PALACE WELCOMED POPE'S CONDOM STATEMENT / VATICAN: USE CONDOMS VS HIV
MANILA, NOVEMBER 24, 2010 (STAR) By Aurea Calica - Malacañang welcomed yesterday the pronouncement of Pope Benedict XVI that condom use may be allowed to prevent the spread of HIV-AIDS, and urged local Church officials to take the same stand because "they cannot be more popish than the Pope."
"That's a good step. I think our own clergy should be informed by the views of the Vatican because they've always referred to the Vatican when they stated their position, now that the Vatican's position is such then I think that should result in a corresponding flexibility on the part of our Church," Presidential Communications Development Secretary Ricky Carandang said.
Carandang said the Pope's statement could "absolutely" boost support for the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said a meeting on the RH bill between the Palace and the CBCP has been tentatively scheduled between Dec. 7 and 15.
President Aquino has said he is for responsible parenthood, including educating couples on how to plan their families and providing them assistance with artificial birth control methods such as the use of condoms.
"I don't want to misquote the Pope. I think he was very qualified in what he said but still what you can say is the Pope has shown some flexibility on an issue that is still controversial here. It's not controversial in the rest of the world anymore," Carandang said. "I think the Pope's position should inform the position of the local clergy. Like I said, our clergy cannot be more popish than the pope."
In excerpts of his upcoming book, the Pope cites the example of the use of condoms by prostitutes as "a first step toward moralization," even though condoms are "not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection."
The 219-page book embodies Benedict's responses to questions raised by German Catholic journalist Peter Seewald in over a month of meetings at the papal summer residence.
On the Pope's mention of condom use as justified in certain cases, such as by prostitutes, Seewald asked: "Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?"
The Pope answered: "She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality."
Appeal to local Church
Militant lawmakers also lauded Benedict's declaration and urged local Church leaders to show the same "open-mindedness on social realities."
"It is time to consider the plight of the poor, the sick and the marginalized in particular and the flock in general," Rep. Luz Ilagan of the party-list group Gabriela said.
Ilagan said the Pope's declaration "boost our Reproductive Health Bill because one of its provisions is protection from HIV/AIDS."
"If the condom is seen by the Pope as a way of protecting people against this increasing plague in our world, then we believe this is the beginning of a rational discussion of what the RH is all about," she said.
She said Gabriela's version of the RH bill is not only about contraceptives.
"We really want comprehensive health services especially for poor, marginalized women," she added.
She pointed out that the Pope's statement could lead to an "open, rational" discussion of the RH measure.
Another party-list representative, Kaka Bag-ao of Akbayan, said lawmakers should treat the RH bill as a "public health and not a theological issue."
"By justifying the use of condoms to fight the spread of HIV and AIDS, the Pope is making a realistic stance to address the spread of a deadly virus which can be prevented by effective and consistent use of condoms and providing programs such as sex education to discuss vulnerabilities to infection, prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS," Clara Rita Padilla, executive director of EnGenderRights, said.
"At the start of 2010, there are already four new cases being reported every day compared to the two new cases reported daily in 2009," she said.
Padilla said the Department of Health's National Epidemiology Center projected that by December this year, there will be 1,500 more Filipinos infected with HIV.
Of the total 4,424 reported cases of HIV, 90 percent got infected through sexual contact, she said.
"The Pope has already exhibited some openness in the use of condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS, why can't the CBCP do that? The CBCP should reconsider its stand on condoms," Reproductive Health Alliance Network (RHAN) secretary- general Elizabeth Angsioco said in a phone interview.
Angsioco added the CBCP is contradicting itself when it opposes condoms as a means to avoid contracting HIV but endorses a training manual that recognizes condom as a tool for curbing AIDS.
The training manual, she claimed, was designed for Catholic Church pastoral workers and was prepared by the Philippine National AIDS Council and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development Foundation (PLCPD) executive director Ramon San Pascual also lauded Benedict's statement, saying "the papal statement is a welcome shift of Catholic position on condoms, even if it sounds convoluted."
"We hope that the Catholic hierarchy will follow suit by opening up its mind on contraceptives," he maintained.
Out of context
In Dagupan City, retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said Benedict "was taken out of context and the quotations were not according to the whole."
"Perhaps what they wrote were only bits and pieces and they failed to get his message in its entirety," he said over Bombo Radyo Dagupan.
He said RH advocates would surely ride on the issue.
"Of course it is understandable they are already doing that. All the ammunitions they could use, they would sure fire them to succeed in their aim but it is difficult to succeed firing the wrong ammunition," he said.
He said that while the RH bill might be approved eventually along with other controversial measures like the divorce bill, "this doesn't mean that that is correct."
But the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said it could not yet issue a "definite statement" on the Pope's pronouncement.
"Since the book is not yet available, and I think the bishops (of the Philippines) have not yet read it, we could not make any definite statement on the matter," CBCP secretary-general Monsignor Juanito Figura said in a statement.
"For the moment, what is clear as reported is that the Holy Father's latest teaching on condom use does not in any way change the position of the Church against artificial contraception. Likewise as reported, neither does the Holy Father speak of it in the context of population issues," he said.
"He speaks of condom as a permissible tool, not the primary tool, to arrest further spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); condom is not the moral solution of the alarming spread of the virus and disease," he said.
"We are expecting an official Vatican statement tomorrow… from there, we shall make our own statement," said CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL) executive secretary Fr. Melvin Castro.
For his part, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles accused reproductive health proponents of "exaggerating" their interpretation of the Pope's statement "to beguile those who are opposed to it."
"As far as I am concerned, the real debate is whether or not there is really a need to enact a law on population management," he said.
"There is no question that some families need to limit the number of their children but the use of various birth control methods, whether natural or artificial, is being practiced by many Filipino families long before many of us, including those who are pushing this bill, were even born. There's nothing in our laws that stops us from planning the size of our families so I don't see any sense why we even need this RH bill," he said.
He added that even without any Reproductive Health law, the government has been spending millions of funds to buy condoms and other contraceptives purportedly for population management.
"Therefore, it is completely unnecessary for Congress to be crafting a law that basically compels the government to do the same thing," he stressed.
For his part, Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said the Pope "did not say the Church is not at all opposed to condom use especially to fight AIDS."
"He said it is for male prostitutes with AIDS so they don't infect others," he clarified.
"The pro-RH folks should address male prostitutes with AIDS to promote condoms if they are in agreement with the Pope's stand," Golez said. – With Jess Diaz, Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan, Eva Visperas, Sheila Crisostomo, and Helen Flores
Vatican: Everyone can use condoms to prevent HIV (philstar.com) Updated November 24, 2010 02:27 AM Comments (7) View comments
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Using a condom is a lesser evil than transmitting HIV to a sexual partner — even if that means a woman averts a possible pregnancy, the Vatican said yesterday, signaling a seismic shift in papal teaching as it explained Pope Benedict XVI's comments.
The Vatican has long been criticized for its patent opposition to condom use, particularly in Africa where AIDS is rampant. But the latest interpretation of Benedict's comments about condoms and HIV essentially means the Roman Catholic Church is acknowledging that its long-held, anti-birth control stance against condoms doesn't justify putting someone's life at risk.
"This is a game-changer," said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit editor and writer. "By acknowledging that condoms help prevent spread of HIV between people in sexual relationships, the pope has completely changed the Catholic discussion on condoms."
The change came on a day when UN AIDS officials announced that the number of new HIV cases has fallen significantly — thanks to condom use — and a US medical journal published a study showing that a daily pill could help prevent spread of the virus among gay men.
"This is a great day in the fight against AIDS ... a major milestone," said Mitchell Warren, head of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition
In Africa, AIDS activists, clerics and ordinary Africans alike applauded the pope's revised comments.
"I say hurrah for Pope Benedict," exclaimed Linda-Gail Bekker, chief executive of South Africa's Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. She said the pope's statement may prompt many people to "adopt a simple lifestyle strategy to protect themselves."
Worldwide, 33 million people live with HIV.
In Sierra Leone, the director of the National AIDS Secretariat predicted condom use would now increase, lowering the number of new infections.
"Once the pope has made a pronouncement, his priests will be in the forefront in advocating for their perceived use of condoms," said Dr. Brima Kargbo.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Benedict knew full well that his new comments would provoke intense debate. Conservative Catholics have been trying to minimize the scope of what he said since excerpts were published this weekend in the Vatican newspaper.
Lombardi praised Benedict for his "courage" in confronting the problem.
"He did it because he believed that it was a serious, important question in the world of today," Lombardi said, adding that the pope wanted to give his perspective on the need for a greater humanized, responsible sexuality.
Benedict said, in a book released yesterday, that condom use by people such as male prostitutes was a lesser evil since it indicated they were moving toward a more moral and responsible sexuality by aiming to protect their partner from a deadly infection. On yesterday, the Vatican expanded the comments to include women.
Benedict received a copy of the book "Light of the World" during an audience yesterday with the author, Peter Seewald, who conducted several hour-long interviews with the pontiff last summer.
"I hope that this book is useful for the faith of many people," Benedict said.
The pope's comments in the book implied that he was referring primarily to homosexual sex, when condoms aren't being used as a form of contraception. Questions arose immediately about the pope's intent, though, because the Italian translation of the book used the feminine for prostitute, whereas the original German used the masculine.
Lombardi told reporters yesterday that he asked the pope whether he intended to refer only to male prostitutes. Benedict replied that it really didn't matter, the important thing was the person in question took into consideration the life of the other, Lombardi said.
"I personally asked the pope if there was a serious, important problem in the choice of the masculine over the feminine," Lombardi said. "He told me 'no.' The problem is this ... It's the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship."
"This is if you're a man, a woman, or a transsexual. We're at the same point. The point is it's a first step of taking responsibility, of avoiding passing a grave risk onto another," Lombardi said.
The clarification is significant.
UNAIDS estimates that 22.4 million people in Africa are infected with HIV, and that 54 percent — or 12.1 million — are women. Heterosexual transmission of HIV and multiple, heterosexual partners are believed to be a major cause of the high infection rate in Africa.
UNAIDS on yesterday announced a nearly 20 percent drop in new HIV infections around the world over the past decade — largely due to increased condom use.
Benedict drew the wrath of the United Nations, European governments and AIDS activists last year when he told reporters that Africa's AIDS problem couldn't be resolved by distributing condoms. "On the contrary, it increases the problem," he said then.
In the book, the pope was not justifying or condoning gay sex, condoms as a means of artificial contraception or heterosexual sex outside of a marriage. He reaffirms the Vatican opposition to homosexual acts and artificial contraception and reaffirms the inviolability of marriage between man and woman.
But by broadening the condom comments to also apply to women, the pope is saying that condom use is a lesser evil than passing HIV onto a partner even when pregnancy is possible.
"We're not just talking about an encounter between two men, which has little to do with procreation. We're now introducing relationships that could lead to childbirth," Martin said.
While the lesser evil concept has long been a tenet of moral theology, the pope's comments mark the first time a pope had ever publicly applied the theory to condom use as a way to fight HIV transmission.
Individual bishops and theologians have applied that theory, but it had previously been rejected at the highest levels of the Vatican and theologians have been disciplined for voicing it, Martin said.
Monsignor Jacques Suaudeau, an expert at the Vatican's bioethics advisory board, said the pope was articulating the theological idea that there are degrees of evil.
"Contraception is not the worst evil. The church does not see it as good, but the church does not see it as the worst," he told The Associated Press. "Abortion is far worse. Passing on HIV is criminal. That is absolute irresponsibility."
He said the pope broached the topic because questions about condoms and AIDS persisted and the church's teaching hadn't been clear. There is no official Vatican policy about condoms and HIV, and Vatican officials in the past have insisted that condoms not only don't help fight HIV transmission but make it worse because it gives users a false sense of security.
The late Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo famously said in 2003 that the HIV virus was small enough that it could "easily pass through" a condom — setting off furious criticism by AIDS activists.
Suaudeau said Benedict deliberately raised the issue in the interviews.
"He was not foolish," Suaudeau said. "It was intentional. He thought that this was a way of bringing up many questions. Why? Because it's true that the church sometimes has not been too clear."
Lombardi said the pope didn't use the technical terminology of "lesser evil" in his remarks in the book because he wanted his words to be understood by the general public. Vatican officials, however, said the concept was what he meant.
"He spoke with caution and courage of a pragmatic way through which missionaries and other ecclesial workers can help to defeat the pandemic of AIDS without approving but also without excluding — in particular cases — the use of a condom," said Luigi Accatoli, a veteran Vatican journalist.
Scientists, meanwhile, reported yesterday that a pill already used to treat HIV infection turns out to be a powerful weapon in protecting healthy gay men from catching the virus.
Daily doses of Truvada cut the risk of infection by 44 percent when given with condoms, counseling and other prevention services, a global study found.
The results are "a major advance" that can help curb the epidemic in gay men, said Dr. Kevin Fenton, AIDS prevention chief at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . But he warned they may not apply to people exposed to HIV through male-female sex, drug use or other ways. Studies in those groups are under way now.
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