Did Pope Benedict really change Church teaching on condoms?

When I returned from this weekend's TOB for Teens retreat, one would have thought that the whole Church changed in those 36 hours. Rumors were flying (though certainly not presented as rumors but as facts) that Pope Benedict XVI had changed the Church's teachings on condoms. And if the German Rottweiler himself could "see the light" and have compassion on those with HIV by allowing them moral access to condoms, then surely the Church might change its tune on other things too, right?

Wrong.

Pope Benedict XVI never said condom use is moral. He never "changed" Church teaching. In fact, he can't change something that is intrinsically wrong to being neutral or even good. To have that power would mean that morality is arbitrary, that there is no such thing as objective truth.

So what did the Holy Father say? You can read his actual comments here. But for a summary, let me just say that Pope Benedict XVI said that "we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms." He pointed out that condoms are readily available, and yet AIDS has not gone away. So clearly condoms are not the answer to the problem. Additionally, the pope remarked that a big part of the problem is the "banalization of sexuality." We don't think it's a big deal. In order to counteract that foundational attitude, we need 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."

The main source of controversy lies in the Holy Father's remark that in certain situations when a person uses a condom to prevent the spread of HIV, their intention may be to assume responsibility. But this intention does not go far enough. It does not take into account the whole person. It does not understand the gift of sexuality. In a way, one could say that this beginning intention of responsibility may have opened the person to begin to realize that sex is not an individual action, with one's own pleasure as the primary goal. However, the Holy Father is not saying that this intention makes condom use good.

To understand the truth and meaning of sexuality is to know that condoms can never be good because they change the inherent meaning of sexuality. Even if one's intention is to not spread a disease, the life- and love-giving aspects are separated. But what sex is is a union of love and life. So condoms tamper with the very meaning of sex.

Supporting the use of condoms, even to prevent STDs, is to deny the importance of the body. It communicates that what I do with my body does not matter, as long as my soul (or my internal intentions) are okay. But, a human person would not exist without a body and a soul. What I do with my body matters. What I do with visible body communicates something about my invisible soul, thoughts, feelings. It is with my body that I can communicate a total gift of self -- a gift that to be total must include an openness to life.

Clearly HIV/AIDS is a huge problem. But to hand out condoms as a solution is to give Band-Aids to those with gaping wounds. It doesn't solve the problem. Only a true vision of the gift of sexuality, of the meaning of the human person will solve the problem. It can't happen overnight. But to put off the true source of the issue is only to widen it, leading more people to fall into the trap of thinking that sex is just about my own personal pleasure, forgetting that sex has a language attached to it that we cannot change, because we did not create the language. Our bodies are inscribed with the order of love, because we were made in the image and likeness of Love -- God Himself. Knowing that we are made in God's image calls us to behave accordingly, reflecting His love in our thoughts, words and actions.