babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Catholic Condom Ads Deemed Not Kosher for Madrid’s World Youth Day Celebration
Not ready for primetime in Madrid
World Youth Day is being celebrated tomorrow, but one group in particular won’t be doing much cheering during the festivities in Madrid, Spain.
Amid an appearance by Pope Benedict, speeches by bishops and concerts, Catholics for Choice, a group that says it is “a voice for Catholics who believe that the Catholic tradition supports a woman’s moral and legal right to follow her conscience in matters of sexuality and reproductive health,” had wanted to run some advertisements (above) supporting condom use. However, Spanish transit authorities and/or city authorities have shot down their request.
The ad had previously run in different countries.
According to Jezebel, Catholics for Choice president Jon O’Brien said:
It’s absolutely ludicrous to claim that these ads are offensive. As a result of this arbitrary decision, the young people coming to World Youth Day will not get the opportunity to make up their own minds about whether these ads are appropriate and present an important message. We certainly think they do. This is an international meeting where hundreds of thousands of young people can get the message that using condoms can save lives.
It does seem to be a shame that a day aimed at educating and empowering youth will miss out on an opportunity to educate young people about condom use.
However, at the same time, it’s hard to fault organizers or city officials for banning controversial ads that would seem to be in direct opposition of the views of a very important guest who is being hosted – the Pope.
Of course, O’Brien points out that the Pope Benedict has made comments supporting the use of condoms, but that doesn’t mean that every Catholic agrees with him. Furthermore, other Catholic officials have clarified that the Pope doesn’t believe that condoms are appropriate at any time for any reason — just for use by prostitutes to stop the spread of HIV. Still, that’s what Catholics for choice argues was the point of their now-banned ad: to let kids know that condoms save lives.
I’m about as pro-choice as it gets, but even I still think it’s hard to argue that a city hosting the Pope should necessarily allow intentionally controversial ads to run during such a monumental event.
What do you think? Should the city of Madrid have allowed the ads to run?
When birth control fails: Unplanned pregnancies aren’t just a teen problem
Go Back To Strollerderby
6 Comments
James McDonald commented on Aug 15 11 at 7:35 pmThere are many ways the Catholic church is still falling short of its responsibility to its members. The higher ups really need to come together and understand the current time and the problems we face.
A painting titled “The Pope wears gold” just came out and you can see it at http://www.postmodernrevelation.com
James
Jessica commented on Aug 15 11 at 9:14 pmI attended World Youth Day in Paris in 1997 as a 17 (almost 18) year old. I do believe that using a condom is a smart decision (my husband and I use them for our birth control). However, I don’t think WYD is the place to talk them up. When I attended WYD, the focus was on spirituality and meeting/learning about other catholic youths. Not sex. I don’t think condom ads should be a part of World Youth Day.
skelly commented on Aug 15 11 at 9:27 pmI work at a youth centre and I have personally ordered, and put up in plain sight, these posters. However it was a couple of years ago, so that last bit about the pope wasn’t there yet. I 100% support it being displayed just about everywhere. Youth are a group massively affected by HIV/AIDS and are also a group struggling to find an identity. The last thing they need is to have to juggle their religious beliefs with their sex and sexuality. So perhaps it might make a few people a little squeamish, but one kid might go home with a new tool for protecting themselves and that is absolutely worth it to me. (Oh, and I can’t figure out why this is controversial. It’s just a statement of fact. Condoms save lives, even catholics use condoms, and the pope now recognizes that condoms fight HIV infection. Where’s the controversy in that? Seems like a collection of facts displayed in a manner where kids can learn something valuable, in a place highly accessible to large numbers of youth.)
jenny tries too hard commented on Aug 15 11 at 9:56 pmMeh. I’m not sure how freedom of speech works in Spain, but if this were in America, I’d think that the ads should stand. Maybe the Church could get some civil judgment requiring this group to clarify, somehow, that they do NOT speak for the Catholic Church, but it should still be protected speech.
That said, it’s ridiculous to pretend that these aren’t controversial. The Catholic Church does not teach that “good Catholics use condoms”. Period. Pope Benedict’s recent, oft-misunderstood comments regarding condom use were not an endorsement of condoms, but simply stating that when one is *already* disrespecting his body, his partner’s body and God, the fact that he even desires to protect his partner from HIV shows that he, the dude having sex with a condom, is at least doing one unselfish thing in the midst of his sin. Simply put, promiscuous sex w/ condom > promiscuous sex w/o condom. Both still soul-destroying sin and wildly bad for you. The Church still teaches that there is only one context in which sex is okay for “good Catholics” and condoms don’t figure into that context at all.
Linda, t.o.o. commented on Aug 16 11 at 12:29 am“Simply put, promiscuous sex w/ condom > promiscuous sex w/o condom. Both still soul-destroying sin and wildly bad for you.” Check! But when a Catholic priest rapes a young boy, that deserves to be covered up.
skelly commented on Aug 22 11 at 9:25 pmJenny, it would be one thing if this group was claiming to be speaking on behalf of the church. They aren’t. Not even remotely. They are an separate group, trying to help certain catholics match up their religious beliefs with their will to remain happy and healthy. I didn’t gather from the poster that they claim the pope supports their platform, but rather made the honest statement that it’s great the pope is finally at least admitting that condoms do prevent HIV transmission. I never got the impression they were claiming that’s the new general catholic standpoint. But perhaps that is what people would gather from the campaign, thus generating the controversy. I just saw it as a very wonderful act of assisting young people in maintaining both a healthy spiritual life and a healthy sex life. Besides, anyone called ‘catholics for choice’ is likely never going to have the greatest standing with the church.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
6