In the wake of the horrendous sex abuse scandal which has afflicted the Catholic Church, criticism of Catholicism in its current form has exploded. Certainly much of the criticism comes with good reason, but simultaneously, one can sense that some critics seem to have a few other motivating factors behind their critiques of the Catholic Church, factors unrelated to the scandal itself.

Sun columnist Peter Finocchiaro ‘10 and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd have both written on this scandal. Given the topic of these columns, you would expect that if you removed any content not directly related to the sex abuse scandal from them, the columns would contain almost nothing. But instead of nothing, you would find a laundry list of complaints about Catholic doctrines or beliefs, complaints often made outside the context of a sex abuse scandal.

Just before his ascension to the head of the Catholic world in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI — then Joseph Ratzinger, the dean of the College of Cardinals — railed against moral relativism in modern society. He has returned to this rebuke often, blaming “the dictatorship of relativism” for the prevalence of all kinds of sins that the Catholic Church’s hard-line conservative base perceives.

To the Editor:

Re: “Alternatives to Condoms: The Catholic Church and Contraceptives,”

Opinion, April 1.

Despite the positive spin the Catholic Church may want to put on Natural Family Planning, it is a much less reliable method of contraception than condoms. While the perfect use (no human error, and used every time) rate of pregnancy for condoms is 2 percent, the low-end of the similar rate for NFP is three times higher. Additionally, while condoms are easy to use, NFP requires either meticulous record keeping or tracking biological signs of fertility like cervical mucous. Furthermore, NFP is only reliable in women who have regular cycles.

From the looks of it, you’d think the devil was invited to speak at the University of Notre Dame’s graduation commencement ceremony. Then again, maybe some people believe he is, though I bet even Rush Limbaugh would find this a bit extreme. For commencement and graduation, most universities invite a distinguished individual to address the graduating seniors in order to provide them with words of wisdom and advice for the future. Who better for the task than the President of the United States? I am therefore bewildered that President Obama’s scheduled speech has been met with such defiance and outcry.

Last week, Pope Benedict XVI told reporters that condoms exacerbate the spread of the HIV virus. Put another way: Last week, the Catholic Church confirmed, yet again, that it is stubbornly dogmatic, shamefully tone-deaf and far too willing to wield its influence in a grossly irresponsible and socially destructive way.

Even beyond its lamentable misrepresentation of the AIDS issue, the Church’s position on birth control turns a blind eye to a global trend that begs urgent attention: overpopulation. It is an issue that underlies a collection of environmental, economic and international health issues (beyond even the HIV virus), which together represent one of the most serious challenges to the continued prosperity — and, ultimately, to the continued survival — of billions.