Word: benedict
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...paper "Family Values vs. Safe Sex," written by the then head of the Pontifical Council, the late Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, who was widely criticized for questioning the science behind the efficacy of condoms in preventing AIDS. But the document also laid out the idea that Benedict seemed to be alluding to on the papal plane. "To control the pandemic [of AIDS], it is necessary to promote responsible sexual behavior that is inculcated by means of authentic sexual education, that respects the dignity of man and woman, and that does not consider others as mere instruments of pleasure...
...gospel in this information age that Benedict, for better or worse, should have learned by now: inflammatory rhetoric begets inflammatory rhetoric. What is less clear is whether this and the other recent firestorms he has sparked make the Pope more or less relevant to the citizens of the world - and to members of his own flock...
...Instead, the Pope chose to favor the letter of his philosophy over a smooth p.r. ride. Again. As with the recent controversy when he lifted the excommunication of four ultra-traditionalist bishops, including a Holocaust denier, Benedict plowed ahead with what he believed was the right thing to do, even if it brought a maelstrom of bad press. In this case, Benedict believes that condom use is part of a culture of promiscuity that is breaking down the traditional family, which in turn feeds the kind of behavior that spreads the HIV virus. (See pictures of the global fight against...
...Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, retired archbishop of Milan - and one of the towering intellects in the church, often considered the yin to Benedict's yang - opined that condoms might be the lesser evil in some situations, notably when one partner in a proper marriage has the HIV virus. That same year, the Vatican health office said it would proceed with an internal study of the issue, though nothing further has come...
...Benedict's comments on Tuesday are the clearest sign that little if anything will change, as the Pope continues his quest to challenge secular trends both inside and outside his church by adhering to - and openly pronouncing - rigid stands on sexual and moral matters. (See pictures of the Pope...