AIDS

Condensed from THE CHURCH WORLD, December 17, 1987.

The Administrative Board of the U.S. Catholic Conference, composed of about 50 U.S. Bishops, issued a statement on AIDS last week that stirred a lot of attention. Not the least of these was the media's coverage, which sought out the most sensational element, the supposed condoning of the use of condoms, which would reverse the Church's stand on birth control . However, the document stresses the only morally correct and medically safe way to prevent the spread of AIDS are sexual abstinence outside of marriage and fidelity within it.

The segment that caught the media's attention was the Bishops' first ever stand not to oppose education programs that include factual information about condoms. The Bishops recognized that "those not of our faith may not be persuaded by our moral traditions, and that many Catholics will not always live according to our teachings."

The Bishops were not promoting the use of condoms, but their statement brought criticism from other bishops. The late Cardinal O'Connor of New York had called even the limited acceptance of condom education "a grave mistake." Clarifications about the statement were quickly issued by Cardinal John May, president of the U.S. Catholic Conference, Bishop William Hughes who drafted the document and Cardinal Krol, who said it was an "erroneous interpretation"to view the statement as in any way a relaxation of Church teaching against the use of contraceptives. Archbishop Pilarczyk drew attention to the "media interpretation" of the statement, which seemed to try to give the impression that the Bishops promoted condom use, which was certainly not the case.