The Light of the World

I know that I am very late to write a review like this, since it passed about a year after the publication of the Book Light of the World - The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times. The book contains Pope Benedict XVI's responses to the questions of Peter Seewald, a German reporter who spoke with him over a week last summer about the most sensitive and important questions about the Church in today's world.  Though I already had the book and gone through it, recently only I have had a serious reading. Last month, while I was travelling from Milan to Zurich by train, I had a serious debate with an Italian about this book. He argued and claimed that Pope in this book offers a change in the teachings of the Church about the use of condoms. After this incident I just have gone through this book more seriously and also the explanation given  to it by Vatican. I would like to present here what actually Pope Benedict XVI meant in making a comment like this on this issue, on the basis of the explanation given by Vatican. 

The questions asked in the book are in a way ‘crooked’ and the reception of the Pope's words is likely to be varied. But, his answers offer readers a unique look into the teachings of the Church and Pope’s perspective on the Church and the world. There are eighteen chapters, divided into three sections (“Signs of the Times,” on current global issues facing the Church; “The Pontificate,” on his particular challenges in five years as pope; and “Where Do We Go From Here,” on the role of the Church in shaping the future of faithful response to God). My first general comment to this book is that this Pope is not at all afraid to deal with any questions. Homosexuality, women’s ordination, dialogue with Islam, the sexual abuse crisis: all these he addresses with such a great enthusiasm and theological depth. 

Now we come to our point. Following the publication of the book a number of erroneous interpretations have emerged which have caused confusion concerning the position of the Catholic Church regarding certain questions of sexual morality. At the end of chapter 10 of the book the Pope responds to two questions about the battle against AIDS and the use of condoms, questions that reconnect with the discussion that followed some statements that the Pope made on the theme during the course of his trip to Africa in 2009. The Pope again clearly stresses that at that time he had not intended to take a position on the problem of condoms in general, but wanted to affirm with force that the problem of AIDS cannot be solved simply by distributing condoms, because much more needs to be done: prevention, education, help, counsel, being with people both to keep them from getting sick and in the case that they do get sick. The Pope observes that even in the non-ecclesial context an analogous awareness has developed, as is apparent in the so-called ABC theory (Abstinence - Be Faithful - Condom), in which the first two elements (abstinence and fidelity) are more decisive and basic in the battle against AIDS, while condoms appear in the last place as a way out, when the other two are not there. It should thus be clear that condoms are not the solution to the problem. The Pope then broadens the perspective and insists on the fact that focusing only on condoms is equivalent to banalizing sexuality, which loses its meaning as an expression of love between persons and becomes a ‘drug’. Fighting against banalization of sexuality is “part of the great effort to help sexuality be valued positively and have a positive effect on man in his totality”. 

In the light of this broad and profound vision of human sexuality and the contemporary discussion of it, the Pope reaffirms that “naturally the Church does not consider condoms as the authentic and moral solution” to the problem of AIDS. In this the Pope does not reform or change the Church's teaching, but reaffirms it, placing it in the perspective of the value and dignity of human sexuality as an expression of responsible love. 

At the same time the Pope considers an exceptional circumstance in which the exercise of sexuality represents a real threat for the life of another. In that case, the Pope does not morally justify the disordered exercise of sexuality but maintains that the use of a condom to reduce the danger of infection may be “a first act of responsibility”, “a first step on the road toward a more human sexuality”, rather than not using it and exposing the other to risking his life. In this, the reasoning of the Pope certainly cannot be defined as a revolutionary change in the traditional teachings of the church on this issue. Thus Pope Benedict XVI gives an important contribution of clarification and reflection on a question that has long been debated. 

It is an original contribution, because on one hand it maintains fidelity to moral principles and demonstrates lucidity in refuting an illusory path like that of the ‘confidence is condoms’; on the other hand, it manifests a comprehensive and far-seeing vision, attentive to uncovering the small steps - even if only initial and still confused - of an often spiritually and culturally impoverished humanity, toward a more human and responsible exercise of sexuality. The thought of the Pope has been repeatedly manipulated for ends and interests which are entirely foreign to the meaning of his words – a meaning which is evident to anyone who reads the entire chapters in which human sexuality is treated. The intention of the Holy Father is clear: to rediscover the beauty of the divine gift of human sexuality and, in this way, to avoid the cheapening of sexuality which is common today. 

In conclusion, the explanation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the banalization of sexuality, regarding certain interpretations of ‘Light of the World’ says: In the battle against AIDS, the Catholic faithful and the agencies of the Catholic Church should be close to those affected, should care for the sick and should encourage all people to live abstinence before and fidelity within marriage. In this regard it is also important to condemn any behaviour which cheapens sexuality because, as the Pope says, such behaviour is the reason why so many people no longer see in sexuality an expression of their love: “This is why the fight against the banalization of sexuality is also part of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is treated as a positive value and to enable it to have a positive effect on the whole of man’s being” (Light of the World, p. 119).