The Sovereign and Apostolic City of Geneva of the Holy Cross
From the Papal Throne of Saint Peter, The Papal Archbasilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
During the 11th year of the Papacy of his holliness Pope John Paul III of Geneva and Rome
From the Papal Throne of Saint Peter, The Papal Archbasilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
During the 11th year of the Papacy of his holliness Pope John Paul III of Geneva and Rome
- Today his Holliness Pope John Paul III, Bishop of Rome and Geneva, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God, shocked the world by announcing a groundbreaking change in the catholic policy on prevention in regards to the STD plagues of the third world. During the weekly Papal Mass that his holliness has made it customary to hold in the Saint Pierre Cathedral the pope annonced that the Church cannot ignore the AIDS epidemic of the third world any longer.
His Holliness, who has been known as a major reformer already as a senior cleric of the Quendi, has previously undertaken numerous trips to catholic countries in the poorest regions of the world preaching among the most disadvantaged. During such trips the pope has reputadly been eager to spread not only the word of God but also to increase the wellbeing of the people. It is expected that these trips, during which his holliness have experienced first hand the horrors caused by the roman catholic churchs opposition to any form of prevention save abstinence, has influenced his hollinss to adopt the new policy.
Now, advised by the leading thrinian catholic cleric in Africa, patriarch Michael E. Matthews of Nigeria, the pope has issued a papal decree to the faithful around the globe opening up to a more tolerant and liberal policy on the use of condoms to avoid STD's.
"For too long this part of the world has known only death and destruction. While no man or woman should toy with the miracle of life, those clerics who so eagerly condemn sexual conduct outside of a marriage must accept the reality that abstinence is rejected by the faithfull despite the preachings of the Holy Mother Church. Thus the church is forced to adjust to the realities and respond to the STD epidemics of the Third World. Thou shalt not kill. So says the Holy Bible and by its silence and indifference the Church has violated this commandment and allowed the death of millions. No more. Never more. Brothers and Sisters of the Faith, lets not forget our christian duties to the least fortunate of Gods Children. Let us not forget their sufferings and despair. As of today our Holy Mother Church will no longer tolerate its servants to oppose the spreading of condoms which, despite being an interference in the miracle of life, can serve to protect lives in the third world. I would like to encourage the local parishes, dioceses and ecclesiastic regions in the relevant lands to take action to spread knowledge about ways to counter the STD epidemic among the local populaces. We owe them that.
While the change of policy has been expected for some time it was until the last minutte a controversial issue within the Thrinian Catholic Church which, like its Roman counterpart, has a sizeable and vocal conservative branch opposed to prevention. Pope John Paul III, while generally considered a reformer, has worked hard to maintain a ballance between the traditional liberals of the church, most notably the thrinian and quendi clergy, and the more conservative elements. It is generally considered one of the pope's most enduring contributions to the church to prevent it from desintegrating.
Therefore the Pope did also have some concessions for conservative clerics and congregations. While Caritas has been instructed to distribute condoms among those the chuhc deem as being in the high risk group of contracting dangerous STD's the Pope did however express a general opposition to the use of condoms and sexual liberation in general. Thus the Church will continously preach abstinence as the main form of prevention in the more developed countries of the world where STD's is less of an issue. At the same time the Pope was very clear in his condemnation of polygamous marriages announcing that any thrinian cleric who knowingly bless a polygamous union of an already married man to another women to be excommunicated.
The new policy of the papacy is seen as a crucial component of the Church's new Third World Plan that is to bring greater prosperity and spiritual enlightenment to the Third World nations.
