Yes, he should. However it is hard to believe how sloppy, ignorant, and agenda driven the lamestream media are. I can well imagine a man of good will failing to think that what he said would be wrenched out of context and presented as something entirely different.
But it was a blunder, and as in the case of most blunders of generals, the penalty will be paid by us private soldiers trying to clarify and explain.
Or that his "own" newspaper would wrench that one excerpt out of context and, in violation of the Vatican's own media embargo, publish it without context or commentary.
But it was a blunder, and as in the case of most blunders of generals, the penalty will be paid by us private soldiers trying to clarify and explain.
I'm just not willing to even try to defend this one. He has set back pro-life work on this subject by decades for this irresponsible remark. Condoms fail at preventing pregnancies 5 to 15% of the time, and women can only get pregnant 7 out of 28 days in a cycle. But a sex partner can get AIDS 28 days out of 28 days, so condom failure rates at preventing AIDS are at least 30%. Should the Pope recommend playing Russian Roulette with 2 bullets out of six, instead of 5 out of 6, just because some people will always play Russian Roulette?
Of course not.
Neither should he ever repeat the lie that condoms reduce the risk of AIDS. Condoms give a false sense of security at best. Their effectiveness at decreasing the chances of AIDS is dismal at best.
The Church shouldn't be in the business of encouraging this lie, or giving it any credibility whatsoever.