Archbishop says condoms are not best way to fight AIDS
The Archbishop of San Fernando (Philippines), Mgr Paciano Aniceto said that responsible sex in marriage "is the best way to prevent transmission of diseases" such as AIDS, and not condoms as some authorities wrongly claim in his country.
The prelate’s statement was sent to the authorities, opposing the use of condoms. “It is, therefore, irresponsible, imprudent and dangerous for the department to declare that the use of the condom, without any change in unhealthy sexual behaviour, will prevent seropositive cases from transmitting HIV/AIDS to their seronegative spouses,” he said.
The Archbishop is now pitted against the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines, Mario Villaverde, who said last week that condoms are the "most effective method for preventing AIDS."
Aniceto, chairman of the Commission on Family and Life of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBPC), is opposed to the Department of Health promoting the use of condom to combat the threat of HIV and AIDS. “We are constrained to express grave concerns over the press statement attributed to Undersecretary of Health Mario Villaverde that the Department of Health will now promote the nationwide use of condoms, allegedly as a means to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS,” he said.
“Condoms not only do not contribute to preventing the spread of the disease," but also can increase the risk of transmission to produce "a false sense of security,” he added. “We must encourage men and women to live morally upright lives, and to practise marital fidelity and chastity within and outside marriage, instead of telling them that risky sexual behaviour is acceptable, provided they wear a condom to protect them and their ‘partners’ from HIV/AIDS,’ he said.
The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in the region, 3.5 children per woman. Some 13,000 Filipinos are infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS, according to data from the Department of Health.
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