[Flipside]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11804398

Pope admits that Condoms may be acceptable in some cases to prevent the spread of HIV.

There's a lot fo sarky comments I could make here, but I'll settle for saying it's a good sign.

[Qent]

I don't see how this is any different from before. What's a more humane sexuality? No extramarital sex?

[NGTM-1R]

Honestly the whole anti-contraceptive thing was a weird swerve by the sitting pope back in the 50s. I'm surprised they've been holding onto it this long.

[Flipside]

I don't see how this is any different from before. What's a more humane sexuality? No extramarital sex?

It's a severe step backwards from trying to tell people that Condoms promote the spread of HIV, which was the Pope's stance not so long ago (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7950671.stm)

As for the 'more humane sexuality', I've got no idea whatsoever what that means, it's one of those vacuous soundbytes that pop up from time to time, but regardless of the reason, it's a good sign that an admission has been made that Condoms can prevent HIV by the Vatican and that their use, even to a limited degree, is acceptable.

[IceFire]

Which century were we living in again? Oh right... I believe it's the 21st Century. Some people haven't caught on yet. Surely they will one of these centuries!

[MR_T3D]

well, at least this is a step forward.

[Rodo]

Yeah, well expect more of this to pop up from time to time... after all, they are loosing people's interest.
$$$$$$$$$

[Kszyhu]

Yeah, everything the Church is about is making money 

[Bobboau]

31 October 1992 - Pope John Paul II admits the earth is not the center of the universe after all and Galileo was not completely wrong.

this is not an organization quick to reverse it's mistakes.

[karajorma]

this is not an organization quick to reverse it's mistakes.

At least they do change. If it had been the protestants who thought Galileo was wrong we'd still be dealing with Central Earth Universalists insisting that their vision of the heavens was correct.

[Nemesis6]

Doesn't really mean anything - The damage is done, and now they just wanna save face over here. The message has already gone out, the damage is done, and it's gonna be an absolute minority who get to hear this clarification, so big whoop. No, an actual good sign would be the pope admitting that the pedophilia scandals are not just "rumors" as he calls them. He doesn't even have to admit or apologize; he can keep being the deluded, removed-from-reality, evil old man that he is, and still acknowledge these accusations. But then again, that might too much to ask from a man who associates Atheism with Nazism, even though HE was the one who was in the Hitlerjugend. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad!

You know, after the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre", Al Capone started sponsoring a soup kitchen.

[General Battuta]

Not totally cool with where this is going. We have fairly devout Catholics here and while I think criticism of the church is fair we could at least be civil about it.

[karajorma]

I don't see why we should give the pope a break which we wouldn't give any other politician. If Obama or David Cameron said that **** they'd have been called much worse.

Hell, if a Muslim cleric had said that we'd have people foaming at the mouth about it. I don't see why Catholics should get some special exemption.

[Kosh]

[General Battuta]

I don't see why we should give the pope a break which we wouldn't give any other politician. If Obama or David Cameron said that **** they'd have been called much worse.

I don't really care about the content of the criticism, just the tone. There's something of a mini-history here and I'm interested in avoiding a repeat.

[Nemesis6]

There's a difference between attacking someone and attacking their faith. Religion, unfortunately, has a defense mechanism that blurs the line between the two, which is brilliant because it enables what's called "emotional blackmail". You know "why are you making me upset?!", when in reality, the person's making themself upset. I think as long as we stick to the topic, we can be rational about this.

[Scotty]

Yes, there is a difference, and you still blurred it yourself when you called the Pope, what was it?

he can keep being the deluded, removed-from-reality, evil old man that he is

Right.  That.  And then you Goodwin'd the thread.

Don't get me wrong, I fundamentally disagree with the concept of a Pope and what that entails, but damn, don't be a dick to the guy.

[General Battuta]

There's a difference between attacking someone and attacking their faith. Religion, unfortunately, has a defense mechanism that blurs the line between the two, which is brilliant because it enables what's called "emotional blackmail". You know "why are you making me upset?!", when in reality, the person's making themself upset. I think as long as we stick to the topic, we can be rational about this.

I'm sure this could be achieved, but, well, your first post had Nazis, Al Capone, and evil delusions. In reality everybody makes themselves upset, but it doesn't causally uncouple anything farther down the chain.

[Polpolion]

Pardon me for interjecting, but what's all the commotion about in this thread? The Catholic Church seems to be transitioning from an outdated view on sexuality to a less outdated one. How could this possibly be bad when the alternative is sticking to  the outdated views? 

[General Battuta]

Pardon me for interjecting, but what's all the commotion about in this thread? The Catholic Church seems to be transitioning from an outdated view on sexuality to a less outdated one. How could this possibly be bad when the alternative is sticking to  the outdated views? 

There's hardly been a commotion at all. It has been asserted that this move is not good enough.