Condoms can't protect your spirit

Andrew Lacy
UNL Broadcasting Major


While flying to Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, the Pope insisted the way to confront HIV and AIDS is through sexual monogamy. He referred to AIDS as “a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems."

Not surprisingly, secularists have a problem with this. To them, abstinence and monogamy are outdated and unrealistic. Indeed, one only has to look as far as our own Daily Nebraskan to read defenses of casual sex and condemnations of ASUN candidates who agree with the Pope's position. As a Lutheran, I view the Pope as nothing more than another politician, but for secular liberals to attack him for stating what should be obvious is absurd to me.

Apparently, we can only tell people not to engage in self-gratification if it falls in line with liberal ideology. “Don't watch Fox News. Don't listen to Rush Limbaugh. Don't read the Student Newspaper.” These are all considered reasonable positions, but when Christians encourage their sons and daughters not to engage in risky behavior that can cause major emotional and spiritual scars, it's overly simplistic and irrational.

Upon closer inspection, it's very clear which position is more simplistic and not thought out. On one side, we have a culture that tells you, “If it feels good, do it.” On the other side, we have knee-jerk radicals who believe a condom provides no protection for the soul. On one side, we have those who promote behavior that can ruin lives (news flash: sexual promiscuity and poverty often go hand-in-hand). On the other side, we have people who realize that, excepting tainted blood transfusions, no one has ever contracted AIDS while abstaining and only one person has ever gotten pregnant without having sex, and that required divine intervention 2,000 years ago.

Condoms can fail, but abstinence works every time it's tried.