Catholic by Design > Church needs to move forward

What is Catholic by Design?

As many publications and organizations don't always publish or respond to pro-Catholic / pro-Life / pro-values letters, Catholic by Design is my attempt to better disseminate some of the letters I have written. All of the letters defend Catholics, the Catholic faith, and Catholic values.

Why Catholic by Design?

Lumen Gentium, one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council, best explains...

"All men are called to be part of this catholic unity of the people of God... And there belong to or are related to it in various ways, the Catholic faithful, all who believe in Christ, and indeed the whole of mankind, for all men are called by the grace of God to salvation."

Who am I?

Jason Gennaro, a Catholic husband and father of four living near Toronto, Canada.

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Church needs to move forward

Read the article / show / issue that provoked me to write a letter and my response below that or go straight to my response

Date Posted on this Site

September 17, 2006

Publication

Toronto Star

Publication Date

September 12, 2006

Published Content

Pope asks bishops to lobby our MPs
Sept. 9.

So, the Pope has severely criticized Canada for its stand on abortion and same-sex marriage. While the Pope certainly has a right to his opinion, laws are enacted by the government of the country in which they apply.

If the Catholic Church is so pro-life, why will it not endorse the use of condoms? The World Health Organization has stated, and correctly so, that the use of condoms would cut the spread of AIDS dramatically, thus saving countless thousands of lives.

Perhaps the Catholic Church should take it upon itself to support all the orphans and widows left behind because a family member has died of AIDS. Sounds somewhat hypocritical to me. I think the Catholic Church should get its proverbial head out of the sand, move beyond the Middle Ages and come to grips with the realities of the 21st century.

Robert Trowell,
Ingersoll, Ont.

My Response Letter

It may come as a surprise to Mr. Trowell that the Catholic Church does support the widows and orphans of AIDS victims. In fact, the Church is responsible for one third of the organizations in Africa that support and serve AIDS sufferers and their families, more than any other faith group or government.

It should not come as a surprise that the only way to fully prevent AIDS or any other sexually transmitted disease is through abstinence and properly ordered sexual relations inside of marriage. Condoms are not 100 percent effective, even when they are used 100 percent of the time. Just check the condom manufacturers' own literature. Of course, that doesn't matter. As soon as the Pope pronounces that it is okay to use condoms to fight AIDS, then prostitutes, men who cheat on their wives, those who engage in casual sex, those who engage in ritual sex, and others who do not use condoms will all start listening to the Church, start using contraceptives, and the disease will be toast!

I think the Church's grip on realities in the 21st century is plenty strong.

Jason Gennaro

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