For those who enjoy the English sense of humour (note spelling all you Brits) Fr Tim Finigan relates a tale from Oxford.

The story has to do with the early attempts to sell contraceptives more widely in Britain. Now, of course, condoms are handed out willy nilly (‘scuse the rude pun Brits) in schools, shops, train stations and everywhere else you can think of.

Apart from the theological and ethical problems with contraceptives and teenagers, the practical problems are enormous. This was best expressed by a feisty commentator on the BBC some time ago. Anne Atkins is a hearty Anglican vicar’s wife who stands up cheerfully against the culture of death in the British media.

On one radio interview Anne was asked by a feminist in hushed and serious tones, “But don’t you think teenaged lads ought to be encouraged to use, (ahem) ‘protection’? Anne chortled and said quite bluntly, “You’ve obviously never had a sixteen year old son. I can’t even get him to do his homework or remember to pick up his dirty socks and underpants. Do I seriously think he is going to remember to put on a condom?–especially if he’s been drinking? Get real. Telling him to keep his pants on is far more likely to work.”

‘Bout right.