Pope Francis Says Contraception May Be 'Lesser of Two Evils' During Zika Virus Outbreak

abcnews.go.com ^ | February 18, 2016 | Gillian Mohney and Terry Moran

[laplata]

You’re preaching to the choir.

[Campion]

It's ridiculous to maintain the only purpose for intercourse should be pregnancy.

... which is not the church's position. You obviously don't know as much about it as you think you do.

[ealgeone]

Are there any Biblical injunctions for limiting intercourse to just pro-creation only?

[rawcatslyentist]

Yet mass procreation to the point of starvation is still fine and dandy.

[enduserindy]

I agree with you. My god not only sees reality, he created it.

[enduserindy]

Since when is a different opinion scorn?

[chae]

I don’t understand that at all. I mean, when I was married, we used contraception. Mainly because there was no way that we would have been able to afford a second child. I was making $6.50 an hour, and my husband was making $5.50 an hour and we were determined not to go on any public aid.

[ealgeone]

You might want to check the postings of some other catholics on this thread. They give the appearance of holding this belief.

[Dr. Sivana]

I mean, when I was married, we used contraception.

And yet, if despite the use of contraception, you still conceived I assume you would have accepted a very difficult situation.

[Tennessee Nana]

Next he’ll be OKing abortion...

Wait I think he already did...

[chae]

Yeah. Conceiving Logan to start with was less than ideal in the first place.

[lastchance]

Just how are the two situations comparable?

[Fightin Whitey]

"Ridiculous" strikes me as a term of scorn.

For instance, I find someone who refers to "Republican's" on his/her homepage to be slightly ridiculous.

[MortMan]

The Zika virus is usually mild, but has been associated with a rise of the alarming birth defect, characterized by an abnormally small head and brain, often leading to significant developmental delays.

This, despite the latest research that shows this birth defect was trending up before Zika broke out.

[kidd]

There have been perhaps 2 dozen cases of Zika in the USA, and all due to visits to South America. But there has been a great deal of media hype over the issue.

The Pope could have asked child-bearing aged women to wear mosquito repellant during spring and summer months when going outside. Simple enough? Instead he has said contraception isn’t all that bad.

The MSM has accomplished its goal. It has caused the Catholic church to compromise through media hype. The MSM has now learned that it can affect change in the Catholic church.

I am more worried about the precedent that has been set, than this single statement by the Pope.

[Lazamataz]

Guaranteed, this Satanic Marxist Pope will be all-in for Partial Birth Abortion by the end of this year.

[MortMan]

The Catholic position, as I understand it, is that one must be “open” to procreation as the natural result of intercourse, not that intercourse can only occur for the purpose of procreation. Being married to a Catholic, I looked into it. :)

[steve86]

Mainly because there was no way that we would have been able to afford a second child.

I abstained in that situation, but to be honest, early on there were a very few times artificial contraception was used until I wised up on the immorality of the practice. Only was having relations during expected infertile periods anyway.

[vladimir998]

“I’ve never understood the “contraception is evil” crowd. What a ridiculous position.”

I’ve never understood the “theft is evil” crowd. What a ridiculous position.

I’ve never understood the “murder is evil” crowd. What a ridiculous position.

I’ve never understood the “rape is evil” crowd. What a ridiculous position.

I’ve never understood the “lying is evil” crowd. What a ridiculous position.

I’ve never understood the “idolatry is evil” crowd. What a ridiculous position.

[originalbuckeye]

Wake up! This Pope has just sided with the Obama Admin against the Little Sisters of the Poor. Never in my life did I ever think I would see a POPE that was so political and so against the tenets of his own religion. Benedict must have resigned under ‘Vince Foster’ type pressure.