatican’s opposition to contraception.
Since then, it said, couples “have been limiting themselves to one, or maximum two children”.
“Never before in history has human procreation, and therefore the family, which is its natural place, been so threatened as in today’s culture,” said the 57-page document.
And terribly wrong about in-vitro.
In-vitro is good for people who are having problems conceiving and want terribly to have a child. I have no problems with that.
Yes, that's why there's no AIDS in condom saturated Africa.
Africa is NOT Condom saturated. First of all Africans as a rule ARE NOT big condom users. THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN CONDOMS. THEY DON'T USE CONDOMS LIKE WE DO HERE. Actually I was reading that there in alot of African nations African men believe the sick story that having sex with a young virgin will cure them of aids and are infecting young girls now with the disease.
My boyfriend is a HIV/Aids Counselor and does testing here on patients here in this country and it is a known fact that Condoms help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. The reason why it still spreads is because people don't like using condoms and still don't want to and figure "its only one time and I won't get anything" not realizing it only takes one time. Also Aids/HIV is spread thru sharing needles and transfusions (but that's another story all together).
There may be tons of condoms in Africa, but they're UNUSED condoms. Those kind do nothing to stop HIV/AIDS.
I guess this means that porn is okay. They covered just about everything else thus if they did not want to approve porn they would have said so.
EXACTLY!
It does stop pregnancy if it doesn't break. of course the only thing stops it 99.9% of the time besides abstinance is the pill.
True.
At least they're no longer beheading astronomers. Maybe in another 500 years they will accept biology, too.
Have you ever read Humanae Vitae for yourself?
The rest of their views on abortion, same-sex marriage I am very happy about.
That's nice.
Condoms are necessary evils in a not so perfect world full of people who do not believe in abstinence.
You said it yourself. Condoms are evils. Should the Church consent to using an evil for evil purposes (pre- and extra-marital sexual relations, homosexual perversions, etc.)
It stops the spread of AIDS/HIV
Keeping the pants zipped and the legs closed would be far more effective, wouldn't you think?
and also prevents unwanted pregnancies without having to resort to evil abortions and/or using dangerous morning after pills, etc.
See my above comment.
I'm sorry but here they are terribly wrong.
I'm sorry, but maybe you haven't thought about it as much as you should.
Let me provide you an extract from Humanae Vitae to consider (hopefully, you'll read the whole thing). Keep in mind that this was written in 1968. It's almost 40 years later.
17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.
Is there any doubt that the above has come to pass? Virtually every country in the world has disregarded the moral teachings of the Church in this regard. What has happened to morality in the past 40 years? What has happened to the treatment of women? What has happened to the out-of-wedlock birth rate (even considering how many millions of children have been slaughtered while in the womb)?
You correctly point out that some do not value chastity. But isn't that actually a symptom of the grave evil that has permeated our society, more deeply entrenched now than at any time in recent history?
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith document Persona Humana, written eight years after Humanae Vitae, has some tremendous truths in it. This document, although not nearly as famous as Humanae Vitae, also has a distinctly prophetic tone to it:
Since sexual ethics concern fundamental values of human and Christian life, this general teaching equally applies to sexual ethics. In this domain there exist principles and norms which the Church has always unhesitatingly transmitted as part of her teaching, however much the opinions and morals of the world may have been opposed to them. These principles and norms in no way owe their origin to a certain type of culture, but rather to knowledge of the Divine Law and of human nature. They therefore cannot be considered as having become out of date or doubtful under the pretext that a new cultural situation has arisen.
Very true statement, as far as I can see. Divine law doesn't change. The Church shouldn't lower her standards so that she complies with the lowered standards of society. She should stand firm.
As has been said above, the purpose of this Declaration is to draw the attention of the faithful in present-day circumstances to certain errors and modes of behavior which they must guard against. The virtue of chastity, however, is in no way confined solely to avoiding the faults already listed. It is aimed at attaining higher and more positive goals. It is a virtue which concerns the whole personality, as regards both interior and outward behavior. ...The more the faithful appreciate the value of chastity and its necessary role in their lives as men and women, the better they will understand, by a kind of spiritual instinct, its moral requirements and counsels. In the same way they will know better how to accept and carry out, in a spirit of docility to the Church's teaching, what an upright conscience dictates in concrete cases.
The Church sets standards in an effort to help people elevate themselves. The Church should be the positive change agent, not lowering her standards to be "in step with society."
Something interesting to consider here for you. Up until the 1930 (Anglican) Lambeth Conference, essentially ALL Christian ecclesiastical groups proscribed artificial birth control, including condoms. Since the 1930 Lambeth Conference, (almost) all Protestant denominations have fallen in line with the Anglicans. Now if it was morally wrong to use a condom in 1929, what happened in 1930 to all-of-a-sudden make it alright?
I appreciate that you are in agreement with Holy Mother Church in regards to abortion, same-sex marriage, etc. But perhaps you should check out the links to the two documents I referenced here before condemning her position on artificial contraception.
ROFLMAO! SAD Isn't it? I'm a Roman Catholic and I will never understand some of their thinking!
You took it the wrong way. They are necessary in this world. NO MAN AND OR YOUNG MAN IS GOING TO KEEP HIS PANTS ZIPPED ALL THE TIME! I have not met one Have you? How many virgin males do you know that aren't young boys? I am a Roman Catholic and they are not living in the real world when it comes to contraception.
I don't see why you consider a condom/contraception as evil?
Don't they actually have to use them, to be effective?
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