|
|
Archbishop OKs condoms for HIV couples
Catholic Information Service for Africa reports that newly-appointed Archbishop Boniface Lele said that some HIV positive couples could use condoms to prevent re-infection so as to prolong their life. "Since these people are married, what do you tell them? Do you tell them to separate? That would be against Church teaching," he said. Separation would also stress them and even lead to further spread of HIV through infidelity, he said. "With some counselling - and this is something we don't tell everyone - you can ask some to use a condom, so that the rate of re-infection goes down," the Archbishop added. Archbishop Lele, who disclosed that he had lost close kin and some diocesan staff to AIDS-related illnesses, said the use of condoms to prolong the life of HIV-carriers is consistent with Church teaching. "Faced with the prospect of families being wiped out, and without sanctioning separations of properly constituted matrimonies, the use of condoms to prolong life may seem a useful tool to prolong life in the long run." SOURCE LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources) Kenya Episcopal
Conference ARCHIVE Papal theologian
weighs condom use against AIDS (CathNews 2/2/05) |
The
Archbishop of Mombasa in Kenya has said that while behaviour change
remains the first strategy in the war against HIV/AIDS, infected couples
are in a unique situation that needs to be understood with compassion.