psalm123

 

I guess this has become a big story and I'm not sure why.  I think people are either reading way too much into one short quote or they are misunderstanding what the Pope was trying to convey.  Some people purposely misunderstand.

I think it's more about changing peoples views toward sexuality from an anything goes mentality to a more Catholic view then it is about condoms. Of course condom use figures into part of the problem.  As often happens when the Pope speaks, people are focusing on the wrong details. Many  People have negative preconceptions about the Pope and Catholic teaching in general. This negativity can get  in the way of focusing attention on what the Pope is actually teaching.

Aboard the papal plane, Mar 18, 2009 / 11:35 am (CNA).- Yesterday the international media played host to a raft of experts railing against Pope Benedict’s brief words on the use of condoms in the fight against AIDS. However, the incident was the result of the Pope’s words being pulled from his defense of the Church’s personalistic approach to the AIDS crisis.

The vast majority of the Pope’s words were dedicated to explaining how the best response to AIDS is to promote a spiritual and human renewal of people’s understanding of sexuality and to be willing to live true sacrificial friendships with those who suffer from AIDS

( A full transcript of the exchange follows. )

I'm looking forward to this. This Pope is such a great teacher.
Taken from  http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=253

There has been no official announcement from the Vatican, but Ignatius Press-- which held exclusive US rights to the written work of Cardinal Ratzinger before he became Pope-- is advertising the encyclical on its web site, with a publication date of September 2008. The Ignatius blurb reads:

Pope Benedict’s third encyclical, Love in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), applies the themes of his first two encyclicals —love and hope (God Is Love, Saved in Hope) — to the world’s major social issues. Drawing on moral truths open, in principle, to everyone (the natural law) as well as on the teachings of the gospel (revelation), Pope Benedict addresses Catholics and non-Catholics alike, challenging us all to recognize and then to confront the social evils of our day.


God Bless

Dave

I previously mentioned the book and audio series Pope Fiction by catholic apologist Patrick Madrid. I have listened to several of the 16 audio files. Here are the myths and misconceptions about the papacy that Patrick covers in the talks I have listened to.  The free audio files can be found at  http://catholicaudio.blogspot.com/

Talk #
1. Peter was not the first Pope and had no special primacy over the other apostles.
2. Jesus gave Peter the name Petros which means "little rock" and not Petra "large rock". Thus Jesus' church was not built upon the "rock" Peter.  This is an argument that deals with translations (Greek, Latin, and Aramaic).  *The Petros/ Petra argument.
3. Peter had no special authority as evidenced by Jesus saying to him "get behind me satan" as well as also being rebuked by St. Paul.
4. St. Peter may have been the leader of the early church but had no authority to pass on this authority. *Apostolic succession argument.
5. Peter never went to Rome.
6. The Pope is the beast spoken of in revelation 13. 
7. The canon 6 of the council of Nicea argument. Basically, the Roman Church created the primacy of the Pope in the middle ages.
8. Some Popes taught heresy.
9. Covers the myths and misconceptions of Papal infallibility.
 

I recently had a brief discussion with a Christian friend of mine regarding several aspects of the Catholic faith. The topic of the Pope came up. For many non-Catholic Christians, the papacy is one doctrine that is often misunderstood.  One of the arguments that was brought up by my friend is that St. Peter was never in Rome and thus could not have been the first Bishop of Rome ( Pope). This is just one of the many arguments I hear over and over regarding the Pope. 

I would highly recommend Pope Fiction by Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid.   http://www.patrickmadrid.com

You can find a free audio version where Patrick covers many of the topics contained in the book--  http://catholicaudio.blogspot.com/    Look for speaker-Patrick Madrid on the right hand side and click on it. There are 16 files, each around 27 minutes in length. 

For my protestant friends I also suggest http://www.catholictelevision.org/main.php?nav=04&content=20   download the Podcast titled "Where did the Bible Come From?"  *Season 3 episode 6.  

For answers to many protestant questions in more of a debate format, check out  Catholic apologist John Martignoni http://www.biblechristiansociety.com   *newsletter section.