Cardinal Burke: "It’s clear that the Pope is holding to what the Church has always taught in these matters."

Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, in an interview with National Catholic Register's John Burger about Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times, states:

I don’t see any change in the Church’s teaching. What he’s commenting on — in fact, he makes the statement very clearly that the Church does not regard the use of condoms as a real or a moral solution — but what he’s talking about in the point he makes about the male prostitute is about a certain conversion process taking place in an individual’s life. He’s simply making the comment that a person who is given to prostitution, at least considers using a condom to prevent giving the disease to another person — even though the effectiveness of this is very questionable — this could be a sign of someone who is having a certain moral awakening. But in no way does it mean that prostitution is morally acceptable, nor does it mean that the use of condoms is morally acceptable. The point the Pope is making is about a certain growth in freedom, an overcoming of an enslavement to a sexual activity that is morally repugnant so that this concern to use a condom in order not to infect a sexual partner could at least be a sign of some moral awakening in the individual, which one hopes would lead the individual to understand that his activity is a trivialization of human sexuality and needs to be changed.

Is “the world” assuming too quickly that the Pope all of a sudden is open to “compromising” on condoms, that this may be a small yet significant opening toward “enlightenment” for the Catholic Church? For example: In rare cases, Pope justifies use of condoms (New York Times). “Condoms OK” in some cases — Pope (BBC). Boston Herald quoting male prostitutes saying “too little too late, but it may encourage condom use, and that’s a good thing.”

From what I’ve [been] seeing of the coverage in the media, I think that’s correct, that that’s what they’re trying to suggest. But if you read the text there’s no suggestion of that at all. It’s clear that the Pope is holding to what the Church has always taught in these matters. He starts out — the context of the question — he starts out by saying that when he was asked this question on the plane on his way to his pastoral visit to Africa, he felt that he was being provoked, and he wanted to draw attention to all that the Church is doing to care for AIDS victims. In Africa, the Church is the main agent of care for the AIDS victims, and so he was trying to draw some attention to that.

The text itself makes it very clear that he says the Church does not regard it as a real or moral solution. And when he says that it could be a first step in a movement toward a different, more human way of living sexuality, that doesn’t mean in any sense that he’s saying the use of condoms is a good thing.

Read the entire interview, which covers a number of excellent questions and topics relating to Light of the World, including ecumenism, modernity, the nature of the papacy,

Comments

[Fernando Umberto Garcia de Nicaragua, Prefectus Minimus: The Jacksonian Institute]

An analysis by another priest:

http://caritasveritas.blogspot.com/2010/11/did-pope-say-its-okay-to-use-condoms.html

"I simply cannot make the link that Pope Benedict appears to make between condom use in this instance and a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot doe whatever one wants. Those involved continue to do that which is not allowed and whatever they want. The use of the condom can hardly be considered a virtuous act, thinking of the partner rather than of oneself. The male prostitute will be thinking primarily of his own health. It will therefore be selfishly motivated. The homosexual act remains intrinsically evil, although the evil effects are possibly mitigated....Holy Father, since you allow me the freedom to do so, I respectfully disagree. I cannot see how the introduction of a condom into sodomic relations is in any way a first step in a movement toward a more human way of living sexuality. Such relations are absolutely not a human way of living sexuality. All condom use does is aim to prevent one of the evil consequences of such relations. The Catholic blogs and orthodox media will try to defend Pope Benedict's comments. But I think we now have a major problem on our hands."

[Alexander]

I a laymen of the Catholic Church, understand the Pope's comments on the use of condoms in situations of the male prostitute who is infected by HIV. For one, a gay man, wearing a condom is not contraceptive...It would be considered a medical device (Such as someone with SARS wearing a filtered breathing mask). You can not control people's actions, you can only charitably teach them right and wrong. Hopefully that person will act in God's Will, and refrain from a destructive sexual behavior, but if they don't, the second step would be for them to show some sign of morality, and use some tool to prevent HIV infection in another person. Even if that tool is not %100 effective. I'm a conservative Catholic that wants everything done by the book... However I'm not that foolish to think that everyone is going to follow the Good Book by the every measure. People are going to attack our Pope on whatever he says, hopefully Catholics will pray on this issue instead of jumping the gun....We already have enough division as it is.