Two days ago the Vatican released a statement verifying the Pope’s comments to a journalist during the previous week. Apparently, the Pope said that condom use could be perhaps, just maybe, a little, tiny bit okay in certain circumstances.
He actually was quite specific. He said that it might be okay for a gay, male prostitute to use one to prevent the spread of AIDS. Is he not merciful?! No wonder he’s da’ Pope!
Most commentators I have heard or read see this as a step forward by the Catholic Church’s archaic stance on birth control. I see it as more lunacy from this insane, ex-Nazi pontiff.
Yes, allowing male, gay hookers to bag it is a small step forward from the Church’s draconian outright ban on any and all forms of contraception. It is like going from 14th Century thinking to 16th Century thinking. Then, rational people can momentarily get past the idea that it’s the fucking 21st Century and measure progress with a micrometer…and give credit where credit is due.
But I can’t.
If it was John Paul II, I’d be buying it a little more. But not from this bat-shit crazy Ratzinger fellow. We cannot forget that this is the guy who covered up for child molesters, and still wants to keep it an internal church matter. And, we can’t ignore the fact that he is still dooming women to death by AIDS with this “progress.”
The Catholic Church’s largest area of growth is in Africa, which is also the place that is hurt the most by the ravages of AIDS. He is saying, “yeah, let those fag whores use a rubber, their sperm was never going anywhere of use to us. But those bitches, they better be getting knocked up.” Who cares if many of them die due to lack of protection?
Now, some Christian right leaders in America would have not even gone as far as the Pope, claiming that AIDS is God’s vengeance on gays. So, I suppose if you have to, you can give the Pope some credit for not being as vile as the “God Hates Fags” church in Kansas. But that is damning with faint praise. He is, once again, killing women!
And for those who would give him credit – how much of a step forward is it that the Pope would give a new privilege to a man that he would still deny a woman? Gay male prostitutes get their lives saved, and female prostitutes don’t. That is no step forward at all, that’s Medieval.
My God, the march of human progress is slow. The idea that the Catholic “tribe” has to be enlarged by unrestrained procreation is a centuries old idea, and ideal. As the Grand Wizard of Catholicism, Ratzinger looks at Africa as a fertile field for planting millions of new Catholics. Instead of looking at the condition of the people of Africa, which struggle to feed the folks already there, and are hounded by the specter of AIDS, as it ravages the countryside. As far as I know, he’s not calling for ALL biblical tenets to be followed. People can still eat shrimp without condemnation, and poly-cotton blends are worn without being stoned to death. But whether it leads to death or starvation, don’t you fucking dare waste a sperm that might find its way to a womb, potentially swelling the ranks of Catholic acolytes.
No, no, no…fuck this pope. I cut him no slack. The next alter-boy he allows to be raped may be saved from priest-AIDS by a condom, but that is too little progress for me.
By the way, the Vatican is walking the statement back now, saying that the Pope is in no way in favor of contraception. Yeah, better kill those gay dudes too.
Baby steps, humans…baby steps.
**[UPDATE - The following day to writing this post, a Vatican spokesperson said that the words of the Pope were misquoted, and that he actually meant BOTH male and female prostitutes. He said that it was a lesser evil to use a condom. So, credit where credit is due - if Ratzinger meant what he said, then at least he is for equality where prostitutes are concerned. And, he is truly "pro-life" as he tries to straddle the fence, being both against contraception, yet in favor of sexual protection to prevent the spread of a life-threatening disease. If true, kudos.]
**[UPDATE - The following day to writing this post, a Vatican spokesperson said that the words of the Pope were misquoted, and that he actually meant BOTH male and female prostitutes. He said that it was a lesser evil to use a condom. So, credit where credit is due - if Ratzinger meant what he said, then at least he is for equality where prostitutes are concerned. And, he is truly "pro-life" as he tries to straddle the fence, being both against contraception, yet in favor of sexual protection to prevent the spread of a life-threatening disease. If true, kudos.]
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