Opinion

Catholic leaders cross the line

Vatican spreads misinformation about condoms

By Tracy Collins

Posted on Oct. 23, 2003, at 12:00 a.m.

The Vatican took its denouncement of sinful sexual behavior to a dangerous level recently, moving beyond merely condemning gay and premarital sex to actually jeopardizing the health of its own followers.

On Oct. 9, the BBC reported that “cardinals, bishops, priests and nuns in four continents are saying HIV can pass through tiny holes in condoms.” The report quoted the Archbishop of Nairobi as saying that condoms were actually helping the virus spread throughout his country, in which one in five people are already infected. Some religious leaders, according to an AIDS activist quoted in the report, “have even been saying that condoms are laced with HIV/AIDS.”

Despite an uproar from the World Health Organization and AIDS activists, the Vatican has continued to support statements like these and to oppose condom use. Its assertions about contraception have caused some AIDS testing sites in Africa to halt the distribution of condoms.

The Church is lying to its followers and doing them an immeasurable disservice. Crossing the line between disallowing condom use and actually suggesting that condoms are not effective in preventing AIDS is a mortal mistake, and it will cause anyone who heeds the advice and has unprotected sex under the premise that condoms are ineffective to infect themselves unnecessarily.

Informed Catholics need to take a stand and communicate to their religious leaders that this behavior cannot continue. It is to be assumed that these “men of God” recognize that Catholics will sin, perhaps by engaging in intercourse with infected persons, and it is of utmost importance that safe sex is practiced to prevent the spread of life-threatening disease. Popes, bishops, priests and nuns must realize that their responsibility is not only to share the teachings of the Bible but also to ensure the safety of those who trust in them.

Religious student groups on campus should respond to this by contacting their local religious leaders and organizing a project to educate other religious leaders and followers worldwide. Though sparked by tragic circumstances, this is an opportunity for religious groups on campus to take part in their global environment and take action against a practice that is not only deadly, but reflects poorly on other members of the Catholic faith.

Perhaps in contacting other religious groups or leaders they can mention that for some, accepting a faith blindly becomes harder if the leaders of that faith preach information that is not only factually incorrect but also glaringly dangerous.

By showing religious leaders that Catholics will not stand for such blatant and life-threatening lies, members of that faith can begin to help their leaders and correct their hazardous behavior. Otherwise, Catholics everywhere should be on their knees praying for those in high-risk countries who are making the deadly mistake of believing the word of God.

Tracy Collins is a junior journalism major.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2003, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.