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Pope Benedict XVI's opposition to condoms, even as a weapon to help combat the spread of AIDS, should surprise no one who knows anything about Catholic Church teachings. The 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, penned by Pope Paul VI, explicitly forbids contraception as denying the Creator's will that humans be fruitful and multiply. In the years since, despite scientific consensus that condoms greatly reduce the risk of contracting the HIV virus, nothing has budged at the Vatican. Any artificial contraception is a sin against God. Full stop...
...Still, Benedict's public declaration on March 17, as he was en route to Africa on his first visit as Pontiff, that advocacy of condoms actually "increases the problem" of AIDS has pushed the rhetorical envelope - and enraged may inside and outside the church - like only this quietly frank, theologically driven Pontiff knows how. The Spanish government announced it was sending 1 million condoms to Africa just as Benedict was arriving on the AIDS-ravaged continent. By the following evening, top government officials in France, Germany and the Netherlands had all publicly condemned the Pope's statement. Vatican spokesman Father...
...Amid the outrage and consternation lies the question: Why? If we already know the basic tenets of church teaching - not to mention the extent of the AIDS epidemic and disproportionate ignorance about condom use in Africa - why did the Pope say what he said, when and where he said it? What do this and other recent episodes tell us about how the modern papacy operates at that unique nexus where philosophy meets public relations? And why, nearly four years into his reign, does this hyper-articulate and well-versed Pope continue to see his attempts at mass communication blow...
...press conference that regularly takes place aboard his Alitalia jet just before takeoff (there have been 11 trips abroad). But he could hardly have been taken by surprise, as the questions are submitted ahead of time. Benedict might easily have opted for a pat response along the lines of, "Church teaching is clear on contraception. We must instead focus on education, abstinence and caring for those already infected...
...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...