The Pope Approves Birth Control?

[presence]

Feb 18, 6:12 PM EST


Pope suggests contraception can be condoned in Zika crisis

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) -- Pope Francis has suggested women threatened with the Zika virus could use artificial contraception, saying "avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil" in light of the global epidemic.


The pope unequivocally rejected abortion as a response to the crisis in remarks Wednesday as he flew home after a five-day trip to Mexico.


But he drew a parallel to a decision by Pope Paul VI in the 1960s to approve giving nuns in Belgian Congo artificial contraception to prevent pregnancies because they were being systematically raped.


Abortion "is an evil in and of itself, but it is not a religious evil at its root, no? It's a human evil," Francis told reporters. "On the other hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, as in this one (Zika), such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear."


Francis was responding to a reporter's question about whether abortion or birth control could be considered a "lesser evil" when confronting the Zika crisis in Brazil, where there has been a spike in babies born with abnormally small heads to Zika-infected mothers.


The World Health Organization has declared a worldwide health emergency over the Zika virus and its suspected link to birth defects. On Thursday, the U.N. agency advised the sexual partners of pregnant women to use condoms or abstain from sex if they live in or have visited Zika-affected areas, echoing a recommendation made by U.S. health officials. The virus has been reported in at least 34 countries, most of them in overwhelmingly Catholic Latin America and the Caribbean, where access to birth control is often limited and abortion is heavily restricted.


Theologians and some Latin American bishops cautioned the pope was not giving a green light for Catholics to use artificial birth control, nor did his remarks amount to a change in church teaching.


But Francis' comments suggest that Catholics under specific circumstances could make a "conscience-based decision about whether they should prevent pregnancy," said the Rev. James Bretzke, a moral theologian at Boston College.
"Certainly Pope Francis should have anticipated a question on the church's response to the Zika virus, and from his answer I believe he was well-prepared to field this query," Bretzke said. "His comment on the Zika virus and measures to avoid pregnancy is within perfect consistency with the traditional moral teaching of the Catholic Church."


U.N. officials have called on Latin American countries to loosen their abortion laws to allow women to terminate pregnancies if they fear the fetus may be at risk for microcephaly, a rare birth defect that causes brain damage and may be linked to the virus.
But Francis told reporters, "Taking one life to save another, that's what the Mafia does. It's a crime. It's an absolute evil."


Several Latin American churchmen have reasserted the church's opposition to abortion and artificial contraception as more reports of Zika cases and brain-damaged babies emerged.


On Thursday, Bishop Noel Antonio Londono of the Diocese of Jerico in the Colombian state of Antioquia, said nobody should interpret the pope's remarks as free license to use birth control.


"This isn't a blank check," he said. "Undoubtedly, with regards to Zika, there are people who need to protect themselves."


Bishop Miguel Angel Cabello, of Concepcion, Paraguay, said it was too early to know exactly what Francis meant.


"We need more studies on the Zika virus and its consequences" before any decisions on church policy are made, he said. "The pope made a comment and we should take it as a comment."
Francis has tended to downplay the fraught moral hand-wringing over sexual ethics that preoccupied his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He has said the church shouldn't be "obsessed" with such issues.



Coming home from Africa last year, Francis dismissed a question about whether condoms could be used in the fight against AIDS, saying there were far more pressing issues in Africa, such as poverty and exploitation, and that only when those problems were resolved should questions about condoms and AIDS take center stage.


Angelica Rivas, of the Feminist Collective for Social Development in El Salvador, said the pope's latest remarks would not be much help since the church in her country has consistently opposed sex education on the use of contraception, and birth control would not help the many women who are already pregnant.


"We have to give them the alternative of interrupting the pregnancy," Rivas said.


In Ecuador, Jaime Pallares, a spokesman for the Mother Mary and Queen Catholic lay group, said that as a believer he follows the word of the pope. But on this issue, he personally differs.


"It's difficult for me to interpret the Holy Father's sentiment. From my perspective the best alternative would be to maintain some days of chastity," said Pallares. "I'm not going to die of chastity."
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_REL_POPE_ZIKA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

[Dianne]

This is a George Soros appropriated Pope. He is a globalist who hides behind tall walls in the Vaticin , and makes the nuns go through metal detectors, as he remains surrounded by highly armed body guards; yet wants you and I to give up our weapons as he unleashes hordes of criminals to rape and kill our children, steal our money.

This Pope is as close to God as my shoelace.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

I'm pretty sure the pope is being anathema to the RCC here... Any RC's here know for sure?

 

[sparebulb]

I guess the Pope missed out on some basic facts on sex and reproduction.

He doesn't need birth control when he's referring to sex with boys.

 

[ShaneEnochs]

I guess the Pope missed out on some basic facts on sex and reproduction.

He doesn't need birth control when he's referring to sex with boys.

I know you're being facetious, but condoms are also a type of birth control.

 

[pcosmar]

I'm pretty sure the pope is being anathema to the RCC here... Any RC's here know for sure?

He's infallible.

His words are Gods words.

and sadly, millions of people believe that shit.

 

[mczerone]

I'm pretty sure the pope is being anathema to the RCC here... Any RC's here know for sure?

How I read it is that the Pope recognizes that (in RC) pretty much everything's a sin. So don't go out and just sin willy-nilly, but accept that you will sin (according to the RC), try to sin as little as possible, and confess.

It's actually a lesson evangelicals should listen to, so that they don't totally flip out at every sinner and go on witch-hunts against the sin-du-jour.

 

[hells_unicorn]

I'm pretty sure the pope is being anathema to the RCC here... Any RC's here know for sure?

The Sedevacantist movement (be it Feeneyites like the guys at Most Holy Family Monastery, or Jansenists on the more conservative side of the Old Catholic Union) and various Traditionalist groups consider him an antipope, but most of the official RCC that has accepted both Vatican I & II won't anathematize him, no matter how much they may object to the rubbish that he spews, it's a consequence of unrepentant idolatry.

Speaking for myself, even though I pray every Lord's Day for the fall of the Papacy, I won't openly attack an individual pope (the problem is the office, the man holding it is incidental) for saying something orthodox. This current occupant, however, is so obnoxiously anti-orthodox in his views and teachings that he will probably warp the doctrines of Rome so totally that a lot of these Traditionalist dissenters will finally get the message that the Roman Pontiff has made itself the enemy of Christ, and has for centuries.

 

[wizardwatson]

I'm waiting for the first progressive to say something like:

"Well, if contraception is ok to prevent disease in a baby, why not abortion to prevent poverty in a baby?"

I've had a few abortion discussions with pro-abortion people, and "saving the kid from a bad life" is usually one of the first few things out of their mouth.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

The Sedevacantist movement (be it Feeneyites like the guys at Most Holy Family Monastery, or Jansenists on the more conservative side of the Old Catholic Union) and various Traditionalist groups consider him an antipope, but most of the official RCC that has accepted both Vatican I & II won't anathematize him, no matter how much they may object to the rubbish that he spews, it's a consequence of unrepentant idolatry.

Speaking for myself, even though I pray every Lord's Day for the fall of the Papacy, I won't openly attack an individual pope (the problem is the office, the man holding it is incidental) for saying something orthodox. This current occupant, however, is so obnoxiously anti-orthodox in his views and teachings that he will probably warp the doctrines of Rome so totally that a lot of these Traditionalist dissenters will finally get the message that the Roman Pontiff has made itself the enemy of Christ, and has for centuries.

SMFH. Terrible disgrace to the Roman Patriarchate (I don't use the term "Papacy", because I don't recognize Papal Authority or Papal Infallibility. The RCC is schismatic).

 

[heavenlyboy34]

I'm waiting for the first progressive to say something like:

"Well, if contraception is ok to prevent disease in a baby, why not abortion to prevent poverty in a baby?"

I've had a few abortion discussions with pro-abortion people, and "saving the kid from a bad life" is usually one of the first few things out of their mouth.

Great shades of Eugenics!

 

[heavenlyboy34]

He's infallible.

His words are Gods words.

and sadly, millions of people believe that shit.

The Roman Church won the information war. There was no webbernets in the 1060's to prevent this.

 

[hells_unicorn]

SMFH. Terrible disgrace to the Roman Patriarchate (I don't use the term "Papacy", because I don't recognize Papal Authority or Papal Infallibility. The RCC is schismatic).

The thing about Papal Authority and Infallibility is that it is a relatively new concept, at least as a matter of dogma, and it was not universally accepted by a valid council decree given that all the dissenting voices were barred from attending (this is how the Old Catholic League came about). Even as a Reformed Presbyterian, I do recognize a valid historic pastoral authority to the Roman Bishopric, and I would argue that what happened in Rome was the fulfillment of prophecy, namely Paul's admonition in 2 Thessalonians 2 regarding the "man of sin", as well as several key passages in Revelation. One enemy came from without (Islam), while the other came from within.

I won't say that the whole of the RCC is reprobate, but the further up in their ranks the succession goes, the less trust I have for them.

 

[pcosmar]

, but the further up in their ranks the succession goes, the less trust I have for them.

That goes with any government of men.

 

[hells_unicorn]

That goes with any government of men.

Your point holds true with the vast majority of presently established governments, but it's not a valid binding truth in the sense that you seem to suggest.

Presbyterial church government was instituted by the apostles in accordance with Christ's divine commission, the fact that positions of pastoral authority are occupied by men does not, in and of itself, qualify it as a government "of men", and more than Christ's body is a government "of men" in spite of Christ being incarnate of a true human nature. By the same token, a properly constituted civil magistrate that recognizes and defends the true religion and does not bear the sword in vain, is also to obeyed as a valid subordinate authority of Christ.