One last comment. I spent the last three years teaching in a Catholic high school. I was reprimanded because I stopped one child from hitting another child. Apparently we were not supposed to teach non-violence.

Naemanson, I think there's something more to the story that you did not know yourself. I would think there must have been a misunderstanding in there somewhere. Catholic schools do not reprimand teachers for stopping fights or teaching non-violence. That just wouldn't make sense. Perhaps the person who gave you the reprimand did not fully understand what was going on, or perhaps that person questioned your method of stopping the fight.

I'm sorry you've experienced so much hypocrisy lately. I guess it comes in spurts. I don't see much of it myself. I think most people do what they believe is right most of the time, although they may fail every once in a while. If they fail every once in a while, does that necessarily mean that whatever they have to say is invalid? And if they're wrong in some things, does that mean they're wrong in everything?

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Ed T, take a look at the message from Lox, 24 Sep 10 - 06:11 PM. It's a pretty good explanation of my logic.

Keep in mind that marital fidelity is a primary teaching of the Catholic Church, something of far more importance than the teachings on birth control. You will hear marital fidelity preached from the pulpit, quite frequently. The teachings on birth control, while still Catholic teaching, are subordinate to the teaching on marital fidelity. If you do not adhere to the primary teaching, it makes no sense to follow the teaching that is subordinate to it.

If you want to understand the Catholic teaching on birth control, you can find it in the Catechism of the Catholic Church at the Vatican Website. Note that the prohibition against birth control is discussed only within the context of marriage, and the Catechism does not even mention condoms by name. It considers all forms of birth control (other than abstinence) to be wrong - but this ruling applies only to married couples, because people are not supposed to be having sex outside marriage.

Let's take it a little further. It's clear that the Catholic Church is opposed to homosexual sexual relations. Do you think that gay Catholics feel bound by the Catholic prohibition against condoms?

And Jack the Sailor, the Pope did not lie about condoms. He did not bear false witness, because he said what he believed on the matter. Some people feel that the availability of birth control encourages promiscuity because people don't have to be afraid of causing the conception of a child. And promiscuity is obviously a cause of the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. I disagree, because I believe the lack of birth control has an insignificant effect on the deterrence of promiscuity - but you can't expect crotchety old celibate males to understand that.

Pope Benedict made a trip to Africa not too many months ago. I do not believe that he made mention of birth control in any of the many speeches and sermons he gave during his trip. What he said was an answer to a question posed to him by a reporter. It was an honest statement about a longstanding church teaching. It was not any kind of campaign against condoms. In fact, I have never heard of a Catholic campaign against condoms.

As for those who question my choice not to follow certain teachings of the Catholic Church, let me ask you this: Do YOU feel bound to obey rules that you sincerely believe are wrong, even if those rules might come from a parent or someone else you love and respect?

One of the most basic moral teachings of the Catholic Church is that you have to follow your conscience, that you must do what you sincerely believe is right even if the rule says otherwise.

An underlying thought seems to be pervasive in this discussion: since the Catholic Church has an incorrect opinion on the subject of birth control, it is therefore evil and has no right to speak about any issue. I disagree.

-Joe-