The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference has condemned the use of condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS. "Condoms may even be one of the main reasons for the spread of HIV/AIDS. Apart from the possibility of condoms being faulty or wrongly used they contribute to the breaking down of self-control and mutual respect," said the Bishops.
The statement that the use of condoms as a defence against HIV/AIDS was "immoral and misguided" contradicts an earlier statement from Bishop Kevin Dowling, which urged people to use condoms as a way of "not transmitting death". A local Catholic newspaper, the Southern Cross, had supported Bishop Dowling. The paper wrote that the Bishop had articulated the thoughts of many Catholics, including moral theologians, about the subject.
But the bishops said that they were deeply concerned that many organisations, especially governments, were promoting condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention. "'Abstain and be faithful' is the human and Christian way of overcoming HIV/AIDS," they declared after the conference in Pretoria. They made one exception on the ban, saying it would be permissible in marriages where one partner was infected.
