http://www.catholic-family.org/documents/FamilyValuesIntro.htm

FAMILY VALUES VERSUS SAFE SEX

A Reflection by His Eminence,

ALFONSO CARDINAL LÓPEZ TRUJILLO

President, Pontifical Council for the Family

December 1, 2003

Introduction

0001 The mass media have circulated news that I granted an interview to the BBC, which was broadcasted last October 12, 2003, on the eve of Pope John Paul II’s 25th Anniversary in his service as Bishop of Rome. On that occasion, I answered different questions for more than an hour, especially those dealing with the family. But, surprisingly, what was shown from the whole interview on the BBC Panorama’s film, Sex & The Holy City, were merely three questions of less than half a minute each, the answers to which were certainly much more complete. The program apparently tried to deliberately and systematically criticize the Catholic Church for supposedly contributing to the death of people by not allowing the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The bishops of England and Wales have rightly complained to the BBC for that film, which, along with another program, was “biased against and hostile to the Catholic Church”, and which has “given offence to many Catholics… For many decades the BBC has deserved [and] enjoyed a worldwide reputation for fairness and objectivity, especially in its News and Current Affairs. This reputation is increasingly tarnished.”(1) Many individuals and groups also manifested their disgust with the said BBC’s Panorama program.(2)

In that interview I warned about “safe sex”, stating that one cannot truly speak of objective and total protection by using the condom as a prophylactic,(3) when it comes to the transmission not only of HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), but also of many other STD’s (Sexually Transmitted Diseases). I emphasized that in order to control the pandemic, it is necessary to promote responsible sexual behaviour that is inculcated by means of authentic sexual education, that respects the dignity of man and woman, and that does not consider others as mere instruments of pleasure and thus objects “to be used”. I also said that such responsible sexual behaviour takes place only in conjugal love, assuming the responsibilities of marriage as a reciprocal, exclusive and total self-giving of a man and a woman in a community of love and life.

Therefore, my position was absolutely clear against the so-called inordinate sex, against promiscuity that is fuelled today by certain permissive political measures and certain means of communication. That is why I reminded the audience that the Church teaches a moral position that is valid for all, both believers and non-believers. I also proposed that the Ministries for Health should require labels for condoms, as they do in the case of cigarettes, stating that the protection condoms provide is not total, and that the risks are indeed significant.(4)

In order to stress that the level of protection provided by the condom against HIV/AIDS and STD’s is not sufficient, I also referred to a certain permeability suggested by the results of scientific investigations. Such concern also has to be given attention considering that the AIDS virus is 450 times smaller than the sperm cell – in addition to other risks brought about by different factors in the condom’s structure and in its actual usage.(5)