Steve Shaw, in reference to Pope Benedict's statement about condoms preventing transmission of HIV: It's all very well popes agreeing with it, but they appear to lack the power, or the will, or both, to change it.

Change what, Steve? It's an interesting challenge to carry on a debate with Steve Shaw. He has an annoying tendency to ignore two things: facts, and logic.

Steve, Steve, Steve, you must be getting your information about the Catholic Church from Murdoch or Reuters or some other horribly unreliable source. You seem to have no understanding whatsoever about Catholic moral teaching. The Catholic Church does not issue a list of rules that one must obey or go to hell - if that's what you want, you have to go to Reuters. And you're right - even the Pope can't change what's said in Reuters. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the basic document of Catholic teaching. It has a lengthy section about sexuality, a very rational and balanced discussion of sex as a sacred and beautiful gift that must be handled with care. It does present Catholic Church positions on various moral issues such as masturbation and homosexuality and sex outside marriage, but it does this within a discussion of the pros and cons. And yes, as Ake says, it errs on the side of conservatism, and rightly so. If one wishes to preserve something that is sacred, a conservative approach is often a good idea - adjusting for individual circumstances, of course. The Catechism makes no mention of punishment for any transgression of the church positions on these issues - it simply discusses them and states the church's opinion. Hellfire isn't mentioned at all.

Now, Steve, I admit that your presentation was dramatic and entertaining. However, it was a tad inaccurate.

-Joe-