Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - December 6, 1986
The archdiocese "withdraws any support of AIDS Project Los Angeles," a church statement said.
It said that "contrary to recent reports" the church "does not approve the use of condoms."
Church doctrine prohibits the use of contraceptives. The church has maintained that abstinence is the way to prevent transmission of AIDS.
A spokesman for the project said it had received a $10,000 grant from the county to sponsor the workshops among Hispanic people. The program deals with prevention, detection and comforting victims.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, cripples the body's immune system, leaving victims susceptible to serious infections and cancers. It is caused by a virus that spreads through sexual intercourse or exchanges of blood, such as in shared hypodermic needles.
Most victims in the United States have been male homosexuals or intravenous drug users and their sexual partners.
The statement released by the archdiocese spokesman, the Rev. Joseph Battaglia, said: "In the issue of AIDS, such use implies either heterosexual promiscuity or homosexual activity. The church approves of neither." Daniel Lara, a spokesman for the project, said the group would negotiate with the church to regain its support for the education workshops.
"The archdiocese had never been asked to approve of the use of condoms, but only to help provide the forum for the unprecedented program aimed to Spanish-speaking parishioners and priests," he said.
"It was our intention to present only the medical evidence, and that's what we did," Mr. Lara said. "We knew that if the issue of church teachings was brought up, we were to make it clear we were not spokespersons for the archdiocese."
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