ROME, SEPT. 19, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Headlines around the world last
weekend trumpeted a "change" in Vatican attitudes about the use of
condoms. Those headlines, however, twist the content of the very article
they claim to be citing.

The problem arose in the most recent edition of America magazine, in an
article by Jesuit Dr. Jon Fuller and Fr. James Keenan. The authors cite
as evidence for this change in Vatican thinking an article by Msgr.
Jacques Suaudeau of the Pontifical Council for the Family, published in
the April 5 edition of L'Osservatore Romano.

The America article is, in itself, a rather measured piece. It points
out how Msgr. Suaudeau endorses abstinence and cites Christian
understanding of sexuality as the most human preventive approach toward
AIDS. Fathers Fuller and Keenan, however, claim there is a degree of
tolerance toward distribution of condoms in certain circumstances in
Msgr. Suaudeau's article, which they hope can be used to break down the
resistance of local bishops who defend the Church's ban on their use.

The America article was picked up by the Pittsburgh Post/Gazette and
later by the UPI agency, thus covering the globe rapidly. Similar
articles appeared in the New York Times, the London Telegraph, and
Canada's Post-Dispatch. The versions that appeared in the secular press
lost the measured tone of the America article, and cited a "theological
U-turn" in Vatican thinking.

The Telegraph article claims that Msgr. Suaudeau wrote, "If people want
to prevent AIDS they must be convinced to change their sexual behaviour.
Until a real effort is made in this regard... the prophylactic is one of
the best ways to contain the sexual transmission of HIV and AIDS."

The actual article does contain words similar to these, but the ellipsis
is very significant. Msgr. Suaudeau's actual words (taken from
L'Osservatore Romano English edition of April 19) were, "If people
really want to prevent AIDS, they must be convinced to change their
sexual behavior, which is the principal cause of the infection's spread.
Until a real effort is made in this regard, no true prevention will be
achieved. The prophylactic is one of the ways to 'contain' the sexual
transmission of HIV/AIDS, that is, to limit its transmission."

The out-of-context quote has turned the meaning of this text around.
Msgr. Suaudeau's whole text centers on the difference between efforts
for "prevention" and for "containment" of AIDS. Referring to the
historic containment efforts againt malaria, he states, "Effective in
theory, these measures proved ineffective in practice."

In fact, the statement about AIDS "containment" programs involving the
use of condoms is followed by a long paragraph explaining why such
programs are doomed to fail in the end. He states that the effectiveness
of condoms in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic has never been
statistically proven, and is in fact unprovable "because of the multiple
factors influencing the spread of the epidemic."

Near the end of the article, Msgr. Suaudeau cites attempts in Thailand
to stem sexually transmitted diseases by handing out condoms to
prostitutes. While he does use the term "lesser evil" to describe this
practice, he nonetheless condemns it: "In the case of Thailand, the
effort of the health-care authorities was focused on prostitutes and
their clients. The use of condoms had particularly good results for
these people with regard to the prevention of sexually transmitted
diseases. However, it is unclear whether or not the promotion of condoms
in this country has had an effect on the overall advance of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic. The use of prophylactics in these circumstances is actually a
'lesser evil,' but it cannot be proposed as a model of humanization and
development. Perhaps Thailand's authorities might have asked themselves
first about the reasons for the particular growth of prostitution in
their country."

The message of Msgr. Suaudeau's article, "Prophylactics or Family
Values? Stopping the Spread of HIV/AIDS" is simple: "Family Values."
"Wherever there is true education in values of the family, of fidelity,
of marital chastity, the true meaning of the mutual gift of self -- and
this seriously involves the State as well -- and wherever the intrusive
forms of promiscuity are overcome, man will achieve a human victory,
even over this terrible phenomenon."
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