Church stays clean over the condom use advert

By Rawlings Otieno

Nairobi, Kenya: The Catholic Church has distanced itself from an advert on the use of condoms in the mainstream media and billboards.

The Church is also accusing a group of people believed to be from US of running the advert that reads ‘Catholics for Choice, Good Catholics use condoms.’

Kenya Episcopal Conference (KEC) Chairman John Cardinal Njue wants the advert withdrawn for misleading the flock.

“Catholics for choice are not Catholics in the sense of the one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We want those adverts pulled out,” said Cardinal Njue in a statement.

He said the advertisement being run by Catholics for Choice movement, advocating use of condoms deliberately ridicules the church teaching or responsible sexual behaviour across all ages and quickly proclaim the use of condoms.

The Catholic Church teaches that sex is good and sacred in the context of marriage and married couples are encouraged to be faithful in their marriages while young people are encouraged to remain chaste until marriage.

Njue said the Catholic Church in Kenya disassociates itself from the advert and advised the faithful and those who believe in the sanctity of life and dignity of the human person to ignore it.

Propagators of message

Accompanied by Kisumu Archbishop Zaccheus Okoth and his counterpart from Eldoret Cornelius Korir, Njue warned the propagators of the messages were not an authority in the Church and cannot purport to advertise on behalf of the Church.

“We strongly condemn the adverts. The Catholic Church is a hierarchical institution and matters of the Church are normally presented to the public through the official existing structures,” said Njue.

Okoth urged the faithful to give birth instead of using ungodly means to control birth, and cracked a joke that they will accept some as priests and nuns.