French letters from Rome, in German

There are people who have fixed, unyielding opinions on just about everything. And then there are people like me, who don’t see the point in hanging on to convictions that no longer ring true or right, purely as a matter ofprinciple and course.

The ability to let go of a belief you may feel no longer serves your or its purpose can actually be more courageous and preferable. Discarding and breaking the mould, re-inventing yourself and your persuasions should not be perceived as a weakness. It is admirable and can sometimes be a very good thing.

Unless you happen to be the Pope or his Church. Then you’re going to need to tread very carefully. Contrary to what many people think, the biggest obstacle to the Church moving forward is probably its flock.

To say that contraception has long been a bête noire and bone of Catholic contention in the eyes of the Church may be true. But I think it’s probably truer to say that the Church’s uncompromising and hostile opposition to artificial contraception is less to do with ‘the Church’s eyes’ and more to do with ‘all eyes being on the Church’.

With a corporation as big as the Church, religious tenets are less about genuine personal beliefs and more about maintaining a non porous strategy which keeps it all intact, folded tight and carefully knitted together to prevent it all unravelling and coming apart at the seams.

The recent seismic shift in Catholic teaching, with the Pontiff okaying condom use in certaincircumstances, has unlocked and opened a previously iron-clad door within the Church. For decades, the injunction against all forms of artificial contraception was resolute and implacable.

Barely a year after the Pope’s irresponsible faux pas where he declared that condoms do not protect against HIV and their distribution could actually increase the spread of Aids, he now seems to have experienced a miraculous, road to Damascus moment.

Today, it seems safe to assume that, in certain exceptional cases, whenever there is a risk or threat of infection, given the choice between unprotected and prophylactic sex, the Pope would rather we opted for what he now deems the safer of two evils. It’s a welcome break with doctrinal tradition, a decidedly kinder, more benevolent, and essentially more human and realistic approach to sexuality.

The interesting part is the internal uproar it seems to have created, with several of the more conservative Vatican officials insisting that nothing revolutionary has taken place and that the Church’s position on contraception has remained absolutely unchanged. They are terrified this exception to the Catholic rule could potentially wreak havoc and open the door to a doctrinal domino disaster. Some have even written off the Pope’s remarks as his own private opinion, insisting that they don’t form part of official teaching. So now they’re making sure we understand that the game has not changed, neither have the rules – they’ve just undergone moreelaborate elucidation.

Other theologians have embraced and welcomed this relaxation as a triumph, a marvellous victory to common sense and a better-late- than-never acceptance that abstinence does not always work. While I think this is fantastic news and admire and applaud the Pontiff’s courageous exercise in damage control, I do appreciate that this new twist in the Catholic tale could be equally damaging for the Church and have repercussions that might jeopardise its religious authority.

The right wing theologians can drag their feet, bury them in the sand and argue the point whichever way they want, but what this has effectively shown is that there are always going to be exceptions to every rule, even Catholic ones. Absolutes don’t work in real life and the absolute ban on condom use was irresponsible, life endangering and ultimately evil.

So what now? Pope Benedict’s concession only applies to disease prevention and life-saving scenarios. Any other barrier or chemical from of contraceptive which could prevent human life is still a no no. That said, I do believe that the crack in the Church’s ban may prove to be more than just cosmetic. It may yet shake the foundations of the entire contraceptive taboo for years to come.

You see, it may take another half a century but what the Pontiff has done is to establish moral norms about ‘illicit’ behaviour. He has shown there are always going to be instances where you’re going to have to make moral choices. And if he was capable of doing this a propos of Aids prevention, prostitution, transsexuality and homosexuality, he can certainly make the leap of faith a propos of other behaviour.

It is all very well to talk about abstinence and fidelity, but sex outside of marriage predates contraception. If someone married is irresponsible enough to cheat on his/her family, then at least they should be responsible enough to practise safe sex. In that scenario, contraception is certainly the lesser evil – preferable to bringing an illegitimate child into the world, to having someone else pick up the pieces of a shattered marriage or a broken family. And it definitely beats having an abortion.

Sex outside of marriage may be wrong, but keeping it as safe as possible minimises the blood on everyone’s hands. After all if we accept that it is only marriage which should be open to procreation, then you could possibly argue that there is no moral obligation to prevent conception outside the framework of marriage.

As for contraception within marriage, if couples restricted sexual intercourse to procreation there’d really be trouble in paradise. Tonnes of married people who are deeply and meaningfully committed to one another use contraceptives because they simply can’t afford bringing more children into the world and to do so would be irresponsible and catastrophic.

Although the Church no longer needs to pretend that it genuinely believes that people should risk dying of Aids if they can help it, for the time being they still have to hang onto the other part of the original ban. Time will tell. Perhaps we’ll see the day when marriage and the pill are a match made in heaven.

michelaspiteri@gmail.com