Although I try to maintain the focus of this blog to specifically "Catholic Bibles" and things related, I can't help but refer you to a fine examination/parody by my favorite Catholic blogger, Mark Shea, on the reporting by the mainstream press on Pope Benedict's comments concerning condom use in his upcoming interview book Light of the World.
Enjoy:
(ROME) In a startling change to the Catholic Faith, Pope Benedict XVI announced today that tossing people down elevator shafts could represent a first step in assuming moral responsibility "in the intention of reducing the risk of murdering billions of innocent people."
The Imperial Mainstream Media Center has taken this as a signal that the Church intends to canonize Darth Vader for his saintly courage in tossing Emperor Palpatine down an elevator shaft as he was torturing his son to death with huge bolts of electric Force energy. In addition, the Imperial Mainstream Media Center has also declared that the Pope therefore means to say that destruction of whole planets, as well as the subjugation of billions of inhabitants all over the galaxy, the betrayal of his closest friends, the slaughter of the Jedi and their younglings, and his conversion to the Dark Side "don't matter". But most importantly, according to an Imperial Mainstream Media spokesman, "The point is, throwing people down elevator shafts is now formally accepted by the Church as moral behavior and Catholic need to think about how to incorporate this new development of doctrine into their lives. If you feel that throwing people down elevator shafts is the safe and right thing for you, then," says the Imperial Mainstream Media Center, "we believe the Pope means to say, 'Do it with my blessing.'"
I am not quite sure what "side" Mark Shea is coming down on, but the pope has not said anything new or startling at all regarding condoms and Catholic teaching. There is nothing intrinsically evil about condoms but there can be evil in what they are used to accomplish. It is long-standing teaching that drugs or procedures used for contraception can also be used for good in the preservation of life (eg., hyterectomy to remove cancer). The sad thing is other bishops have proposed the same thing about condoms/AIDS in the past and been disciplined or at least had a finger shaken at them by the Vatican. This just serves to remind us that God must work within the imperfection of the human organizational element of the Church.
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