Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Theological positions are usually considered as coterminous with ethical
considerations. That which the Church has earnestly considered in the light of what is
believed to be God's will, as elucidated in religious texts and through prayerful
contemplation, are considered to be ethical without contradiction.
Recently the Roman Catholic Church adopted a position forbidding the use of
condoms as protection from contracting HIV/AIDS. Instead, the Church has declared
that the way to controlling the AIDS pandemic is via sexual abstinence for the
unmarried and sexual faithfulness within marriage.
It is acknowledged that it is not possible for all the church's theological positions to be
driven by pragmatic concerns within society. Nor can a church easily be seen to be
promoting sex outside of marriage by recommending the indiscriminate use of
condoms. However, the Roman Catholic Church, by forbidding the use of
contraception, puts itself in an ethically questionable light relative to other Christian
churches.
The Catholic Church needs to reconsider its stance on contraception from first
principles, divorced from dogmatic beliefs and practices which were derived by men
and which have endured beyond their usefulness or theological veracity. It is evident
that a church should not adhere to dogmas that are ungodly in their impact and
ethically questionable in their import. If a church needs to revise its dogmatic stance
on such issues, it should have the courage to do so.
This research considers whether the stance of the Catholic Church on condoms can be
considered ethical. The position of the Catholic Church is considered critically from a variety of philosophical, empirical and ethical viewpoints. In so doing, it highlights the
principled and practical problems of resolving differing moral positions that cross the
religious and secular divide.
The approach adopted is one of an applied ethical nature, given the probable effects of
participating in unprotected sex. Pregnancy and contracting HIV/AIDS are the likely
outcomes of not using condoms, and these conditions will create enormous problems
for the individual concerned, her, or his, family, as well as for the greater society.
The position taken in this research is that the Catholic Church's stand on abstinence
before marriage and faithfulness in marriage, as the answer to the HIV/AIDS crisis,
would be a realistic ethical position, if, and only if, it was at all feasible and realisable
in practice. However, it is the contention of the author, based on empirical
considerations, that the idealistic stance taken by the Catholic Church is out of touch
with the realities in our contemporary South African society and is doomed to failure.
Given this perspective, the Catholic stance is morally questionable, as, if sexual
relationships continue to occur outside of marriage, and if condoms are not used, the
result will be unwanted pregnancies, HIV infections of both mothers and their babies,
crises for families and society at large, and ultimately widespread death from AIDS.
Given the pandemic facing South Africa, the Catholic position in banning the use of
condoms, is ethically questionable and morally suspect. The Church needs to be called
to account for the implications of its dogmatic stance.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is simply too serious for a public institution, such as the
Catholic Church, to be involved in perpetuating theological niceties and holding
idealised positions. The Church is not divorced from the society it exists in and a
realistic, responsible and accountable response is needed in the current context of
hundreds of thousands of persons facing death from AIDS and its related diseases. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Teologiese standpunte word gewoonlik beskou as gelyktermig met etiese oorwegings. Dit
wat die Kerk met erns beskou het word sonder weerspreking as eties aanvaar in die
geloof dat dit die wil van God is wat belig word in religieuse geskrifte en deur
gebedsoordenking.
Onlangs het die Rooms-Katolieke Kerk 'n standpunt aanvaar wat die gebruik van
kondome verbied as beskermingsmiddel teen MIV/VIGS-besmetting. Daarteenoor het
die Kerk verklaar dat die VIGS-pandemie beheer moet word via seksuele weerhouding
vir ongetroudes en seksuele getrouheid binne die huwelik.
Daar word toe gegee dat dit nie moontlik is om al die die kerk se teologiese standpunte
aan pragmatiese kwellinge binne die gemeenskap te onderwerp nie. Daarmee saam kan
die kerk ook nie buite-huwelikse seks aanmoedig deur aan te beveel dat kondome
onoordeelkundig benut word nie. Relatief tot ander Christelike kerke plaas die Rooms-
Katolieke Kerk homself egter in 'n etiese bevraagtekenbare posisie deur die gebruik van
voorbehoedmiddels te verbied.
Die Katolieke Kerk behoort sy standpunt oor geboortebeperking te heroorweeg in die lig
van primêre prinsiepe - geskei van dogmatiese oortuigings en bedrywe wat deur mense
bedink is en wat hulle bestaansreg as nuttigheid of teologiese waarheid oorskrei. Dit is
duidelik dat 'n kerk nie dogmas behoort aan te hang wat onverantwoord in haar impak
en eties bevraagtekenbaar in hulle belangrikheid is nie. Indien 'n kerk sy dogmatiese
standpunte oor sulke sake moet hersien, behoort dit die moed te hê om dit te doen.
Hierdie navorsing skenk oorweging aan die vraag of die Katolieke Kerk se standpunt oor kondome as eties beskou kan word. Die posisie van die Katolieke Kerk word krities
beskou vanuit 'n verskeidenheid filosofiese, empiriese en etiese standpunte. Dit verlig die
beginsels en praktiese probleme wat verband hou met die resolusie van die verskillende
morele posisies wat die kloof tussen die religieuse en sekulêre moet oorbrug.
Die benadering wat benut word is van 'n toegepas etiese aard, gegewe die waarskynlike
gevolge van deelname aan onbeskermde seks. Swangerskap en besmetting met
MIV /VIGS is die waarskynlike resultate indien kondome nie benut word nie. Dit lei
gevolglik tot enorme probleme vir die betrokke individu, familie en die breër
samelewing.
Die aanspraak van hierdie navorsing is dat die Katolieke Kerk se standpunt - dat
weerhouding van seks voor die huwelik en getrouheid binne die huwelik as antwoord
dien vir die MIV /VIGS krisis - 'n realistiese etiese posisie verteenwoordig indien, en slegs
indien, dit toepasbaar en haalbaar binne die praktyk is. Dit is egter die bewering van
hierdie skrywer, gebaseer op empiriese oorwegings, dat die idealisriese standpunt van die
Katolieke Kerk uit voeling is met die realiteite van ons kontemporêre Suid-Afrikaanse
samelewing en dat dit gedoem is tot mislukking.
Gege hierdie perspektief, word dit duidelik dat die Katolieke standpunt moreel verdag is,
veral as in gedagte gehou word dat - indien seksuele verhoudings buite huweliksverband
voortduur en kondome nie gebruik word nie - die resultaat onbeplande swangerskap,
MIV besmetting van beide moeders en babas, krisisse vir families en die samelewing en
uiteindelik wydverspreide sterftes as gevolg van VIGS sal wees. Gegewe die pandemie wat
Suid-Afrika in die gesig staar word die Katolieke standpunt waarin die gebruik van
kondome verbied word eties bevraagtekenbaar asook moreel verdag. Die Kerk moet tot
verantwoording geroep word vir die implikasies van sy dogmatiese standpunt. Die MIV /VIGS'pandemie is eenvoudig te ernstig vir 'n openbare instansie soos die
Katolieke Kerk om betrokke te bly in die voorsetting van teologiese kieskeurigheid en die
verkondiging van geïdealiseerde standpunte. Die Kerk is nie los van die samelewing
waarbinne dit bestaan nie en 'n realistiese, verantwoordelike en toerekenbare respons
word benodig binne die huidige konteks waarbinne honderde duisende mense dood as
gevolg van VIGS in die gesig staar.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/53230 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Nicholls, Gordon Charles |
| Contributors | Van Niekerk, A. A., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy. Centre for Applied Ethics. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 179 pages |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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