RC2 noticed in the aftermath of John Paul II's death that John Paul II's critics on the tube had crystallized their complaint against Church teaching into a solitary objection. Sure, they still want women's ordination and same-sex marriage and the whole litany we know too well, but RC2 almost got the impression from their comments that the agents of dissent recognize these are lost causes for them. So after their obligatory wind-up of stuff they didn't like, the libs would invariably let fly with, "but what I really object to is the Church's refusal to lift a finger to help HIV-torn Africa because it won't permit condoms even to prevent the spread of AIDS." If I heard this once, I heard it 30 times between John Paul the Great's death and the conclave. It was the great trump card, intending to prove that the Church not only holds positions with which these people disagree, but that it is an immoral entity in itself because it "kills people." RC2 heard this from Andrew Sullivan, Christopher Hitchens, Arianna Huffington and their ilk, to say nothing of the McBriens and Currans of the world. So, just for the record, here is a quick resumé of Church teaching on the subject from Janet Smith. Short, sweet, not deadly.
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