Hallelujah, the Pope made me smile.
Just a year ago Pope Benedict XVI said that the HIV epidemic in Africa could not be stymied by the use of condoms, on the contrary “it increases the problem.”
Today the Huffington Post tells me:
Benedict said that condoms are not a moral solution. But he said in some cases, such as for male prostitutes, they could be justified “in the intention of reducing the risk of infection.”
Benedict called it “a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way of living sexuality.”
My favorite part was a little bit later on in the article where the Pope says that condom use (in the case of male prostitutes) can be the first step towards a moral life and “taking responsibility.”
And now I am smiling.
It is not a radical shift but it is a shift.
For some reason I also feel good about this recent article, outlining the Vatican’s plan of action against abuse in Ireland. They’re sending over Boston’s Cardinal O’Malley, my very own surrogate Archbishop Dolan on NYC and Sister Holland of Michigan, investigating the archdiocese of Dublin, seminaries and religious seminaries respectively.
The Sister Holland thing makes me even happier because they’re sending a sister (okay, she is pretty high ranking) to investigate sisters and not a priest or other higher up man.
