Several people, on the death of Pope John Paul II, have expressed their respect for the man and his duties, but........

In almost all cases, they were very respectful, but they just had a very strong disagreement with the Pope on the subject of Birth Control.

As do I.

However, I have been a Catholic all my life, went through a crises of faith and had to find it again. In the process I learned alot about my birth faith so that I could be a good Catholic even when disagreeing with some of the teachings of the church. 

One of them is about Birth control.  But before I could stand up and say I disagree with my Church on that subject, I had to understand where they were coming from in their opposition to it.

Pope John Paul II opposed all forms of Birth control.  Not out of spite or wanting to manipulate people, but out of his one over riding principal that dictated all his other actions as well.  His supreme belief in the dignity and worth of every Human Life.  From that Belief, all his teachings and beliefs sprang.

I doubt that anyone would call Pope JPII a manipulative man, and yet he was in his own way, as we all are.  He opposed Birth control due to the fact that he beleived the act of sex was meant for the procreation of the human race.  And any attempt to stop that from happening was a cheapening of the dignity of the individual.

We can argue all day on how he could speak on a subject he had little or no experience with, but that would not add to the reason he opposed condoms.

I uderstand his reason, but I dont agree with it.  Yes, I find it extreme, but I also respect him for not compromising.  For if her were to compromise, that would have destroyed his moral authority to speak on the subject and made him a hypocrite. Much like most people are, myself included.

There is a nasty little secret that I believe everyone practices at one time or another.  It is called situational ethics.  We beleive in ABC, except in this one (or 2 or 3) cases.  That is situational ethics and it is a betrayal to our core beliefs and to ourselves.

Pope John Paul II never succumbed to the slippery slope of situational ethics.  And so that made some of his views extreme in a world that lives by them daily.

Sure, Condoms can help slow the spread of AIDS, but the only 100% effective way to stop it is through abstinance. Period.  No one argues with that.  So Pope John Paul II knew this as well, but since his first and foremost belief was in abstinance, why promote a less effective method that would only make his beleifs just a case of situational Ethics?

So when you think of the Pope, and disagree with his teachings on some subjects, dont vilify him.  Ultimately, his way was far safer than any other way.  His belief in the Dignity of every man (woman) meant that he believed that all could abstain. He was unwilling to trade one belief for a convenience that he knew we could avoid.

That is part of what made him great. Disagree with him, but dont vilify or hate him for what made him great.