It's all in the eye of the beholder isn't it? I thought it was brilliant
Ah, got to wipe the tears from my eyes. Now where was I.
No, I didn't make fun out of him. I pointed out that he lives a celibate life as do (allegedly) those priests and other members of the cloth who occupy senior posts who haven't been given a dispensation because they entered as already married clergy.
The problem with the abstinence argument is that it doesn't work. People will bonk if given the opportunity. And since sometimes the opportunity can arise rather unexpectedly (oh happy days!) it's wise to carry a condom to offer at least a modicum of protection against sexuallly transmitted diseases.
And so what if condoms actually encourage people to have more sex. When was it declared illegal?
Now the Pope no doubt has a very cogent theological argument against contraception, which is what is really at the heart of his utterances. In seeking to uphold this theology he has condemned the use of condoms. The use of condoms has been proven to limit not just unwanted pregnancies but also the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. So the Pople has put theology before harm minimisation and adopts the facile argument of abstinence when challenged.
No, it doesn't cut it. Humans are crazy **** bunnies, they will **** when the opportunity presents itself. Best to minimise unwanted pregnancies and disease transmission by the use of condoms. For those who wish to practise abstinence fine, but remember the one you knock back is the one you never catch up on.
In a sense though the Pope and me are in a similar position. We're both arguing from theoretical positions - his on sex and mine on theology.
Cathollcs can choose to obey or not. Non-Catholics can ignore the Pope without a second thought. And those with a practical outlook on the world will see the value of harm minimisation.