Church’s position on condom efficacy flawed

Condoms, used correctly and consistently, greatly reduce the risk of infection with HIV — by up to 90 per cent, it has been proven. This barrier method may not be perfect, but its value in fighting the Aids pandemic is evident to all, Catholics included.

In Africa, advocacy campaigns have stressed abstinence and fidelity as the first line of defence and encouraged responsible condom use in relationships. The so-called ‘ABC’ approach has proven itself in parts of Africa in the two decades since the 1990 visit by Pope John Paul II to Tanzania, where he declared condom use a sin in any circumstances.

This speech and reminders of the policy by former Archbishop Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki have been a point of departure in thinking between leaders of the Catholic Church and many of their followers, as well as much of the scientific community. It is, thus, dismaying to hear Pope Benedict XVI renew attacks on condoms on his first trip to Africa, the continent most ravaged by Aids.

Dismaying, but not unexpected: The Church’s stand on birth control remains conservative even as Catholics around the world use contraception at the same rate as non-Catholics.

Transmission of death

The Church’s desire to protect the sanctity of human life should not lead it to make statements that are in the view of prominent Catholics "unjustifiable, even by faith". Africa and Latin America, Catholicism’s new heart, need a less dogmatic attitude to contraception — especially if it can stop transmission of death.