Africa: Condoms Finally Authorized Conditionally by The Pope
The news spread around the world in a matter of minutes. In a book released on November 23, Pope Benedict XVI declared that “in certain cases, when the intention is to reduce the risk of contamination, [the condom] can even be a first step toward opening the way to a more humane sexuality, lived differently.” He gave this response to the question(fr)* , “Is the Catholic Church fundamentally against the use of condoms?”
According to several observers, this response marks sea change in the Pope's vision on contraception: until now, for the Church, abstinence was the only way to limit births or to prevent the spread of illness through sexual activity. The Church opposed any other form of contraception and condemned the use of condoms, even to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STD).
Until now, the many activists and religious Catholics involved in the fight against AIDS had to choose between disobeying the Church or limiting their activity to helping people already infected. Thus they could not work to prevent AIDS, only hope to prolong life after the infection struck.
Earlier, during a trip to Cameroon and Angola in March 2009, the Pope had declared that the use of condoms “aggravated” the problem of AIDS. His words, spoken in the airplane, provoked an outcry worldwide and caused embarrassment to Catholic organizations engaged in the fight against AIDS.
Source: Global Voices
- 506 reads
