Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - Friday, October 13, 1989
The statement, "Called to Compassion -- A Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis," is a wholesale revision of a much-criticized paper on the crisis issued in December 1987.
The new statement was drafted by a committee headed by Archbishop Roger Mahony of Los Angeles and will be considered by the full body of the nation's 300 Catholic bishops in Baltimore next month.
The earlier statement, written by a committee headed by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, was sharply criticized by conservatives in the hierarchy for one sentence that seemingly allowed information about condom use to be a part of AIDS education and prevention programs.
Catholic teaching forbids any use of condoms, and the new draft is adamant in its rejection of their use.
"Sexual intercourse is appropriate and morally good only when, in the context of heterosexual marriage, it is a celebration of faithful love and is open to new life," the new draft said.
"Not only is the use of prophylactics in an attempt to halt the spread of AIDS technically unreliable; promoting this approach means, in effect, promoting behavior which is morally unacceptable."
Instead, it said, there is "an urgent need" for education campaigns "which foster a view of human sexuality that is sound from every point of view."
In rejecting the use of needle exchange programs -- under which addicts trade in their used needles for new, clean ones because infected needles are considered a major source of AIDS transmission -- the statement warns that "more drug use might result while fewer intravenous drug users sought treatment," and "poor monitoring could lead to the increased spread of HIV infection through the use of contaminated needles."
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