COLUMBUS, Ohio — Some Catholic believers in the United States greeted Pope Benedict XVI’s recent comments on condoms as a sign that the church was stepping into the modern debate in the fight against AIDS, though the church was adamant Sunday that nothing has changed in its views banning contraception.
There was praise and wariness for the pope’s comments that condoms could be morally justified in some limited situations, such as for male prostitutes wanting to prevent the spread of HIV.
Others cautioned that it could open a doctrinal Pandora’s box. And the exact meaning of what the pope said was still up for interpretation.
“That’s a theological mind trap,” said Wendy Lasekan, a 47-year-old stay-at-home mom, after Sunday morning Mass at St. Michael Catholic Church in Worthington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
“In some cases, it would be justifiable - or acceptable - to use a condom,” she said. “If your goal would be to prevent the spread of AIDS, that would be a charitable act.”
Ellen Reik, a 79-year-old retired housewife who attended St. Michael, said if taken out of context, the pope’s remarks could renew the debate over the morality of birth control - both as a contraceptive and a means to curb the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Several more believers who spoke to The Associated Press felt the pope’s comments marked a tentative step into a less restrictive stance in the global fight against AIDS.
Jean Jasman, an 81-year-old state worker from Montpelier, Vt., called the stance a departure from church doctrine on condom use, “but it’s to the betterment of humanity, if we can help prevent the spread of this horrendous disease.”
Lois Breaux rolled her eyes when asked about the pope’s statements as she was leaving Mass at St. Kieran Church in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami.
“About time - and it wasn’t enough,” she said. “As a Catholic, they need to recognize this is an epidemic. The church needs to stand up and say what he did, but he should have gone further.”
But Vatican officials strongly emphasized Sunday that the church’s position on contraception has not changed.
The pope spoke in an interview given to a German journalist. Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano on Saturday published excerpts from the book, Light of the World, three days ahead of publication. In the interview, Benedict says that in certain cases, such as for a male prostitute, condom use could be a first step in assuming moral responsibility for stemming the spread of the virus that causes AIDS.
The Holy See’s chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, stressed that Benedict was not “morally justifying” the unbridled exercise of sexuality and the church’s main advice in the fight against AIDS remains the same: promoting sexual abstinence and fidelity among married couples.
The pope’s comments caught some followers offguard with the frank discussion of a taboo topic.
“I was shocked. I thought, ‘Why even mention that?’ It was unnecessary,” said Joan Caron, 86, of Oldtown, Maine, who attended Mass at the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore, the nation’s oldest Roman Catholic cathedral. “I was just shocked that he’d even bring the word up.” Information for this article was contributed by Tales Azzoni, John Curran, Rasha Madkour, Ben Nuckols, Bruce Shipkowski, Ron Todt and Karen Matthews of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 11/22/2010