Father Federico Lombardi
Posted on 04/03/2009 1:39:38 PM PDT by NYer
.- In response to Belgium’s diplomatic protest against Pope Benedict’s comments that condoms could potentially "increase the problem" of AIDS being spread in Africa, Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See newsroom questioned whether the lawmakers had considered the Popes words and scientific research, or whether they received their information "through the non-objective, imbalanced filter of the echoes in the western media."
According to Reuters, the Belgium House of Deputies called the Pope’s comments "unacceptable" and instructed their government to "react strongly against any state or organization that in the future brings into doubt the benefit of using condoms to prevent transmission of the AIDS virus."
The measure approved with a strong majority, 95-18, and asks the government to "condemn the Pope’s unacceptable position statement and to lodge a formal protest at the Holy See." Premier Herman Van Rompuy said he will support the motion saying, "it is not the Pope’s job to shed doubts on public health policies which are unanimously supported and save lives ever day."
Father Lombardi, expressed "amazement" at the resolution, reported the Italian news service, SIR.
He questioned how a democratic country could limit the "freedom of the Holy Father and the Catholic Church to express their own positions" which are "clearly relevant to the view of the human person."
As Belgium reacted to the Pope’s comments, Lombardi pointed to "the great tradition" of the Catholic Church in "education and health-care, especially in the poorer countries" that needs no "evidence or comments."
Lombardi also questioned whether Belgium lawmakers had considered the "Pope’s arguments" and scientific research, or whether they received their information "through the non-objective, imbalanced filter of the echoes in the western media."
Ping!
I’d like to see the research that states the use of condoms will increase the spread of AIDS. That is just reckless for the Pope to say and may carry a body count because of it.
Sexual conduct outside of marriage is always reckless. The Pope has a right and a duty to tell people that they have to change their ways.
Being ignorant is reckless.
Any idea what the body count is that has resulted from the false sense of security, aka a lie, that has been spread by simpletons exhorting some, aka simpletons, to engage in life threatening behavior with their genitals to wear a condom and they'd be safe?
Incidentally, your "wisdom" was conspicuously absent on the following thread.
Harvard AIDS Expert Says Pope is Correct on Condom Distribution Making AIDS Worse
How did lunatics come to govern the world over?
However, reliance on condoms and leading people to conclude that they can have promiscuous sex without consequences if they use a condom, leads to people having a lot more promiscuous sex, and that definitely increases the spread of AIDS.
An interesting case study I read compared Thailand and the Philippines, two countries in which AIDS appeared at about the same time, which are in roughly the same part of the world, and have similar-sized populations.
Thailand reacted to AIDS by emphasizing condom use. The Philippines emphasized abstinence and fidelity. Guess which country has the higher AIDS prevalence today (and the numbers aren't even close).
By being democratic. Democracy is an exercise in unfreedom by definition.
The world belongs to Satan. They feel right at home in his domain. Tomorrow, Palm Sunday, we will hear how the crowd welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem, waving palm and olive branches and shouting: "Hosanna in the highest!" By Friday, the same crowd will scream: "Crucify him!" - the Son of God.
The world did not accept God then and the same is true today. These creatures prefer the darkness to light. Recall what our Lord said to St. Faustina:
Chosen souls are, in My hand, lights which I cast into the darkness of the world and with which I illumine it. As stars illumine the night, so chosen souls illumine the earth. And the more perfect a soul is, the stronger and the more far-reaching is the light shed by it. It can be hidden and unknown, even to those closest to it, and yet its holiness is reflected in souls even to the most distant extremities of the world. (1601)
Chosen Souls
Jesus said He was the Light of the World. We who follow in his footsteps, must carry that Light into the darkness through our prayers and witness.
“through the non-objective, imbalanced filter of the echoes in the western media.”
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