Pope warns about loveless sex

[question everything]

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 · Last updated 7:35 a.m. PT

Pope warns about loveless sex

By NICOLE WINFIELD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI warned in his first encyclical Wednesday that sex without unconditional love risked turning men and women into merchandise.

n the 71-page document "God is Love," Benedict explored the relationship between the erotic love between man and woman, referred to by the term "eros," and the Greek word for the unconditional, self-giving love, "agape" (pronounced AH-gah-pay).

He said the two concepts are most unified in marriage between man and woman, in which a covetous love grows into the self-giving love of the other, as well as God's unconditional love for mankind.

He acknowledged that Christianity in the past has been criticized "as having been opposed to the body," - the erotic form of love - "and it is quite true that tendencies of this sort have always existed." But he says the current way of exalting bodily love is deceptive.

More..
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_Pope_Encyclical_Sex.html

[longship]

1. But what does he think of sexless love?

Now there's a real world problem I'll bet that he's totally ignoring.
:sarcasm:

[ComerPerro]

3. I wish someone like the pople would speak out about that

Its a far-reaching and universal problem, I imagine.

[never_get_over_it]

9. THANK YOU

I needed a good laugh and your response was just the ticket.....

[ComerPerro]

2. Well, I'd say he is right about that aspect

but I reject his notion that I can only know real love when I am married.

[FreedomAngel82]

35. Right

What if you're like Oprah and don't get married legally? :shrug:

[VelmaD]

4. Pardon me if I chose not to take advice...

on my sex life from someone who professes celibacy.

[question everything]

17. As Earl Butz was reported to say

about Pope Paul VI's stand on birth control: "he no play-a da game, he no make-a da rules."

For the younger crowd - he was Secretary of Agriculture in the Nixon administration. I think that his next quip cost him his job.

[Canuckistanian]

24. He's much more than that

He's the Leader of a whole sub-caste of celibate males.

And celibate females who call themselves "Brides of Christ".

[seemunkee]

5. and what experiences does he have that would make him an expert?

[bluestateguy]

6. I don't believe in abstinence until marriage

I mean, if someone else does, then good for them. I won't criticize them. But if someone doesn't get married until they are 30 or 35 (and many respectable, professional people do), is it really realistic to expect that person to wait that long before having sex? Let's get real here.

For the record, I do support counseling high school kids to wait until they are adults to have sex.

[question everything]

20. And this was the irony of stupid Dan Quayle

(yes, I know, redundant) going after "Murphy Brown."

While we, the viewers, were left in a cliff hanger at the end of the season as to which of her two partners were the father, she knew. It was the man to whom she was married before and was hoping to be married again, but before she had an opportunity to tell him about her pregnancy, he told her that "settled" city life was not for him and he was back to the jungles of Africa (I think) to wonder in the villages and do good there.

So, unless Quayle and his soon to be RWers expected a 40-ish Murphy Brown to have been celibate, what did they want her to do? Terminate her pregnancy? Instead she chose to continue and this, too, was not to their liking.

But then, again, Dan Quayle watchers are still searching for signs of intelligent life between his ears.

Hey, now I know why papa Bush chose him. Felt right at home with junior.

[FreedomAngel82]

37. And proper sex education

[joeybee12]

7. You know, after the need for food and shelter, sex is the strongest

human urge. Yeah, you shouldn't sleep around with everyone, but his view is so sexually repressed that it's abnormal. You don't have sex, you end up doing something stupid...like, say Join The Nazi Youth!

[ozymandius]

8. What if a person loves sex?

Like Woody Allen says: "Sex without love is only half-a-loaf. But it's a mighty tasty half-a-loaf."

[stepnw1f]

10. How About Sexless Love? (nt)

[WePurrsevere]

11. Thus speaks an "expert"... Although sex with love is one of the most

incredible and mind blowing experince a person can have... sex without love can be pretty good too. It's all in how the parties involved feel about the whole thing. Although it can get muddled if one isn't truly honest with themselves and the other person, sometimes sex can just be for the pure fun of it.

As for agape only being a man and a woman... horsepucky... one of the most truly commited and deeply in love couples I've ever met (other then my DH & I) are men.

[abluelady]

12. And Aanother Thought

What if you "truly" love sex? Can't that work, too?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

13. Okay, flame away.

I'm old. I agree with him.

I've sowed my wild oats and they weren't very tasty.

But your mileage may vary.

[question everything]

22. Nice idea but taken into context

the Pope with stand on birth control, on status of women and, of course, the love by priests to young boys - this stand really rings hollow.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

29. Hollow, perhaps...but not necessarily wrong.

[FlaGranny]

25. I agree with you.

Men have a different take on it, I guess, but I believe that even for them, there is no sex quite like the sex you have with someone you love and trust completely. I don't believe marriage is necessary for that, but a trusted commitment is. Sex without love AND trust is a fleeting pleasure, soon forgotten and sometimes tawdry.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

30. Yes, commitment is not necessarily

marriage. That is a given. But to me it is a very important element in the whole wild thing issue.

[raccoon]

31. Ditto. nt

[Horse with no Name]

14. So those priests all had reciprocal love with those boys they molested?

Hey Pope--don't talk to me about sex and love until you quit covering up the years of rape and molestation of little boys.

[htuttle]

15. "risked turning men and women into merchandise"

Oh ya. That's totally different than having to sell your life away an hour and a week at at time in exchange for sub-subsistence wages in some sweat shop.

But perish the thought that any of your priests would point this hypocrisy out -- Ratzinger's worked hard on purging all those liberation theologists from the Church. Far harder than he ever worked on purging the pedophiles, that's for sure.

I think I've heard all I care to from that irrelevant old fossil...

[Beam Me Up]

16. Then he shouldn't have any. n/t

edit: :rofl:

[zanne]

18. A pope talking about sex is just creepy. nt

[michreject]

19. I've loved every one of them

even though the period of introduction, mad love, carnal passion, separation and in deference spanned two hours.:shrug:

[donheld]

21. What does the pope know about any of this

He's never had sex, supposedly, in marriage or not, loveless or not.

[elcondor]

23. I practice self-giving love all the time ...

[wicket]

26. A virgin counselling about sex?

:rofl:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

32. You know, I have always felt the same way

but suddenly I had a thought.

Who better than a virgin to counsel you to stay chaste? He HAS (we assume) led a chaste life.

Now, when it comes to advice about sex and the how-to's, you're better off with somebody more experienced.

[bothwell]

27. Theory

Its all about theory and practice, he may know the theory but I am sure has had no practice. He should bend his mind a little more to how proponents of his faith undermine anti Aids campaigns and the cover ups worldwide of his priests indulging in the systematic abuse of children.

[bunkerbuster1]

28. Thanks again for delivering Bush in '04, you creep

Anyone else here in the mood to forgive then-Cardinal Ratzi's letter to American bishops that OK'd denial of communion to pro-choice American politicians?

No? Not ever?

Good.

[UTUSN]

33. Sexless love warns about pope n/t

[LeftHander]

34. You can tell he had any....

in decades...

lol


Cool band name....sexless love pope

[Matariki]

36. That's a nice change in their stance from 'sex for procreation only'

at least.