The Vatican has issued a statement condemning Roman high schools that will be installing condom machines in their facilities. Pope Benedict XVI has stated that this is an encouragement to young people to have premarital sex and that it takes away the sanctity of marriage and sex.
School officials disagree. The school system believes that by proving these machines they will be able to better stress the importance of unprotected sex and unwanted pregnancies. AIDS as well as other STD’s are on a rapid rise in young people. In an effort to stop this, officials believe they must educate on the use of condoms. It is very rare for any Roman agency to go against the rulings of the Vatican which has a strong influence on the community.
Pope Benedict XVI last year, in a statement regarding the rapid spread of AIDS in Africa specifically said distribution of condoms was not the answer to the epidemic. He believes that moral living is the key to stop the spread of the disease. The Catholic Church does not believe in any form of contraception and believes sex is for procreation within a marriage only. Critics believe this a very outdated concept when one looks at the world today.
the pope is not making any sense, the use of a condom is the best protection there is. there is a hole in his commement, condoms are made of the same material hospital gloves are made of,if what he is saying is a fact then he is basically saying to hospitals to stop using gloves as well, he is saying hospitals have no protection either. i have a very hard time believing his stand
No wonder you have a difficulty in understanding this, Mary, because you have grasped the wrong point. Of course a good quality condom, properly used,gives a high rate of protection. But the Pope is talking about a pandemic in Africa, characterised by a macho condom culture and a habit of multiple partners. As a result the millions of pounds spent on promoting condoms have had no positive effect whatsoever (except in the matter of sex workers). The only initiatives which have significantly lowered HIVAIDS rates have been those which promoted abstinence before marriage and fidelity within marriage. That’s not simply a Catholic view it is shared by all those who have done proper academic studies.
That is a terrible analogy. How is using protective gloves even remotely related to using condoms?
Actually, there are a lot of places where people will have sex, no matter what. And since I can think for myself, I have figured out that sex is not only reserved for marriage, but it is an act of passion and pleasure, and condoms and other forms of birth control serve to prevent making 6 million people in one town the new ‘rural.’ What I’m saying, is that we’re overpopulating this world enough. Everything has its purpose, and you shouldn’t underestimate that. Would you let people who are infertile – even cisman-ciswoman (the traditional ‘straight’ couple) – marry and have sex?
Quentin, your kidding yourself if you think promoting abstinence alone has significantly reduced HIV transmition. Africa has been unable to slow the pandemic because of poverty and poor education. There is no one fix. It has to be attacked from every angle:
1. abstinence education
2. promoting condom use/availability
3. treatment to lower viral counts and transmition rates
4. widespread testing
5. making it a crime to knowing spread the disease