Hello All!   
                   This Area is READ ONLY.  Do not post to this area.   
                   The following press release is Copyrighted by the   
                             Vatican Information Service.   
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   NOTE FROM THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 22 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Given below is the English-language text of a   
   Note published yesterday afternoon by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the   
   Faith, entitled: "On the trivialisation of sexuality. Regarding certain   
   interpretations of 'Light of the World'".   
      
   "Following the publication of the interview-book 'Light of the World' by   
   Benedict XVI, a number of erroneous interpretations have emerged which have   
   caused confusion concerning the position of the Catholic Church regarding   
   certain questions of sexual morality. The thought of the Pope has been   
   repeatedly manipulated for ends and interests which are entirely foreign to the   
   meaning of his words - a meaning which is evident to anyone who reads the   
   entire chapters in which human sexuality is treated. The intention of the Holy   
   Father is clear: to rediscover the beauty of the divine gift of human sexuality   
   and, in this way, to avoid the cheapening of sexuality which is common today.   
      
   "Some interpretations have presented the words of the Pope as a contradiction   
   of the traditional moral teaching of the Church. This hypothesis has been   
   welcomed by some as a positive change and lamented by others as a cause of   
   concern - as if his statements represented a break with the doctrine concerning   
   contraception and with the Church's stance in the fight against AIDS. In   
   reality, the words of the Pope - which specifically concern a gravely   
   disordered type of human behaviour, namely prostitution (cf. Light of the   
   World, pp. 117-119) - do not signify a change in Catholic moral teaching or in   
   the pastoral practice of the Church.   
      
   "As is clear from an attentive reading of the pages in question, the Holy   
   Father was talking neither about conjugal morality nor about the moral norm   
   concerning contraception. This norm belongs to the tradition of the Church and   
   was summarised succinctly by Pope Paul VI in paragraph 14 of his Encyclical   
   Letter 'Humanae vitae', when he wrote that 'also to be excluded is any action   
   which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is   
   specifically intended to prevent procreation - whether as an end or as a   
   means'. The idea that anyone could deduce from the words of Benedict XVI that   
   it is somehow legitimate, in certain situations, to use condoms to avoid an   
   unwanted pregnancy is completely arbitrary and is in no way justified either by   
   his words or in his thought. On this issue the Pope proposes instead - and also   
   calls the pastors of the Church to propose more often and more effectively (cf.   
   Light of the World, p. 147) - humanly and ethically acceptable ways of behaving   
   which respect the inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative   
   meaning of every conjugal act, through the possible use of natural family   
   planning in view of responsible procreation.   
      
   "On the pages in question, the Holy Father refers to the completely different   
   case of prostitution, a type of behaviour which Christian morality has always   
   considered gravely immoral (cf. Vatican II, Pastoral Constitution 'Gaudium et   
   spes', n. 27; Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2355). The response of the   
   entire Christian tradition - and indeed not only of the Christian tradition -   
   to the practice of prostitution can be summed up in the words of St. Paul:   
   'Flee from fornication' (1 Cor 6:18). The practice of prostitution should be   
   shunned, and it is the duty of the agencies of the Church, of civil society and   
   of the State to do all they can to liberate those involved from this practice.   
      
   "In this regard, it must be noted that the situation created by the spread of   
   AIDS in many areas of the world has made the problem of prostitution even more   
   serious. Those who know themselves to be infected with HIV and who therefore   
   run the risk of infecting others, apart from committing a sin against the sixth   
   commandment are also committing a sin against the fifth commandment - because   
   they are consciously putting the lives of others at risk through behaviour   
   which has repercussions on public health. In this situation, the Holy Father   
   clearly affirms that the provision of condoms does not constitute 'the real or   
   moral solution' to the problem of AIDS and also that 'the sheer fixation on the   
   condom implies a banalisation of sexuality' in that it refuses to address the   
   mistaken human behaviour which is the root cause of the spread of the virus. In   
   this context, however, it cannot be denied that anyone who uses a condom in   
   order to diminish the risk posed to another person is intending to reduce the   
   evil connected with his or her immoral activity. In this sense the Holy Father   
   points out that the use of a condom 'with the intention of reducing the risk of   
   infection, can be a first step in a movement towards a different way, a more   
   human way, of living sexuality'. This affirmation is clearly compatible with   
   the Holy Father's previous statement that this is 'not really the way to deal   
   with the evil of HIV infection'.   
      
   "Some commentators have interpreted the words of Benedict XVI according to the   
   so-called theory of the 'lesser evil'. This theory is, however, susceptible to   
   proportionalistic misinterpretation (cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter   
   'Veritatis splendor', n. 75-77). An action which is objectively evil, even if a   
   lesser evil, can never be licitly willed. The Holy Father did not say - as some   
   people have claimed - that prostitution with the use of a condom can be chosen   
   as a lesser evil. The Church teaches that prostitution is immoral and should be   
   shunned. However, those involved in prostitution who are HIV positive and who   
   seek to diminish the risk of contagion by the use of a condom may be taking the   
   first step in respecting the life of another - even if the evil of prostitution   
   remains in all its gravity. This understanding is in full conformity with the   
   moral theological tradition of the Church.   
      
   "In conclusion, in the battle against AIDS, the Catholic faithful and the   
   agencies of the Catholic Church should be close to those affected, should care   
   for the sick and should encourage all people to live abstinence before and   
   fidelity within marriage. In this regard it is also important to condemn any   
   behaviour which cheapens sexuality because, as the Pope says, such behaviour is   
   the reason why so many people no longer see in sexuality an expression of their   
   love: 'This is why the fight against the banalisation of sexuality is also part   
   of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is treated as a positive value and to   
   enable it to have a positive effect on the whole of man's being' (Light of the   
   World, p. 119).   
   CDF/VIS 20101222 (1130)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)