Comments on OSV Daily Take Blog: Can you handle the condom browbeating?

And you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build...

2009-03-24T10:48:00.000-04:00

And you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jonathan if you go over to Catholic News Online yo...

2009-03-22T15:52:00.000-04:00

Jonathan if you go over to Catholic News Online you will get some technical answers already going around the Catholic Community regarding the Popes comments.
That is probably why this gentlemen only touched on some of the subject there is more out there on our Catholic Websites.
What the Catholic Church teaches is Natural Family Planning which is very involved in learning. I am an amateur on this subject because I have been a lapsed Catholic who came back to the Church after leaving from 1978 to 1996. After 1996 I came back to the Church and during my studies I had to learn what the church teaches about everything. I was a worldly Catholic so I think I can speak from experience here.
The Church since Humanae Vitae has warned what would happen during the sexual revolution and she got blown off because she predicted the abortion, broken marriage etc. for the future in the publication Humanae Vitae so just for starters take a look.
We are now feeling the affects of going down a different path.
Our teachings arent always easy especially on life, marriage and sex period. It has truth though.
You have to read what the Church teaches, its very extensive so one cant fit it into an article this brief.
I recommend you check out Priests for Life for more information on what the Church teaches.
She also teaches out of the Catechism which stems from Tradition and The Written Word.
I would also check out Couple to Couple League regarding Natural Family Planning for information only.
This might be the answers your looking for in terms of what the Pope teaches from regarding this article which is brief.
Respectfully and Peace Holly

You write: "Without getting bogged down in technic...

2009-03-21T22:50:00.000-04:00

You write: "Without getting bogged down in technical arguments about the safety and efficacy of condoms in fighting AIDS, I’ll only say that, just on the face of it, the pope was obviously right. After all, if you really want to halt the spread of AIDS, then you have to halt the behavior that causes it to spread. What’s to argue about?"

What's to argue about? That's not what the Pope said. To make an effective argument -- either you or the Pope -- you must be more intellectually honest. Halting sexual behaviour that leads to HIV transmission is certainly commendable. But again, that's not what the Pope said. Simply admitting that condoms, when sex happens, prevent the spread of HIV is a no-brainer. This isn't a Catholic vs. the secular world argument, as you make it out to be. This is about the Pope saying that condoms increase the problem. To support that argument in any meangingful way, you have to argue that condoms promote sex, and promote condomless sex at that. If you or anyone else is to be taken seriously, you have to understand and address why there's so much outrage right now, and that includes strong rebukes from Catholics as well. You do nothing of the sort.