A tradition has to start somewhere. Therefore at some point it was a contemporary view. Why is the church (not just the Catholic church, though it's probably the best example) so afraid of change? Why does it decide that some "traditions" should be abandoned (stoning adulterers) yet others not (discrimination against gay people)? You're now saying that the church's "teaching" is based on opinions and what can only be described as Chinese Whispers. Surely that can't be a solid foundation for anything much.
Sacred Tradition is based on Christ's teachings transmitted through the Apostles. The Church believes it cannot err on such matters as faith and morals, since Christ promised to be with His Church until the end of time. Chinese Whispers it ain't.
The Scriptures have to be interpreted by the Church in light of Tradition, hence the reason the Church defends life and doesn't propose we execute all criminals (eg. Adulterers under the Jewish law).
The Church teaches that homosexuals should live in Holy chastity as should all unmarried people. This chastity liberates them and allows them to live in Christ love until he comes again. Living a Christian life is by no means easy- Christ himself told us that, but just because it’s difficult, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. The Church means no offence when it reiterates the Church’s teaching on morals, in this particular case homosexual activity. You all seem to be expressing anger towards the Church and in particular the present Pope- which is radically different from merely expressing a lack of understanding or agreement with the Christian faith.
Condoms are not 100% effective. They are, however, more effective than telling people not to have sex - or do you disagree?
How do you know they're more effective? Of course abstinence would wipe-out AIDS!
In his encyclical, Pope Paul VI wrote:
“the Church is competent in her magisterium to interpret the natural moral law. It is in fact indisputable, as Our predecessors have many times declared, that Jesus Christ, when He communicated His divine power to Peter and the other Apostles and sent them to teach all nations His commandments, constituted them as the authentic guardians and interpreters of the whole moral law, not only, that is, of the law of the Gospel but also of the natural law. For the natural law, too, declares the will of God, and its faithful observance is necessary for men's eternal salvation.”
Refering to condoning the widespread use of contraceptions He said:
“this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law.”
“a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and …reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires.”
Basically, the Holy Father thought that the free distribution of condoms would only promote promiscuity, abortion, infidelity and so on. That was in ’64. Did it? Yes! Who said the Pope/Church was out of touch?
