Elizabeth
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
I know that the Holy Father, when he speaks
as the Vicar of Christ, is infallible.
- When he is quoted in an interview, which
is now in a book, The Light of the
World, for example, is he still infallible?
I would find this very hard to believe, because,
even though condoms would not be used to prevent
conception, when used between two males, they
are very dangerous, because AIDS is very easily
spread even when condoms are used. As
far as spreading disease, it appears he is
mistaken.
- He doesn't have to be infallible from
a medical standpoint, does he?
If you have anything to add, please let me
know, because I have boycotted stores, including
gas stations, where condoms were sold.
Thank you for your help.
May God bless you and yours always,
In Jesus through Mary, with Joseph,
Elizabeth
+ A.M.D.G.
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Is
the Pope infallible on a medical views (e.g. on condoms) or when he is quoted in an interview? }
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John
replied:
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Elizabeth,
To answer your question, in this
instance, the Holy Father is speculating.
If you read the entire context of
his statement he is pretty much throwing
out proposals for discussion.
Remember,
infallibility is not inspiration.
The Holy Father goes through a process,
including researching Church teaching
before he pronounces a decree as
binding on a matter of faith and
morals.
No matter what he said in this context,
it is a theological speculation or
opinion and not an infallible statement.
That said, the media has been incorrectly
reporting what the Pope said. We
have published a web posting that addresses this issues.
Here is the deal.
For the record this is what the Holy
Father said in context. I've highlighted
the controversial area in blue:
From
Chapter 11, The Journeys
of a Shepherd, pages
117-119:
The media coverage completely
ignored the rest of the trip
to Africa on account of a single
statement. Someone had asked
me why the Catholic Church
adopts an unrealistic and ineffective
position on AIDS At that point,
I really felt that I was being
provoked, because the Church
does more than anyone else.
And I stand by that claim.
Because she is the only institution
that assists people up close
and concretely, with prevention,
education, help, counsel, and
accompaniment. And because
she is second to none in treating
so many AIDS victims, especially
children with AIDS.
I had the chance to visit one
of these wards and to speak
with the patients. That was
the real answer: The Church
does more than anyone else,
because she does not speak
from the tribunal of the newspapers,
but helps her brothers and
sisters where they are actually
suffering. In my remarks I
was not making a general statement
about the condom issue, but
merely said, and this is what
caused such great offense,
that we cannot solve the problem
by distributing condoms. Much
more needs to be done. We must
stand close to the people,
we must guide and help them;
and we must do this both before
and after they contract the
disease.
As a matter of fact, you know,
people can get condoms when
they want them anyway. But
this just goes to show that
condoms alone do not resolve
the question itself. More needs
to happen. Meanwhile, the secular
realm itself has developed
the so-called ABC Theory: Abstinence-Be
Faithful-Condom, where the
condom is understood only as
a last resort, when the other
two points fail to work. This
means that the sheer fixation
on the condom implies a banalization
of sexuality, which, after
all, is precisely the dangerous
source of the attitude of no
longer seeing sexuality as
the expression of love, but
only a sort of drug that people
administer to themselves. This
is why the fight against the
banalization of sexuality is
also a part of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is
treated as a positive value
and to enable it to have a
positive effect on the whole
of man's being.
There
may be a basis in the case
of some individuals, as perhaps
when a male prostitute uses
a condom, where this can be
a first step in the direction
of a moralization, a first
assumption of responsibility,
on the way toward recovering
an awareness that not everything
is allowed and that one cannot
do whatever one wants. But
it is not really the way to
deal with the evil of HIV infection.
That can really lie only in
a humanization of sexuality. |
- Are you saying, then, that the
Catholic Church is actually not
opposed in principle to the use
of condoms?
She of course does not regard
it as a real or moral solution,
but, in this or that case,
there can be nonetheless, in
the intention of reducing the
risk of infection, a first
step in a movement toward a
different way, a more human
way of living sexuality.
I believe this is a translation
from Italian which came from German.
Let me decipher what he's saying
for you. The Pope is saying that
if a homosexual prostitute uses a
condom in order to prevent AIDS,
this could be a sign that his conscience
may be awakening. That he's beginning
to realize he can't submit to
unbridled lust without responsibility.
This is a first step in the recovery
of a conscience which seeks to do
the will of God or recovery of a conscience which seeks to follow
the natural law. Notice he said a first
step.
Nowhere does the Pope say that condom
use is ever acceptable in some circumstances.
For a more detailed explanation read
this blog.
John
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Mike
replied:
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Hi, Elizabeth —
You said:
- When he is quoted in an interview, which
is now in a book, The Light of the
World, for example, is he still infallible?
- He does not have to be infallible from
a medical standpoint, does he?
To briefly answer both your questions:
- No, he is not Infallible when
he writes a book or gives an interview.
- From a medical standpoint, he
is as Infallible, as I am in predicting
when the Boston Red Sox will win
their next World Series. : )
I also found two other
related postings from our knowledge base:
Hope this helps,
Mike
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