Well as something is always lost in translation....an article based on a comment based on a summary of a book about an interview is alot of interpretations and agendas.
What the Pope says has a different meaning for Catholics, than for non Catholics, for theologians than for lay people and it will depend on context.
For me personally, I know that one cannot pretend that individuals are not sexual and for many people their value systems set the boundaries or lack thereof for their sexual expression. If a person's religious beliefs set parameters for sexual expression, but their social or physical situation creates other variables- I believe that is what the Pope is referring to.
If a person is a prostitute in order to survive, has chosen homosexuality as the way that they express themselves sexually- it is next to impossible to bible thump them into stopping. How will that person feed themself or express themselves sexually? For persons who do not believe homosexuality is a sin, HIV is the gateway to the human view that sex is not just a transaction- financial or solely physical..... it has a spiritual, emotional, mental, social element too.
To infect another person knowingly with HIV is evil. You are basically commiting murder. By using condoms, you are accepting some responsibility for your actions if you are not abstaining from sex, which is a start in the viewing of sex as something human. (Many movies glamorise this, showing prostitutes who do not kiss on the mouth or have steady relationships and separate sex from love/ feelings).
The Church's responsibility in teaching people about sexuality should also be in acknowledging the culture, e.g. I heard on the news yesterday that in Africa 1 in 3 men committed rape- as a rite of passage for young men. Male prostitution in South America may not be the same as the "gay scene" in London. That is why someone may be Catholic in their faith and personal practice but their social responsibilities must be informed and open minded. How does a Catholic cater to HIV positive persons?
Worldwide HIV numbers have gone down (sorry I cannot quote my figures-off the BBC last week) but one of the top HIV associations hold making homosexuality and drug use illegal as contributing to keeping the population underground and difficult to reach. Obviously then the Church will have a responsibility in its prison and community out reach to not guilt people into not being educated or equipped.
Remember homosexuality used to be a mental illness and pedophilia is still not illegal in all countries........education and social research as well as activism is vital for change. And discourse. Through dialogue- that is the Pope telling the world what he thinks on these matters he gives the world the opportunity to reply and in time educate and empower each other.
The evil is HIV/ AIDS and people remaining uneducated, untreated and unprotected- not persons living with HIV/ AIDS or the catholic church/ the Pope.
Last edited by bitomato : 27-11-2010 at 09:32 PM.
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