In one of his landmark lectures at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria in 1971, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger observed, “One can only be a Christian in the Church not beside the Church.” He was speaking on the theme “Why I am still a Catholic.” Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XV1 on April 19 2005 and has since remained not only Catholic but a devoted leader of the church. His flock, however, is threatened with division in the face of the devastating AIDS pandemic.
Pope John Paul 11 Bans the Use of Condoms among Catholic Christians
In 1990, Pope John Paul 11 of blessed memory, placed a ban on the use of condoms which he considered “sinful under all circumstances.” His successor, Benedict XV1 has since upheld this ban. Even as AIDS continues to wreck havoc on entire communities around the world, the Church has not budged. Instead, the Holy Father declared recently that condoms actually aggravate the problem of AIDS.
This statement remains significant in the history of the church for two reasons. Firstly it has once again raised the question about papal infallibility. Secondly, it has widened the gap between those who stand “within the Church” and those who stand “besides her” as far as the condom debate is concerned. This division is quiet visible at the level of the clergy and the laity.
Dissenting Voices among Catholic Bishops
In the face of this deadly pandemic, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini considered the use of condoms “a lesser evil.” In his view, in a couple where one partner had HIV/AIDS, condoms are necessary. This same view is shared by Mexican Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan. Like Martini, he insists that condoms could sometimes be exceptionally condoned. “You can defend yourself with any means,” he said.
In an open contradiction of the Pope, Portuguese Bishop Manuel Clemente made it clear that AIDS sufferers "have a moral obligation to prevent and not provoke the illness." In such cases, the Bishop insisted that condoms are "not only recommendable, they can be ethically obligatory." Another Portuguese Bishop, Ferreira, had earlier agreed that to ban condom use was equivalent to "consenting the death of many people."
The views expressed by pro-condom Bishops add a new dimension to the debate. Should the use of condoms be an issue of relativity? The Church has struggled to prevent such debates by placing a uniform ban on the use of condoms. But even this is not enough to silent Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg in South Africa, whose country bears the brunt of AIDS.
The Pope’s Faithful Bishops on the Condom Controversy
One of the most outrageous statements on the AIDS debate within the Catholic Church came from Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujilo, President of the Pontifical Council of the Family in 2003. He observed that “The AIDS virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the condom.” This statement immediately attracted the condemnation of the World Health Organization which considered it “dangerous.”
On his part, Maputo Archbishop Fransisco Chimoio dragged the debate to a completely new level. In an interview with the BBC in 2007, he claimed that condoms were deliberately infected with AIDS. “They want to finish with the African people,” the prelate insisted. “This is the program. If we are not careful we will finish in one century’s time.” While prelates shun condoms on such grounds as the size of the spermatozoon and racial domination, what are the chances for the laity?
Catholic Christians Oppose the Papal Ban on Condoms
So far, the Holy Father has not (yet) received a complete “Amen” to his call for Christians to refrain from using condoms. This ban has instead led to the growth of a powerful pro-condom opposition group – Catholics for a Free Choice (CFC). This group has missed no opportunity to lend support to the Condom4Life Campaign, an initiative begun in 2001.
CFC President John O’Brien has been very vocal against the Churche’s take on condoms. “Pope Benedict has a great opportunity to set forth a life saving path for the Catholic Church,” he said. “As the Church plays a large role in how AIDS is perceived … officially lifting the ban on condoms is vital to stemming the tides of HIV/AIDS.”
Writing in The New Vision of 27 March 2009, John Nagenda observes the responses of Catholic Christians across different social groups. Of the rich and enlightened christians he says “The sophisticated Roman Catholics know how to pick and choose from messages issued from their church.” Of the poor he laments, “Not so for the gullible and highly influenced poor of the earth: the victims at whom the Popes pitch their dogma and who swallow it whole.”
As the evil pandemic threatens to divide the Church, there is an urgent need for God’s children to close ranks. The increasing volumes of statistics, literature and debates about AIDS have only helped to create more confusion about the disease. To confront this threat, some dogmas must back down. And Jon O’Brien agrees, “It took the Church hierarchy 359 years to stop continuing the line taken by their predecessors on Galileo. We hope that this error does not also take so long to change.”
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