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Pope Benedict says it may be a good idea for Male Prostitutes to use Condoms

Frank III Augustine Manuel
Frank III Augustine Manuel

After having been shoved and shouted at last night by pro-life Catholics who call the RH Bill and modern contraception the road that leads straight to death, I may be forgiven for taking the headline “Pope says condoms may be OK in some circumstances” as a joke, especially since the cited circumstance is to prevent the transmission of HIV. After all, this is the same Pope who condemned the use of condoms even in AIDS-ravaged Africa, from the same Church whose self-proclaimed “real” members just hours ago handed out pamphlets that claimed that condoms helped the spread of AIDS. How on earth could condom use ever be justified?

Apparently, if you’re a male prostitute.

Of course, since the Catholic Church is still opposed to contraceptives as a means to prevent pregnancy, we must take it to mean that this justification only applies to male prostitutes whose use of condoms does not affect any potential for procreation.

That’s right, gay prostitutes.

In so many roundabout words the Pope says in a an upcoming book that he thinks it’s a good idea for gay prostitutes to wear condoms, because “the intention of reducing the risk of infection” is “a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility”, but maintains that for Africa, abstinence is the only sure way to combat HIV/AIDS. This begs the question of course of whether the circumstance of monogamous married couples where one spouse is infected are offered the same leniency as male prostitutes, or because using a condom still prevents the potential for conception we are meant to understand that the official Catholic stance remains; condoms are still outright forbidden.

This double standard Pope Benedict seems to have adopted in favor of the protection of male prostitutes and their clients seems all the more sickening in the face of the rising number of HIV/AIDS cases in Africa and around the world. It makes me wonder, perhaps with some amusement, if this was brought about by a rising number of HIV/AIDS cases among the clergy.

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33 comments

  3. The Pope's statement had been twisted by the media and taken out of context. The male prostitute example is merely that: an example of a scenario wherein the use of condoms may be justified because it is meant to prevent the spread of the disease. It in no way justifies male prostitution, and nor does it limit to male prostitution the cases wherein the use of condoms may be justified. The stand is clear: the Church is against the use of condoms as contraceptives, but if it is rendered necessary because of a clear harm, i.e. the spread of the disease, then it may be justified. An analogy is the justification of "harming" another person when it is done as self-defense. This, in no way, justifies murder.

  4. Most clienteles of the services of prostitutes be they male, female, trans-gender, and true hermaphrodites prefer the fellatio, or mouth service, or french kiss, who will now use the condom? the Prostitute or the client?

  5. How about prostitutes who are true hermaphrodites, and has both sex organs, and may most probably be carriers, will a condom prevent the spread of STD or HIV with a sexual encounter with say it (not he nor she)? Will the droppings from the top organ not spread to the lower?

  7. That's what the pope gets for being so cryptic. Why are church proclamations intentionally worded so vaguely as to be interpreted every which way possible?

    If the law was worded like religious doctrine, I'd imagine courtrooms would turn into a circus

  8. This is completely ridiculous.. How can the Pope even be against condoms in the first place? So many public schools are teaching teens in America and other countries to use condoms every time they have sex. Even in my high school health class, my teacher told us condoms help to stop the spread of STDs and AIDS. And if condoms are okay for male prostitutes to use, condoms should be okay for everyone to use. The Pope shouldn't just make an exception for part of the gay community.

  10. Why doesn't the Church simply outlaw prostitution in the same way it has outlawed contraception? Prostitution is a clear example of hedonistic sex – purely for pleasure with no intent of procreation, clearly a violation of God's design.

    • From Matt's source:

      [In 1980, Ratzinger had personally authorized the transfer of an abusive priest, Peter Hullermann, from another part of Germany to his own archdiocese, ostensibly for therapy. But just days after his arrival, the priest was allowed to serve among the flock. Hullermann was convicted of subsequent sexual assaults in 1986. ]

      These are also among the "damn" facts, Matt 🙂

  15. This comes as a surprise turnaround on the RCC's position on male prostitution. Hmmm… I guess they need an alternative since the heat is on them when it comes to fondling little boys. :p

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