Bay Windows - National News, October 5, 2000
Laura Kiritsy, Bay Windows staff

The debate stems from an April 2000 article, ôProphylactics or Family Values?ö published in the LÆOsservatore Romano, ôthe official voice of the Holy See.ö Written by Monsignor Jacques Suaudeau of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the article was intended to address accusations that the Catholic Church was indifferent to the AIDS epidemic. Addressing the churchÆs position on condom use, Suaudeau notes that the church ôhas been accused of lacking a sense of reality and of being irresponsible about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa because of her position regarding the use of prophylactics to prevent sexual contamination.ö

The thrust of his article clearly emphasizes the churchÆs teaching that sexual abstinence outside of marriage (and fidelity within it) are ultimately the ways to end the epidemic and Suaudeau suggests that money spent on the prophylactic industry in Africa may be better spent on educating and supporting youth and more effective prevention methods. ôIf people really want to prevent AIDS, they must be convinced to change their sexual behaviour, which is the principal cause of the infectionÆs spread,ö wrote Suaudeau. But he also hinted that condom use might be acceptable until such changes occur. ôUntil a real effort is made in this regard, no true prevention will be achieved. The prophylactic is one of the ways to æcontainÆ the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS, that is, to limit its transmission.ö

SuaudeauÆs article also presents data showing that condom use among prostitutes in Thailand and between sexually active men and women in Uganda was shown to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in those countries. He applies the theological principal of choosing ôa lesser evilö to the use of condoms in these contexts.

Article slipped under radar

Surprisingly, the articleÆs publication in LÆOsservatore Romano, which reflects official Vatican opinion, went largely unnoticed until it was picked up by Jesuit priests Jon Fuller, M.D. and James Keenan. Fuller, an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine and assistant director of the Adult Clinical AIDS Program at Boston Medical Center, told Bay Windows that the article was not brought to his attention until August. ôIt was e-mailed to us from South Africa,ö he explained, ôand we decided it was important.ö

Fuller and Keenan, a professor of moral theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge and the editor of the recently published ôCatholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS Prevention,ö called attention to the article with their analysis of the story in the Sept. 23 issue of ôAmerica,ö a Jesuit magazine. In an article titled ôTolerant Signals: The VaticanÆs new insights on condoms for H.I.V. prevention,ö the authors point to SuaudeauÆs ôimportant signalsö of what many have long suspected: ôthat while individual bishops and archbishops have occasionally repudiated local HIV prevention programs that include the distribution of prophylactics, the Roman curia is more tolerant on the matter.ö

Fuller and Keenan detail the MonsignorÆs statements on condom use to reduce AIDS/HIV infections, calling his insights important in light of the fact that they were disseminated in the official newspaper of the Curia ù the group of various Vatican bureaus that assist the pope in his day-to-day jurisdiction over the church ù and therefore is representative of a ôbroad constituency of curial thinking.ö They point out that while it endorses church teaching on abstinence as the proper form of prevention, the article does not attack the use of condoms or deny their effectiveness. The Jesuits also note SuaudeauÆs acknowledgement of the use of condoms as a lesser evil, which they state is ôan important principle used to describe morally permissible though regrettable action.ö

Fuller and KeenanÆs article brought the ChurchÆs stance on condom use into the fore nationally and internationally, in part because they distributed a Sept. 15 press release announcing the storyÆs publication. Mainstream newspapers heralded a ôtheological U-turnö in the churchÆs staunchly anti-birth control doctrine. Some articles asked, ôHas the Vatican quietly modified its staunch opposition to all condom use?ö

Not surprisingly, the ensuing publicity and its insinuations prompted a quick response from Suaudeau, who said in a Sept. 19 Vatican press release that Fuller and Keenan distorted church positions with their suggestion that the Vatican has become ômore tolerantö about using condoms to fight AIDS. Suaudeau said the Vatican has not changed its stance and called the JesuitsÆ article ôa manipulation.ö

ôIt is blown up and exaggerated,ö he said.

The MonsignorÆs rebuttal came as no surprise to Larry Kessler, executive director of BostonÆs AIDS Action Committee. Upon reading the Fuller and Keenan analysis interpreting SuaudeauÆs writing as indicative of a softening in the Catholic church, Kessler found himself thinking, ôWe should now expect the church to backtrack. Which they did a couple of days later. I wasnÆt surprised,ö he told Bay Windows.

Cardinal Bernard Law also commented on the story in his Sept. 22 column in the Pilot, a local Catholic publication, echoing SuaudeauÆs sentiments. ôChurch teaching on fundamental matters of faith and morals is not going to change. It cannot change,ö he charged. ôFurthermore, it is ludicrous to make it appear that such a change can be sought out like cues for a treasure hunt.ö

The issue of using condoms to fight AIDS/HIV has long vexed the Catholic Church, whose doctrine staunchly forbids the use of artificial birth control methods. In 1988, the Vatican forced American bishops to change a pastoral letter on AIDS in which they stated that the use of condoms in some situations could be tolerated. In June of this year ù ironically, after SuaudeauÆs article appeared in LÆOsservatore ù the Brazilian Bishops Conference adopted the VaticanÆs policy against condom use, a move that has divided the church in Brazil, which boasts the worldÆs largest Catholic population.

Despite the controversy and the attacks on their article, Keenan and Fuller stand by their story. Keenan clarified that their intention was not to point out a ôchangeö in church theology. Rather, he asserts that their interpretation of SuaudeauÆs article is nothing new within the church. Keenan said he was most encouraged by a Sept. 26 article by John Norton of the Catholic News Service, in which several high-ranking theologians were polled about the use of condoms to fight AIDS/HIV. Each theologian applied different moral principles, but all agreed that condom use to prevent infection was in some instances consistent with Catholic doctrine. The theologians pointed out the ôlesser evilö principal that Suaudeau applied to Thai prostitutes in his article or the Catholic principal of ôdouble effect,ö in which oneÆs good actions have unintended bad effects. One theologian justified the latter principal in the hypothetical case of a Catholic couple who uses a condom if one of the spouses has AIDS. So long as the ôexclusive and primaryö intent of the usage is to prevent the other spouse from becoming infected and not to prevent pregnancy.

The story also quoted the popeÆs in-house theologian, Fr. Georges Cottier, who said that the issue of condom use is a source of ongoing debate among theologians.

ôThe popeÆs own theologian is saying itÆs a question under discussion. That means this is not an absolute æno,Æö said Keenan.
001001
BY001001

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2000. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2000. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .