Pope-commissioned condom study passes first hurdle

"A study commissioned by Pope Benedict on the use of condoms to fight AIDS has passed its first hurdle and is now being reviewed by top theologians for possible use in a Papal document, a cardinal said on Tuesday. "This is something that worries the Pope a lot," said Cardinal...

Bush Hires Mad Scientist for Office of Population Affairs

"Just one more reason to be glad we put a brakeman on this runaway train in the midterms -- the Bush administration has a preference for crazy people. John Bolton has a rage problem, Rummie has conversations with himself, and they're tight with the religious right -- who are...

e m p h y r i o [blog]

Covers selected news items.

How Iran's Revolution Created 'Muslim Lite'

"About five days before the start of Ramadan, in anticipation of a long month of abstinence, my upstairs neighbor's kid threw a house party. Car after car unloaded young men with spiky, gelled hair, and young women in tight jeans and spiky heels. The sound system, I believe,...

Healthy Teen Sexuality

"Should we teach teenagers how to properly protect themselves during sexual intercourse, and provide other tools for a responsible and healthy sexual attitude? Or, should parents, teachers and religious leaders provide minimal sexual education to teens, therefore reducing the...

AIDS among adult and adolescent Latinos three times higher than for whites

Latino youth are more likely than whites to have sexual intercourse before the age of 13, and multiple sexual partners.

P.O.V. - The Education of Shelby Knox | PBS

A self-described "good Southern Baptist girl," 15-year-old Shelby Knox of Lubbock, Texas has pledged abstinence until marriage. But she becomes an unlikely advocate for comprehensive sex ed when she finds that Lubbock, where high schools teach abstinence as the...