The Pope's recent visit to Africa generated controversy even before his
flight had touched down, as the pontiff made the statement en route to
Cameroon that the distribution of condoms aggravates the HIV/AIDS
pandemic. This is only the most recent sexual-health controversy to
involve the Catholic Church. Another recent outcry followed the
Vatican's decision to excommunicate the doctors and mother who secured
an abortion for a 9 year-old rape victim who was pregnant with twins.
While the Vatican was quick to point out that abortion is one of the acts for which excommunication is automatic, what was glaring was that the child's rapist had not been excommunicated for his horrific transgression, nor did the Pope - infallible to Catholics - choose to rescind the excommunications given the extenuating circumstances in this particular case. Nevertheless, the noises emanating from the Catholic hierarchy have become more conciliatory, with Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, admitting that the excommunication may have been a mistake, and that the Church actions could be seen as "insensitive, incomprehensible and lacking in mercy."
The Catholic Church is an extremely important source of aid and healthcare provision throughout the world, and the organisation is perfectly within its rights not to advocate contraception or abortion with regards to sexual health, as these are proscribed by Catholic dogma. One wonders, however, whether there is any role for religion in the bedroom at all.
While George W Bush was in power, he issued guidelines whereby aid would be given to those organisations that promoted, like the Catholic Church, an abstinence-only policy with regards to sexual health. Charities and agencies that advocated abortion as part their of their family planning and HIV/AIDS strategies saw their funding cut. While it is impossible to determine how many new infections arose from these bodies being unable to carry out their work, what is indisputable is that mandating an abstinence-only health policy is not only unrealistic, but is also driven by moral and ideological judgements.
Religion, whatever its stripe, offers its adherents hope for redemption in the future and a code of conduct by which to live now. It offers comfort to the scared and bewildered, and provides succour for those in pain or under stress. A common religion can strengthen community bonds and serve as a means of passing down a society's history. It can provide the impetus for charitable acts and govern the treatment of strangers. What it absolutely cannot do, however, is control the thoughts and deeds of an individual.
It is all very well instructing people that they should not indulge in sex before marriage, or calling for them for them to remain faithful to their partner. These are commendable aims, and not to be sneered at. It would be wrong, however, to ignore the fact that not everyone will share the same aims, and even those who do may not always stay true to the creed. People cheat, not everybody is cut out for marriage and sexual urges are natural, for both men and women. If one recognises these facts, surely teaching people how to avoid risky sexual behaviour is better than condemning them out of hand?
If one recognises that sexual behaviour will not always be of the highest moral calibre, it is imperative that efforts are made to limit the damage that can be done. This means that not only does there need to be education on how to minimise the risk of infection from HIV and other STDs, but also that sexual health and contraceptive policy need to be divorced from moral judgements. While some of us may find the idea of promiscuous sex with multiple partners distasteful, society as a whole is safer if those who are indulging in such risky behaviour are doing so with the knowledge of how best to protect themselves and their partners, in addition to easy access to contraceptives.
Religion, of course, is a matter of personal freedom, just as any individual's sexual behaviour is a matter of personal choice and responsibility. Perhaps the teachings of one will overlap with the philosophy of the other. Going by the birth rate among Catholics in the developed world, however, it appears that the prohibition by the Vatican of contraception has been ignored. Either that or the rhythm method is an incredibly effective form of family planning. Italy, for instance, has a birth rate of 8.18 per 1000 people, while Poland, which is also staunchly Catholic, scarcely does much better with a rate of just 10.04. Contrast this, meanwhile, Cameroon's birth rate of 34.10 per 100 people, and you might understand why the Catholic Church is so keen to discourage condom use.
As societies become wealthier and more developed, they tend to become more permissive and individualistic. The Catholic Church is worried that it is losing influence in the increasingly secular developed world. It continues to be buffeted from the fall-out of abusive priests in the United States, and is losing congregations and influence in Europe, in part due to its rigid stance on sexual matters. The Pope visited Africa not only to minister to his existing congregation, but also to market the Catholic Church to those who might yet convert. The only place where Catholic congregations have been increasing recently is in developing countries, particularly African countries.
The Vatican needs its African congregations, as the rest of the flock are behaving like recalcitrant teenagers. It has been condemned in Brazil for its anti-abortion stance, it is suspected of sheltering child abusers in the US, Portugal is thinking of legalising gay marriage, Spain is on the brink of legislating for abortion on demand, and the Italians can't be relied on to breed the next generation of churchgoers. All in all, Catholics in the developed world treat the Holy Seen as a mad old uncle who has had one sherry too many at a family party: don't take what he says too seriously, he's just in one of his moods. This is why the Vatican is so eager to keep its more pliant congregations of the developing world reading from the same hymn sheet. Let us only hope, however, that they refrain from damaging the efforts to bring the HIV/AIDS pandemic under control.
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