An extensive and well-reported review, on the Newshour, of the Vatican AIDS Conference, with interviews with some key figures.
PBS on the Vatican AIDS Conference
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Whoever is elected as the next pope, one thing is certain: The church does not belong to him.
“He owes an apology,” Bishop Thomas Paprocki said after President Trump posted an image that appeared to be created by A.I. depicting himself as pope.
“We depend on the press to know who the candidates are, because names are not something we really talk about in there—perhaps only in small groups. This is not a parliament.”
The influence of the Synod on Synodality for the conclave—and what the result of the conclave might mean for the future of synodality
The Church asserts that permanent conjugal abstinence or celibacy is the only licit answer for serodiscordent couples with one spouse infected with HIV. The use of condoms is illicit because it violates Humanae Vitae and spouses fail to respect the aptness of generation (the penis must be inserted into the vagina and semen deposited in its proper place for procreation). The following arguments call into question the reasonability and sensibility of this teaching.
Did not the ethical context change in this situation? By using a condom would not the HIV positive husband perform an act of Health and Safety, a form of the virtues of charity and justice for his wife. What happened physically, perventing procreative consequences, was foreseen but outside of intentions.
Would not celibacy for a young couple be an act of injustice, an unreasonable cross to bear, that is not proportionate to the survivability of the marriage?
By using a condom, would not the husband perform an act of charity and prudence if he rejects celibacy in order to express conjugal love for his wife? Or is the aptness of generation the supreme moral obligation for this couple regardless of circumstances, intentions or consequences?
I'm intrigued by the Vatican's consistent demand for behavioral change (on this and other social issues) rather than acquiescence to the inevitability of the bad behavior and re-assessing its moral position on other bad behaviors to avoid the negative consequences of the first behavior. Taking the latter position is like teaching children to wear asbestos gloves before sticking their hands in the fire. Or like permitting would-be pedophile priests to have sexual liaisons with over-18 young men with latent adolescence. God forbid anyone deny themselves and take up their crosses.
I hope to see this topic re-posted in textual form of one sort of another.