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Question 235: If Jesus is a hero because he sacrificed his life, should Islamic suicide attackers not also seen in this light?
Answer: Suicide attackers are people who commit murder against one or several people, during which process the loss of their own lives is a necessary condition for the success of the attack. The sacrifice of ones own life for a certain aim can already be found in Roman history. In the modern era this willingness to sacrifice is even more radicalised when ones own death is not merely accepted as a possibility but an integral part of the deed. The attacker does not merely sacrifice himself but intends to kill as many people as possible at the same time. The attackers own death is a certainty from the beginning [...].
Large scale suicide attacks have only become possible with the modern development of weapon technology. The development of explosive weapons and their relatively simple handling and manufacture is decisive. [...]. In their modern form, which began in the 1970s and developed more and more since 1982, suicide attacks are increasingly a characteristic of Islamic terror.(http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selbstmordattentat#Motivgrundlagen, accessed: 11.07.2011)
Supporters and opponents of [Islamic] suicide attacks refer to the Quran The Quran consists of 114 parts, the suras, and is the incontrovertible basis of Islamic faith. Sura 17, verse 33 reads: And slay not the life which Allah hath forbidden save with right. Whoso is slain wrongfully, We have given power unto his heir, but let him not commit excess in slaying. Lo! He will be helped. The supporters of suicide attacks, on the other hand, quote other references from the Quran, because in suras 61 verse 11 and sura 9 verse 41 it says that Muslims must be ready to mobilise their own property and lives to fight their enemies. If one is faced with highly armed and militarily superior enemy like Israel then, according to the supporters, all means are justified.http://religion.orf.at/projekt03/religionen/islam/fragen/re_is_fragen_selbstmord_fr.htm, accessed 11.07.2011)
The word hero is rarely used by Christians to describe Jesus of Nazareth. A hero [...] is a person with particularly extraordinary abilities and characteristics, which encourage them to particularly extraordinary deeds, heroic deeds. These people can be real or fictional characters, historical, legendary or mythical people. The heros deeds can bring him veneration and glory. His heroic abilities can be physical (strength, speed, endurance etc.) or mental (courage, a willingness to sacrifice himself, and a willingness to support ideals or other people).(http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Held, accessed: 9. 8. 2011)
Jesus can only be called a hero if heroism is defined largely as the free, non-violent dedication of life for the love of mankind, including persecutors and enemies. How did Jesus himself understand the dedication of his life?
With his uncompromising bluntness Jesus inflamed the powerful of his people, for example when he criticised the Pharisees of hypocrisy. His followers did not truly understand him either and they all fell away when it got serious. The Roman Pilate condemned Jesus as the King of the Jews, i.e. a political rebel. Jewish and Roman rulers united to cause his downfall [...].
It is much more important to know what Jesus himself thought of all of this. He anticipated his death, accepted it as his fathers will and took it upon himself for the salvation of all. He suffered everything that can humiliate a person: Injustice, betrayal, torture, political bartering on his back, ridicule, vulnerability, death sentence, physical collapse, staring crowds, abandonment by God. For us, he bore all of this!
This interpretation was not invented by the early church. As reported by Matthew (26:28) Jesus himself said on the day before his Passion during the last supper: This is my blood given for you and for many (whereby many in biblical language means everyone. He died for all of mankind.). And so he understood his own death as a salvation for all [see also the answer to question 255 in Section 20 of this website.]. The authors of the New Testament were certain of this interpretation and wrote their texts accordingly. It was not merely their interpretation that was written down but also sufficient detail that helps us to recognise clearly how it happened that Jesus died on the cross.
Jesus proclaimed salvation. The people rejected him. But their hardness of heart could not alter Gods plans for salvation. And so Jesus death became all our salvation. He did not die as a scapegoat condemned by a cruel eternal judge. Rather, his death is the external sign of Gods love for mankind. The Son of God is united with even the most lost and lonely person on earth. (Wilfried Henze, Glauben ist schön. Ein Katholischer Familienkatechismus. Harsum, 2011), S. 79.
This only leaves the conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth with his free and non-violent acceptance of his punishment of death by crucifixion cannot be compared to an Islamic suicide attacker who deliberately takes as many other lives as possible with him to death.
Question 236: Can people who are not prophets receive revelations? According to Christian theology the four gospels were written only by people who had not been prophets.
Answer: The person asking this question should carefully read chapter 1 on the website http://www.answers-to-muslims.com/ : Holy Scriptures.Islamic teaching differentiates between two kinds of prophets: There is the one sent by God to warn and admonish, simply called prophet (nabi) and there are envoys (rasul) of God whose prophesied revelations, which go beyond merely warning and admonishing, have been written down as books. The Muslim believer considers the true gospel (injil) to be the (lost) book which was revealed to the prophet ʽIsa by the Archangel Gabriel. Its main points agree with the revelation God has given to all true prophets from Adam onward. Based on this fundamental Islamic conviction the question arises for Muslims: how can a teaching like Christianity be true when, it teaches that there are four gospels and that each of those gospels has a different human author. How can people, who are not prophets in the sense that Islam uses the word, receive authentic revelation and that in the form of a book?
To explain this, we shall again briefly summarise the Catholic understanding of revelation and the inspiration of Holy Scriptures: With their ability to reaSon, people can recognise that God exists, but not what this God is truly like. But because God wants to be recognised, he has revealed himself. God did not have to reveal himself to us. He did it for love. Just as with human love we can only know something about the beloved if he opens our heart, we only know anything about Gods innermost thoughts because the eternal and mysterious God opened himself to us for love. From creation onward to the Fathers and the prophets up to his final revelation in his Son, Jesus Christ, God again and again spoke to mankind. In Jesus he poured out his heart and revealed his innermost being to us. In the Old Testament [i.e. in the Holy Scriptures of the Jewish people, the chosen people] God reveals himself as the God who created the world for love and who remains faithful to his people even if they turn away from him in sin. (YOUCAT: Jugendkatechismus der Katholischen Kirche. Aschaffenburg: Pattloch, 2011, n. 7-8)
For centuries God spoke to peoples hearts and revealed himself to them, step by step, continuously teaching them. Among all the people of the earth he chose a small people, Israel, and shaped it in order to conclude a Covenant with it. Through this small people all the people on the earth should learn that there is a God and that he has a plan for mankind. The narrative of the divine Covenant with Israel is found in those books of the Old Testament which form the first part of the bible. God prepared us step by step to be ready to accept his supernatural revelation which concludes in the person and the sending of his Son, the incarnated word of God, Jesus Christ. (Ich glaube : Kleiner katholischer Katechismus, Königstein, 2004, p. 11)
According to biblical language the word Covenant refers to the contract the transcendent God concluded with Noah, Abraham and then with the whole people on the mountain of Sinai. For Israel the Covenant is Gods promise of their chosen status: I shall be your God and you shall be my people. The Ten Commandments are the contractual conditions of this Covenant. In remembrance Israel celebrates the Covenant every year. Because the Covenant was concluded by trustworthy God, people can rely on it. Even in the worst despair pious people do not lose hope. They wait for a new Covenant which God will offer his people. The one through which God fulfils this hope and revealed himself is Jesus, the Messiah, Christ. (ibid., p. 14)
In the various stages of the history of the first people of the Covenant God calls prophets who are principally his trusted friends. As the people of God tend to forget their Lord and no longer trust him, God sent his prophets to remind them of his love, his faithfulness and his demands. Elijah, Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel are among the men of whose deeds and teachings the bible tells us. (ibid p. 12f))
The core message of Holy Scriptures of the first Covenant (also called: the old Covenant): It shall also be the core message of the people of the second Covenant, also called the new Covenant, of Christians and potentially of all people:
* Knowing that God is there for people, that he knows them and that he loves them. Trusting in him.
* Knowing that God is there for me, that he knows me and that he loves me.
* Loving God with all of my heart, all of my might and my ability.
* Hearing his word, doing his will, saying yes to his plan for me. (cf. ibid. p. 13)
Of course, only in Jesus Christ, his Son, does God show the full depth of his merciful love. Through Jesus Christ the invisible God becomes visible. He becomes a human being like we are. This shows us how far Gods love extends: He bears all our load. He travels all paths with us. He is in our desolation, our suffering, our fear of death. He is where we can no longer continue, in order to open the door into life. With Jesus Christ God himself has come into the world. He is Gods final word. By listening to him all people can know at all times who God is and what is necessary for their salvation. With the gospel of Jesus Christ the revelation of God is complete. So that we may understand it the Holy Spirit guides us deeper into the truth, […](YOUCAT, n. 9-10)
Christians find true faith in Holy Scripture and in the traditions of the church. […] (YOUCAT, n. 12)
The community of believers cannot err in their faith because Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them the spirit of truth and that they would receive truth (Jn. 14:17). (ibid. n. 13)
It follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation. Therefore "all Scripture is divinely inspired . (Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum 11). Scripture neither fell from the sky nor did God dictate it to human scribes. Rather, In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted. (Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum 11). (ibid., n. 14)
But how can Holy Scripture be Truth if not everything contained therein is correct? The Bible is not interested in teaching historic precision or scientific knowledge. The authors of the bible were also children of their own time. They shared the cultural ideas of their environment and were occasionally steeped in error. But everything people need to know about God and the way of his salvation can be found in Holy Scriptures with unerring certainty. (ibid., n. 15)
In the New Testament Gods revelation is complete. The four gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the core of the Bible and the most precious treasure of the church. In them Gods Son shows himself in how he lives and how he meets with us. In the Acts of the Apostles we hear about the beginnings of the church and of the actions of the Holy Spirit. The letters of the Apostles place the life of everyone in all their complexity in the light of Christ. In the mystery of Revelation we foretell the end of times. (ibid., n. 18)
Question 237: Why are all Disciples, Popes and Priests male? Has there never been a woman who would be worthy of such an office?
Answer: We point the enquirer to question 136 (section 15, in particular point 3) of this website. From the fact that Jesus selected only men as his disciples one cannot and must not conclude that he believed women to have less dignity than men. From the beginning and without exception the church was committed to this decision by Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholic and the Orthodox churches are still committed to Jesus practice.
Question 238: Where in the Bible does it say that Jesus died for the sin of humanity? Did he say that himself? Or who was it who first claimed it?
Answer: We point the enquirer to question 225 (section 20, in particular point 3) of this website and in particular to the title: Jesus substitutional atoning death
Question 239: Why do you adore the cross, the alleged murder weapon? Would you also venerate a pistol if Jesus had been shot with a pistol?
Answer: In our answer we shall first explain in which way Jesus death on the cross is understood by Christians to be a sign of hope. This clarifies the meaning of the veneration of the cross in liturgical Worship, in particular the part of the Good Friday Service called veneration of the cross and the adoration of the cross as a part of daily life for many Christians.
According to the teachings of the church adoration is only due to God. If the adoration of the cross in liturgy is occasionally also called adoratio crucis, then the use of the word is misleading and it cannot and must not mean more than: The adoration of Jesus Christ the Crucified by means of venerating the cross. The hypothetical question whether other tools of execution would have been venerated by faithful Christians if Jesus of Nazareth had been executed by other means (pistols and guns did not yet exist) is therefore redundant.
It was a difficult task for the early church to live with the scandal that the Messiah sent by God was executed on the cross as a criminal. But the early Church remembered Jesus own words at the Last Supper; in the light of Jesus resurrection through God it became fully aware that on the surface his so scandalous death was caused by the unbelief and the enmity among the people, but that behind it there is Gods will, Gods salvific plan, even Gods love. See also on this website the answer to question 225 (section 20).
The many statements about faith in the New Testament all have the same theme. They want to proclaim the attentive and saving love of God in ever new ways. That love that Jesus grasped once and for all through his obedience and his commitment in order to bring peace between God and humanity and among people. And so we read in the letter to the Ephesians: He is our peace (Eph. 2:14). In him the estranged ones who have caused the sin between God and humanity and among people are healed and reconciled. And so the cross is ultimately a sign of victory over all the powers and principalities hostile to God and to humanity, a sign of hope. (Katholischer Erwachsenen-Katechismus, Vol. 1, p-190).
In the liturgical celebration of the passion and the death of Jesus on Good Friday a cross is lifted up and adored. The words of the invitation to this act of adoration are: Litanist: 'Behold the wood of the cross, on which the salvation of the world was hung. Answer by the congregation: Come and let us adore it. It is the adoration of the crucified Lord Jesus Christ by means of venerating the sign of the cross.
The Catholic Catechism for Adults says: The victory of the cross, the victory of love over hatred and violence, of truth over lie, of life over death, is still hidden underneath its opposite. There are still hatred, lies and violence in the world. New life is given to us only in the shape of the cross. The story of hope, in which Jesus is revealed to be the Son of God, is not a story of unbridled success, not a story of victory according to our criteria (Joint Synod [Würzburg 1971-75], Unsere Hoffnung I, 2). The victory of the cross is promised to us only by way of the cross. Because it is precisely Gods descend into the whole misery of human suffering and dying that has united us again with God in our own particular situation. And so the cross is a sign of hope for the ultimate liberation and of Gods ultimate victory. And so we always pray during the Stations of the Cross:
We worship you, Lord Jesus Christ, and we praise you. Because through your holy cross you have redeemed the world. (Gods Praise 775) (ibid., p. 192)
Question 240: Protestants claim that Catholics are idol worshippers. Is this true?
Answer: The accusation that Catholic doctrine and worship were idol worship was effectively made by the Protestant reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) in his main theological work Institutio Christianae Religionis (EN: Instruction in the Christian Religion), which was first published in Basle in 1536. In volume 1 book 1 chapter 11 (=Institutio 1-1-11) of this work he claims that the Catholic defence when confronted with the charge of idol worship was meaningless. Chapter 11 of this book is titled: Iimpiety of attributing a visible form to god. — the setting up of idols a defection from the true god. Calvins comments relating to our question are summarised on the official Calvinist website in three points:
1. the foolish differentiation of the Catholic church between dulia (veneration of images) and latria (worship of images)
2. they carelessly claim that they serve the images without adoring them, as the meaning of the two Greek words shows
3. the Catholic church is therefore no better than all other idol worshippers
http://www.calvinismus.ch/tag/katholizismus/ (accessed 13.07.2011)
This accusations the reformers and Calvin made of the Catholic church still exists and Calvinists uphold it to this day. The Catechism of the Catholic Church comments:
476 Since the Word became flesh in assuming a true humanity, Christ's body was finite. [cf. Syn. in the Lateran 649: DS 504.]. Therefore the human face of Jesus can be portrayed; (Gal. 3:1) at the seventh ecumenical council (Nicaea II in 787) [cf. DS 600 - 603) the Church recognized its representation in holy images to be legitimate. (CCC)
The Catholic Catechism for Adults comments (Vol II. p. 168)
Christianity did not follow Israel in its prohibition of depicting God in images, but because of the cultic worship of images of the Emperor and because of the persecution of Christians who rejected such worship there were strong objections to cultic images.
In the early Christian period from the middle of the 3rd century the first religious images appeared, initially pictures from the Old and the New Testament and later also images of Christ and of the Saints. During the Byzantine and Carolingian iconoclastic controversy there were major confrontations about whether images and in particular the worship of images was permissible. The second Council of Nicaea (787) decided in favour of the veneration of images. The deeper theological reason for this decision is the idea that in the coming of Jesus Christ God himself became human. In Jesus Christ God lives his Godhood in a human way. With this, God has a concrete face, the face of Jesus of Nazareth. The human face of Jesus is the face of the Father, it is the icon of the Father. This understanding enables the depiction of Jesus Christ in pictures.
On the website http://www.kathnews.com/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=781 (accessed 13.07.2011) there is the following blog post which is worth citing here: 04.09.2002, 09:32
I am not a theologian and I cannot give well founded answers, but the depiction of an image would only by idol worship if one was to worship the picture. In Catholic piety, however, a picture or a statue are only used to help the believer to focus on Jesus or on the saints. It is not the statue or the picture that is being prayed to but the one who is depicted.
Regarding the danger of misconceptions I would say that these could only affect external matters and would therefore be irrelevant to faith.
I once came across a different analogy. Catholics believe in the communion of saints. They are born into this family through Baptism. To have pictures of Saint is therefore as natural as having pictures of spouses, children, grandparents etc. on the mantelpiece.
Also, Jesus said that we should believe like children. And children need pictures. Families from free churches also have bible books for children in which scenes from the bible are shown in pictures. Jesus is pictured there too. If a member of a free church therefore objects to Catholic images he should first of all sort out his own childrens books. Those who want to believe like adults may do without pictures.
Gods blessing,
Dirk.
Question 241: Baptism is said to remove all sins. Is this also true for murderers, child abusers and drug dealers?
Answer: Yes. Baptism results in the forgiveness of all sins without exception. We add the following principal information on Baptism:
What is Baptism?
Baptism is the way from the realm of death into life; the door into the church and the beginning of a lasting communion with God. (YOUCAT: Jugendkatechismus der Katholischen Kirche. Aschaffenburg: Pattloch, 2011, n. 194)
This is how Baptism is conducted: The person to be baptised is immersed into the baptismal font three times or has water poured over their head three times, while the following words are being said: I baptise you in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Here a short introduction into the meaning of this basic sacrament of the church.
Peters sermon at Penetecost in Jerusalem goes straight to the heart of many listeners. They ask him and the other disciples: What shall we do? According to the Lords Commandment (Mt. 28:19) Peter replied: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:37-38).
John the Baptist had called to Baptism through water and repentance to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, and Jesus, too, wants to receive this Baptism from John in the river Jordan as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (1 John 1:29), Baptism (Greek: baptizein) means immersing. Jesus, who let himself be immersed (Baptised) into death for the salvation of the world (cf. CCC 1225), gave us Baptism by the Holy Spirit so that all people can be born again through water and the Holy Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God (cf. John 3:5). (I believe: kleiner katholischer Katechismus Königstein, 2004, p- 121.)
[When a person who was not baptised later gives his life to Christ (martyrdom) he receives a Baptism of blood. There is also a Baptism of desire when non baptised people do good, support their neighbour and thus - sometimes without being aware of it - enter into the fellowship of Christ. We also believe that God in His mercy does not leave children who died before being Baptised. (ibid., p. 124)]
The new Community of God, the church, does not only grow among the Jews. In Acts (8:26-40) St Luke tells the story of Philip, one of the seven deacons. Following an intuition he starts out towards Gaza. On the way he meets a noble man from Ethiopia who was returning from Jerusalem where he had been praying in the temple; sitting in his carriage this man reads Isaiahs prophesy (Isa 53:7-8). Philip hears what the stranger is reading and asks him: Do you understand what you are reading? - How could I, he replied, if no-one teaches me? Philip enters into his carriage and explains to him how the words of the prophet have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ: He came to reconcile people with God. He was rejected and accepted suffering, he did not fight against death on the cross. Like a sacrificial lamb he was slaughtered. But God resurrected him. He is alive, and we are the witnesses. He is the Saviour and the Redeemer. He who believes that Jesus is the Messiah and the Savour and who is Baptised becomes a new person, a Christian. On their way they reach a spring. The Ethiopian says: Here is water. What is there to prevent my Baptism? The both go into the water and Philip baptises the man: I baptise you in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This man became the first African Christian. (ibid., p. 121f.)
Baptism is the sacrament shared by all Christians. The church grants it according to the Commandment of the Lord who entrusted it: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19). Baptism is usually given by a bishop, a priest or a deacon. In an emergency everybody, even a person who is not baptised, can baptise others, provided they intend to do what the church does (cf. CCC 1256).Baptism is valid for ever. It can neither be revoked nor repeated because it imparts an indelible sign on to Christians, a spiritual symbol of their belonging to Christ. This is the seal of Baptism. It cannot be erased by any sin, although sin prevents Baptism from bringing forth all the fruits of Salvation in people (cf. CCC 1272).
Baptism is the foundation of a personal relationship with every person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit pours is salvific grace upon us, which allows us to participate in the divine nature. (2 Pt 1:4). This means that we are adopted children of God in Christ Jesus who himself is the incarnated Son of the Father. The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification: - enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues; - giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit; - allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues. Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism. (CCC 1266). Baptism therefore gives us a share in the priesthood of Christ, in his priestly, prophetic and kingly mission. It enables us to join him in offering ourselves to the Father, to witness to the gospels and to shape the world according to Gods will. This is the priesthood of all believers.
Baptism erases original sin, effects the forgiveness of sins, makes us into the children of God, into brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, into members of the church. We are brothers and sisters and we can truly say: Our Father who art in Heaven.
Through Baptism God makes a new beginning with us, a beginning that originates with him and that shall bear fruit throughout our whole lives. If we are faithful to Christ in faith, in hope and in love, then the grace received in Baptism takes effect and grows in us. Baptism thus finds its full realisation in the holiness to which we are called and which is fulfilled in us bit by bit through the living and increasing activity of God in our lives. (ibid. p. 122f.)
Question 242: People who want to be Baptised are said to have to wait for years. Why?
Answer: We point the enquirer to question 182 in Section 18 of this website.
Question 243: St. Paul writes that single people should not marry. Would that not be the end of mankind?
The question refers to the statements Paul makes in chapter 7:1-40 in his first letter to the Corinthians. Our question is based largely on the relevant exegesis Norbert Baumert published in 2007 in his book: Sorgen des Seelsorgers: Übersetzung und Auslegung des ersten Korintherbriefes. [Pastoral Care: translation and exegesis of the first letter to the Corinthians] Würzburg: Echter, 2007, p. 77-113). Block III, C, 6,12-20: Die Würde des Leibes [The dignity of the body] ; Block IV: 7,1-40: Schutz der Ehe [Protection of marriage].
The question is based on the wrong premise: Nowhere in this letter does Paul pronounce a general recommendation not to marry, nor does he issue a general prohibition for single people to marry.
The most important sections of the text for our context are:
7:8 - Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do [i.e. unmarried for the sake of Christ]; But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry.
7:26-39 - Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned.
7: 39f. - A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. In my judgement, she is happier if she stays as she is — and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
N. In a summary of is exegesis Baumert writes: Regarding the main intention of 6:12-7, 40: The Redemption of Sexuality
[...] It has something to do with the incarnation of God that the love of God has since captured people more completely and therefore redeems from sexuality and changes it in its consummation in marriage as well as in celibacy. The not really having which must be common to all Christians, may be lived by some people in the visible: truly not having. In celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom they can show the world that Christ is the deepest fulfilment of every person. Its not that only the celibate can live in complete devotion - every Christian should do this - but that they live this complete commitment in a specific manner. Because of the kind of relationship they have with Christ their calling is to live their deepest personal relationship only with Christ. Their ability to love has been touched and fulfilled by Christ in such a way that they do not wish to live in marriage with a human partner. In the right circumstances they are entitled to choose this way of life. Paul had to create acceptance for such a way of life first. Others, on the other hand, recognise precisely from their relationship with Christ that he points them to a partner; they may then express their love of God in married love. This, at least, is the basic structure of the two callings. [...]
Before one therefore attempts to motivate young people to religious callings who could easily say whom God chooses? - all young people should be told that any choice, whether of marriage or of celibacy must come from God. The first task is to guide all young people to place their lives into Gods hands, that is to chose God as their first option (this can be called handing over ones life, and it can happen in the form of a personal renewal of the Baptismal vows). This is the basis for recognising in which way the individual person is to live their complete commitment: one within marriage, the other within celibacy (cf. 1 Cor. 7:7). Experiences of a calling to the one as much as to the other usually also include the invitation to full commitment, whether this way or that way (7:6). [...]
When Paul tried to create space in the early church for celibacy with care and spiritual reverence it was something new and it did not arise out of resentment. As a faithful Jew he was neither hostile to the body nor did he fear sex. Neither did he sublimate sexuality and strip it of its natural character in order to put a spiritual (or other) process in its place. This could easily lead to repression. Rather, Paul believed that people could be captured and penetrated by the Holy Spirit to such an extent that their sexuality, which is merely a part of the whole after all, also becomes an integrative location and expression of the Spirit (1 Cor. 7:33f). Where this is not the living centre, there is no celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, and such a bogus claim can even result in stunted growth, bitterness, vicarious satisfaction or a breaking away. (...)
Redemption of sexuality takes place when people sees it completely based on their relationship with Christ, when they do not push it out of their life with God but take it into this life. People should show everything that moves their hearts or their imagination to the Creator so he can teach them how to see it with his eyes. If people know themselves to be accepted and loved by God at the deepest level, the closeness of the relationship gives them more and more strength to shape their marital commitment from this basis or to give themselves wholly to God, in temporary or permanent renunciation of this human fulfilment, without becoming bitter. This often means a painful process of maturing. But those who face this process increasingly learn that they are completely secure with God and precious to him, that they can become one with him in the Holy Spirit and that Gods glory shines in their bodies. (ibid. p. 111-113)
Question 244: The papal office has always rejected the use of condoms. Now the Pope has permitted them. Is this not a U-turn?
We point the enquirer to question 107 in section 12 of this website. It explains the current church doctrine on contraception. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) explains this doctrine in nos. 2368-2371).
Until recently and despite massive public criticism, the church still held the view that even in the battle against the further spread of the immunodeficiency syndrome Aids the use of condoms was not to be permitted. During his Africa trip on 17 March 2009 Pope Benedict XVI refused to give his consent to the use of condoms. I would say that the problem of Aids cannot be solved by money alone, although this is also necessary. But if the soul does not participate, if the Africans do not contribute to the help (by accepting their own responsibility), it cannot be solved by distributing condoms. On the contrary, this increases the problem. The solution can only be found in a dual effort: first of all in the humanisation of sexuality, that is in a spiritual and human renewal which brings with it new ways of relating to each other; and secondly in true friendship also and in particular with those suffering, in an availability to be at the side of those suffering in sacrificial and personal giving. These are the factors that help and bring about visible progress. (Benedict XVI, Licht der Welt: Der Papst; die Kirche und die Zeichen der Zeit. Freiburg: Herder, 2010, p. 221f). Already on 14.2.2006 Pope Benedict XVI answered this question: Marital faithfulness and extramarital abstinence [are] the best means of preventing infection and stopping the spread of the virus. The values which arise from the true understanding of marriage and family life are indeed the only safe basis of a stable society. (cited in YOUCAT: Jugendkatechismus der Katholischen Kirche. Aschaffenburg: Pattloch, 2011, p. 225)
The question posed here results from a statement Benedict made in the interview book Licht der Welt [Light of the World], which publishes conversations between the publisher and biographer of Pope Benedict XVI. Peter Seewald and the Pope and which was authorised by the Pope. It reads: There may be reasonable individual cases, such as when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step towards moral standards, a first incidence of responsibility in order to develop a renewed awareness that not everything is permitted and that one cannot everything one wishes. But it is not the true way of overcoming the evil of HIV infections. This will truly have to rest with the humanisation of sexuality (ibid., p. 146f).
YOUCAT: Jugendkatechismus der Katholischen Kirche (Aschaffenburg: Pattloch, 2011) answers the question: What does the church say about the use of condoms in the fight against AIDS in n. 414:
Apart from the fact that condoms do not provide absolute protection from an infection the church rejects their use as a one sided mechanical means for fighting the HIV epidemics. The church emphasises in particular a new culture of human relationships and a change of social awareness in society at large.
Only lived faithfulness and the renunciation of careless sexual contact protects lastingly from HIV infection and teach an integrated way of love. This includes respect for the equal dignity of men and women, care for family health, the responsible managing of desires and also (temporary) abstinence from sexual union. In African countries in which broad campaigns across society promoted such behaviour the rate of infections could be markedly decreased. Furthermore, the Catholic Church does everything it can do help people affected by AIDS.
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