DEACON FOR LIFE

Were there to be no support in the whole history of ethical and moral thought, were there no acknowledged confirmation from medical science, were the history of legal opinion to the contrary, we would still have to conclude on the basis of God's Holy Word that the unborn child is a person in the sight of God. He is protected by the sanctity of life graciously given to each individual by the Creator, Who alone places His image upon man and grants them any right to life which they have.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Church and Condoms. The "No" of the Diehards:

A note from the bishops of Kenya and three authoritative "Ratzingerians" maintain that the pope is also for a condemnation with no exceptions. And those who say the contrary are betraying his thought

by Sandro Magister

ROME, December 4, 2010 – The discussion over the legitimacy of using condoms, not for the purpose of contraception but in order to protect another's life, is registering new developments.

The first volleys of the discussion – prompted by statements made by Pope Benedict XVI in the book "Light of the World" – were summarized by www.chiesa in this previous article:

> Friendly Fire on Benedict XVI. And a Condom's to Blame

Meanwhile, however, other voices have entered the fray, including one episcopal conference, that of Kenya, the first to speak out on the matter.

In a note dated November 29, endorsed by Cardinal John Njue, archbishop of Nairobi, and by 24 other bishops, the episcopal conference of this African country has taken a position in restrictive terms, affirming that "the position of the Catholic Church as regards the use of condoms, both as a means of contraception and as a means of addressing the grave issue of HIV/AIDS infection has not changed, and it remains as always unacceptable."

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Maintaining the opposite, the note continues, "would be an offence to the Pope's intelligence and a gratuitous manipulation of his words."

Citing this document, Jesuit Fr. Joseph Fessio, publisher of "Light of the World" in the United States as well as a member of the Schülerkreis, the circle of scholars who had Joseph Ratzinger as their theology professor, has written to us:

"At least my interpretation of the Pope's remarks is shared by some of the hierarchy, and those most directly concerned."

In effect, Fr. Fessio has been from the beginning of the controversy one of the staunchest proponents of the illegitimacy of condom use, always and in every case.

In his view, this is also the pope's thought on the matter. A thought believed to have been been obscured by incorrect interpretations of his words.

Other intransigent Catholic figures, however, have gone so far as to attribute to the pope himself some of the responsibility for the "confusion."

So in registering their positions, www.chiesa used the title "Friendly Fire on Benedict XVI," emphasizing that the the criticisms are coming from some fervent "Ratzingerians."

But the main figures cited didn't like this title. And three of them have written to us to clarify their thought and above all to reiterate that their criticisms are not in any way intended to detract from the pope.

The pope, they say, has simply been misunderstood. The error is not his, but belongs to those who have misunderstood and "betrayed" him.

Presented in their entirety below are the letters sent to us by Fr. Joseph Fessio, by Christine de Marcellus Vollmer, a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, and by Steven Long, a professor of theology at Ave Maria University.

The three letters are preceded by the note of the Kenyan bishops, also reproduced in its entirety.

Continue here: http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1345841?eng=y

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