Condomonium goes to school in Rome

The Vatican is displeased with Kepler scientific secondary school in Rome's decision Wednesday to install condom vending machines for students. To be in the girls' and boys' toilets, they will sell condoms at half the usual retail price.

They didn't do it just to provoke the Vatican. The London Daily Mail reports:

In a recent survey of 7482 students in Italy by the Ministry of Health on sexual knowledge, 18 per cent admitted regularly having intercourse without using a condom, which officials said had contributed to rises in sexually transmitted diseases.

Other Italian schools and British schools are considering the same action. The British have an additional reason, again from the Daily Mail:

According to he latest figures available from the Italian Ministry of health the teenage pregnancy rate is six per 1000 girls aged between 15 and 19, compared to 26.4 in the United Kingdom - one of the highest in Europe.

Meanwhile, the long and sometimes strident epidemiology/theology debate continues, literally.

Condom faceoff in the Philippines

The Philippines National Press Club has agreed to host the condom debate between Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral and Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and Bishop Deogracias Ynigue. The two bishops challenged her after calling for a ban on condom ads and warnings on condom packages. As a condition of her acceptance, Harvard Medical School trained Cabral insisted that the focus of the debate be scientific, not religious beliefs.

This will be interesting, and perhaps so much more so for those who can actually be there.

Facing HIV epidemic, Catholic priests in the Philippines call for ban on condom ads [Update]

President Nereo Odchimar of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) also called for warning labels saying "Condoms may fail to protect from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases."

ABC-CBN News reported:

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral has come under fire from the CBCP for promoting condoms as part of the battle against HIV-AIDS. The health secretary said the distribution of condoms is part of the health department's 3-pronged approach to combat the spread of HIV in the country.

Data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed a total of 4,400 HIV/AIDS cases from 1984 to December 2009. Since the Philippines started monitoring the disease, the number of cases has gone up from 1 to 4,424 confirmed cases.

. . .

"At the rate we are going, in 3 years, we are going to have more than 30,000 people with HIV/AIDS in the Philippines," the health secretary said.

The CBCP position is in keeping with that of Pope Benedict XVI, albeit not with the conclusions of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga. Specifically regarding epidemiology, the CDC concludes:

Overall, the preponderance of available epidemiologic studies have found that when used consistently and correctly, condoms are highly effective in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV infection and reduce the risk of other STDs.

No, the world leader in matters epidemiological is not recommending a warning label or otherwise somehow supporting CBCP attempts to suppress condom use in the Philippines.

Update

Philippine political figures respond that a ban on condom ads might infringe on freedom of speech. According to INQUIRER.net, Senator Mar Roxas "advised the Catholic church to just prod its followers not to use condoms.

The debate over ads is part of an ongoing furor over contraception in which the bishops earlier called for Cabral's removal from office. They seemed to be especially offended by his Valentine's Day condom distribution effort.

Ugandan president to block gay genocide bill [Updates]

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni told members of the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) legislative caucus on Jan 13 that he was going to block the bill. George Conger of Religious Intelligencer wrote:

"I [Museveni] told them that this bill was brought up by a private member and I have not even had time to discuss it with him. It is neither the government nor the NRM Party’s” bill, he told legislators, according to Ugandan press reports.

"This is a foreign policy issue and we have to discuss it in a manner that does not compromise our principles but also takes care of our foreign policy interests,” the president said.

Xan Rice of the Guardian reported today:

Uganda has indicated it will bow to international pressure and amend draconian anti-homosexual legislation that includes the death penalty for HIV-positive people convicted of having gay sex.

. . .

,p>The proposed law, which has been pushed by local evangelical preachers and vocally supported by senior government officials, also threatens life imprisonment for anyone convicted of gay sex.

While broadly supported domestically, the legislation has caused a storm of protest abroad and consternation from western donors who fund a large chunk of Uganda's budget.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni told members of the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) legislative caucus on Jan 13 that he was going to block the gay genocide bill. George Conger of Religious Intelligencer wrote:

"I [Museveni] told them that this bill was brought up by a private member and I have not even had time to discuss it with him. It is neither the government nor the NRM Party’s” bill, he told legislators, according to Ugandan press reports.

"This is a foreign policy issue and we have to discuss it in a manner that does not compromise our principles but also takes care of our foreign policy interests,” the president said.

Xan Rice of the Guardian reported today:

Uganda has indicated it will bow to international pressure and amend draconian anti-homosexual legislation that includes the death penalty for HIV-positive people convicted of having gay sex.

. . .

,p>The proposed law, which has been pushed by local evangelical preachers and vocally supported by senior government officials, also threatens life imprisonment for anyone convicted of gay sex.

While broadly supported domestically, the legislation has caused a storm of protest abroad and consternation from western donors who fund a large chunk of Uganda's budget.

Updates

VOA says nothing has changed:

The Ugandan foreign minister denies the government is backing away from proposed anti-gay legislation because of foreign policy implications, saying the government is still discussing its position on the issue. Gay rights activists express caution over reports the president has backed away from the bill.

Jim Burroway foresees a move toward compromise legislation.

Ugandan Danse Macabre

The Ugandan government says it will ask lawmaker David Bahati to withdraw his gay death-penalty bill, and he says he will refuse.

Sanctions deserved if Uganda adopts hate law

The Obama administration should make it clear to Uganda, now, that passage of the anti-gay law will result in a cutoff of aid. That "legislation is a violation of human rights," as Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson said Friday. Embodiment of the hate it represents in law, without answering consequences from more human nations, will encourage others to take similar actions.

Oppression is already a fact of life for the Ugandan gay citizenry. The New York Times wrote in an editorial on Monday:

The government’s venom is chilling: “Homosexuals can forget about human rights,” James Nsaba Buturo, who holds the cynically titled position of minister of ethics and integrity, said recently.

What makes this even worse is that three American evangelical Christians, whose teachings about “curing” gays and lesbians have been widely discredited in the United States, helped feed this hatred. Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge and Don Schmierer gave a series of talks in Uganda last March to thousands of police officers, teachers and politicians in which, according to participants and audio recordings, they claimed that gays and lesbians are a threat to Bible-based family values.

Now the three Americans are saying they had no intention of provoking the anger that, just one month later, led to the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009. You can’t preach hate and not accept responsibility for the way that hate is manifested.

The U.S. should also lead diplomatically in standing against this evil.

Ssempa returns video fire at Rick Warren (hits self)

Repudiated Rick Warren friend Martin Ssempa, Pastor of the Makerere Community Church, has issued a video response [segments with analysis] which includes all of the errors and distortions of the earlier United National Task Force letter.

Focus on the Family opposes Ugandan anti-gay legislation

No LBGT advocate, Focus on the Family has at last drawn a line at Ugandan gay genocide. Colorado Springs Gazette blogger Mark Barna writes:

“As a Christian organization, Focus on the Family Action (the political arm of the family group) encourages pro-family policies. As such, we respect the desire of the Ugandan people to shield their nation from the promotion of homosexuality as a lifestyle morally equivalent to one-man, one-woman marriage. But it is not morally acceptable to enact the death penalty for homosexuals, as some versions of the bill are reported to require.”

“My reaction is to denounce this. It sets a horrible precedent and has a potential for developing hatred.”

Otherwise the Barna news story on the same topic isn't quite as rife with errors as a Richard Land exposition on health care reform. Nonetheless sweepingly erroneous, Barna writes:

Moreover, it’s unfair to single out American evangelical leaders and organizations for not condemning the bill when many world leaders, including President Barack Obama, and human rights groups have also been silent on it.

In fact:

• The White House issued a statement of opposition to the legislation on Dec. 11.
• Human Rights Watch opposition dates to the introduction of the legislation on Oct. 14.
• Amnesty International's opposition also dates to the inception of the legislation.
• Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper took a stand against the legislation in November.
• British Prime Minister Gordon Brown denounced the legislation in November.
• Sweden's stand against the legislation includes a threat to cut off aid and dates to November.
• The European Parliament adopted a denunciation of the legislation on Dec. 17.
• Australia's denunciation of the legislation dates to Dec. 21.

Barna is correct when he writes that "numerous Christian leaders and groups have weighed in." (For example: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Focus on the Family is a welcome and unexpected late-comer to the family of opponents, not yet joined by the Southern Baptist Convevtion Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Archbishop of York condemns Ugandan anti-gay bill

Archbishop of York John Sentamu, a senior Anglican cleric who was born in Uganda, approached the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace by taking a stand against Uganda's gay genocide bill.

He told BBC:

I'm opposed to the death sentence. I'm also not happy when you describe people in the kind of language you find in this private member's bill. ... [It is] a diminishment of the individuals concerned.

About a third of the Ugandan population considers itself to be affiliated with the Church of Uganda (Anglican).

Sentamu's measured, authoritative voice is an important counter on this issue to the counterfactual, poorly written letter directed by the hastily organized Ugandan National Task Force Against Homosexuality at Saddleback Community Church pastor Rick Warren. The Task Force demanded an apology from Warren, who urged his "fellow pastors in Uganda" to oppose the measure.

About 40% of Uganda's population is Roman Catholic.

Joining Sentamu, Mark Silk writes, was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kampala, Uganda, Cyprian. K. Lwanga, who in his Christmas message said:

The recent tabled Anti-Homosexuality Bill does not pass a test of a Christian caring approach to this issue.

Video of Archbishop Lwanga's message:

Ugandan pastors shoot back (inaccurately) at Rick Warren (hit their own feet)

Monday the very new Ugandan National Task Force Against Homosexuality shot back at Rick Warren, demanding an apology for his letter to fellow pastors in Uganda condemning the proposed Uganda law that would imprison and in in some cases execute homosexuals.

A letter signed by the 20 members and published on Martin Ssempa's Web site said:

Your letter has caused great distress and the pastors are demanding that you issue a formal apology for insulting the people of Africa by your very inapropriate (sic) bully use of your church and purpose driven pulpits to coerse us into the 'evil' of Sodomy and Gaymorrah (sic).

It is a rewrite of a letter sent to Christianity Today last week by the group's chairman, Ssempa (a "former Bush Administration favorite"). Parts of Ssempa's letter are included verbatim in the Task Force letter.

For example, both letters say:

As you yourself say about evil, – “the Bible says evil has to be opposed. Evil has to be stopped. The Bible does not say negotiate with evil. It says stop it. Stop evil."

The task force letter shares errors and misleading language with Ssempa's original, whose claims are compared to the text of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill by Warren Throckmorton.

Both letters say that the purpose of the bill is to protect “the boy child” in the same that the law protects “the girl child.” As Throckmorton points out, that overlooks the opening section of the bill, "which states the purpose." The law is intended to eliminate homosexuality from Uganda by eliminating practice or speech intended to support homosexuals.

Ssempa's letter is properly castigated by GayUgand for "Lying," and the Task Force letter is vulnerable to essentially the same criticisms.

If factual accuracy were the principal issue, the debate would be over and the Ugandan pastors would have helped consign the anti-gay legislation to a permanent spot on the trash heap of history.

SBC's Richard Land distraught that health reform is passing

His Nazi libels and "death panels" prevarications failed to stop health reform, so Richard Land is sad.

The Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) chief is so sad and so busy (like Mike Huckabee) lamenting legislator support for health reform that he still doesn't have time to say a word or two against Uganda's gay genocide legislation.

Five conservative Republican House members understand the importance of taking a stand on that. Where is the ethics in Land's silence?

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni urged by Republicans to stop anti-gay bill

Five House Republicans, all "men of faith," have igned letter urging the president of Uganda to oppose the gay death penalty legislation:

The letter was signed by Reps. Frank Wolf of Virginia, Chris Smith of New Jersey, Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, Trent Franks of Arizona and Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana.

They call the gay genocide legislation antithetical to the Christian belief in the "inherent dignity and worth" of all human beings, and there are reports that he agrees and has assured U.S. officials that he will block the bill.

Many top U.S. and British religious leaders have also taken clear stands against the legislation and the Vatican has stepped forward against anti-gay violence.

Ugandan gay death legislation dance continues

Mark Silk covers the Ugandan anti-homosexuality act.

We're still looking for Richard Land on Uganda. ERLC has a link to the Baptist Press Warren story, but thus far, that's all she wrote.

Where is Richard Land on Uganda?

Richard Land's passion for foreign policy should not be confined to his current call for trade sanctions against Iran. Nothing should stop Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, from joining fellow Southern Baptist evangelical Rick Warren and a long list of other Christian leaders in opposing Uganda's gay genocide legislation.

Anglical Church head Rowan Williams condemns Ugandan 'gay genocide' legislation

Dr. Rowan Williams

Buried in an interview with the London Telegraph is Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' first public declaration of opposition to the Ugandan gay genocide legislation. His wording implied that all members of the Anglican Communion, obviously including those in Uganda, should oppose the legislation. He stopped just short of calling out Ugandan Archbishop Henry Orombi.

The Telegraph's George Pitcher wrote [emphasis ours]:

"Overall, the proposed legislation is of shocking severity and I can’t see how it could be supported by any Anglican who is committed to what the Communion has said in recent decades,” says Dr Williams. “Apart from invoking the death penalty, it makes pastoral care impossible – it seeks to turn pastors into informers.” He adds that the Anglican Church in Uganda opposes the death penalty but, tellingly, he notes that its archbishop, Henry Orombi, who boycotted the Lambeth Conference last year, “has not taken a position on this bill”.

Williams' hand was apparently forced by the dramatically announced opposition of similarly reluctant Saddleback Community Church pastor Rick Warren (Williams interview is dated Dec. 11, shortly after Warren's statement), and a parade of other religious leader opposition, including the implicit opposition of the Vatican. Ekklesia reported that several British Christian organizations had also expressed opposition, "including Accepting Evangelicals, Changing Attitude, Courage, Ekklesia, Fulcrum and the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement."

Williams became a focus of criticism when he remained silent on Uganda yet issued a sharp, immediate rebuke to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles for on Dec. 5 choosing as bishop the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool, a lesbian who has been in a partnered relationship for two decades.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori took a stand against "the pending Ugandan legislation that would introduce the death penalty for people who violate portions of that country's anti-homosexuality laws," in effective contrast with Williams' silence.

The effect of growing international pressure on the legislation is still unclear. It is part of an Africa-wide slide toward repression of homosexuals, the Guardian reported today (12/13) [emphasis ours]:

There is wide support for [Ndorwa West, Uganda, MP David] Bahati's [anti-homosexuality] law which, while being an extreme piece of anti-gay legislation, is not unique. As far as gay rights are concerned, it would appear that much of Africa is going backwards. Nigeria has a similar bill waiting to reach its statute books and already allows the death penalty for homosexuality in northern states, as does Sudan. Burundi criminalised homosexuality in April this year, joining 37 other African nations where gay sex is already illegal. Egypt and Mali are creeping towards criminalization, using morality laws against same-sex couples.

. . .

He [Bahati] denied reports that international pressure might result in parts of the bill being toned down. "We are not going to yield to any international pressure – we cannot allow people to play with the future of our children and put aid into the game. We are not in the trade of values. We need mutual respect."

That is a contradiction of the earlier Bloomberg News (12/9) report that both the death penalty and life imprisonment would be dropped from the legislation.

Vatican addresses 'gay genocide' laws & like abuses

Thursday without actually mentioning Uganda. the Vatican voiced to a United Nations panel on sexual orientation and gender identity its opposition to "all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons, such as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment."

LBGT bloggers (1, 2) saw the statement as tacit opposition to Uganda's gay genocide legislation, although the statement was explicitly a reiteration of a Vatican position taken last year. It also echoed the Vatican's March position condemning violence against homosexuals without supporting the proposed U.N. Declaration on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, recognizing "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" as new categories that need human rights protections.

Scott Long of Human Rights Watch reported that the statement Thursday "stunned" many in attendance and was in part the result of a lobbying effort:

Among the many people who contributed to this truly historic result, in which the Catholic Church affirmed a tradition of peace and charity, I particularly thank Boris Dittrich, who lobbied the Holy See for almost a year to declare this position.

Long also said in an email:

One of the panelists proposed that Rev. Rick Warren, instead of issuing statements from California that rights abuses are bad, needs to go to Uganda-he's preached there before-and tell Ugandans that he opposes jailing LGBT people.

The Reverend Philip J. Bené, J.C.D., legal attaché to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, said [emphasis mine]

Mr. Moderator,

Thank you for convening this panel discussion and for providing the opportunity to hear some very serious concerns raised this afternoon. My comments are more in the form of a statement rather than a question.

As stated during the debate of the General Assembly last year, the Holy See continues to oppose all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons, such as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person.

As raised by some of the panelists today, the murder and abuse of homosexual persons are to be confronted on all levels, especially when such violence is perpetrated by the State. While the Holy See’s position on the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity remains well known, we continue to call on all States and individuals to respect the rights of all persons and to work to promote their inherent dignity and worth.

Thank you, Mr. Moderator.

When Vatican in 2008 opposed the decriminalization of homosexuality, it was made clear that "no-one can or wants to defend the death penalty for homosexuals, as some people aim to insinuate."

Conservative & liberal voices raised together against anti-gay Ugandan law

Candace Chellew-Hodge puts to sleep the view that Christian leaders signing the statement [.pdf] are just lefties. She writes of the signers:

The first to jump out at me was Ronald Sider from Evangelicals for Social Action. Sider was also a signer of the Manhattan Declaration that clearly spells out its opposition to marriage equality for gays and lesbians here in the states, along with promising civil disobedience to laws allowing such marriages and actively fighting against abortion rights and the curbing of (their) religious freedoms. While Sider may want to prevent gays and lesbians from marrying, at least he has the decency to honor the sanctity of all life, including gays and lesbians. Other conservative signers include Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Council. Rodriguez also signed the Manhattan Declaration and was a supporter of California's Proposition 8 to overturn marriage equality in that state, and has been called the "Karl Rove of Hispanic evangelical strategy." Another notable signer is Mercer University professor and author David Gushee, who has refused to sign the Manhattan Declaration.

Faith-based, educational condom distribution

The United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ have joined together in support of distribution of condoms and comprehensive sexual education by houses of worship and faith-based education institutions.

Their initiative contradicts recommendations which follow from Pope Benedict XVI's plane-board statement during his visit to Africa that “You can't resolve [AIDS] with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem.

The Rev. Michael Schuenemeyer, the UCC’s executive for health and wholeness advocacy, urges a more scientific and compassionate approach to the prevention of HIV. “The availability of condoms as part of a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention sends the right message and more importantly, it saves lives.”

Shuenemeyer said, “The message is rooted in the belief that loving carefully is a moral responsibility. The practice of safer sex behavior is a matter of life and death. People of faith make condoms available because we have chosen life so that we and our children may live.”

The United Church of Christ HIV and AIDS Network (UCAN) speaks directly to a key issue in the raging international debate over condoms and sex education, and is on sound behavioral ground, when it says:

There is no evidence that making condoms available promotes sexual activity. In fact, condoms, when distributed with educational materials and integrated into a broader, more comprehensive prevention package, have been shown to delay sexual debut among those who are not sexually active. Among sexually active youth, HIV prevention education programs have resulted in a reduced number of partners and increased condom use.

UCAN says making them available does provide "opportunities to open conversations that can save lives. In this context, condoms become educational tools."

They are in good faith striving to follow the best available science.

Condoms for the Pope

The 27 March Facebook group is protesting Pope Benedict XVI's condemnation of use of condoms by sending him a few (tens of thousands, even millions).

The group had close to 30,000 members as of this writing. The organizers expect to send 60,000 condoms to the Vatican on Friday. Der Speigel reports:

Similar social networking groups supporting the condom campaign have sprung up elsewhere on Facebook, triggering pledges of participation from across Europe and beyond. Some estimate that deliveries to the pontiff may total 5 million. One Web site calls on people to either send a real condom addressed to "His Holiness" at the Vatican or a photograph of the contraceptive to his email address.

It was founded by Francis Miles, who described the effort in the Italian newspaper La Voce as "a peaceful provocation ... a reaction to the pope's absurd words on condoms."

He went on to say of himself and other members of the group:

. . . none of this group believes that the condom is the "holy hands" to the eradication of HIV from Africa, but there is one thing that has never been emphasized: the Pope's words were not in Africa. The condom is used throughout the world . . . no one should make it possible to convey the message that the condoms do not drastically lower the risk of infection.
Try a thought experiment: There are two large groups of people of both sexes. Each group is half and half not HIV-positive. Members of one group have sex using condoms. The group other does not us condoms. What do you expect?

The ongoing criticism of the Pointiff's condom remarks has made some church officials unhappy. The London Telegraph reports:

Senior Catholics rallied to the Pope's defense this week, with the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, saying the depth of opprobrium directed towards the pontiff had "been prolonged beyond good reason."

What the critics seek, however, is the change of Vatican policy they believe reason requires. Thus the number of protest-participating Facebook groups is multiplying, along with the number of voices raised in disagreement with the Pope's unretracted remarks.

Pope's revised (not corrected) condom remarks

Commonweal tells us the Vatican has brought the written record of the Popes comments on condoms back into line with events.

It did so after spawning an international uproar over the original post-facto editing of the Papal words. The Pope told reporters that distribution of condoms to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic "even aggravates the problems.” The Vatican published an official record which said condoms merely “risked” aggravating the problem.

The rollback to "aggravates" does not nullify The Lancet's suggestion that "the Vatican’s attempts to tweak the Pope’s words, further tampering with the truth, is not the way forward." It underlines the Vatican's credibility problem.

Surviving ink-stained wretches, creatures of newspaper newsrooms, know corrections must be published with attendant apologies, not circumvented. The Vatican has merely made another "tweak," lacking acknowledgment of and repentance for the original error. We all know that if we sweep enough things under the rug, our audience's faith in our integrity will go there as well.