nomad4ever

There is definitely something going on in Rome. I know, the topic is a bit far off from this site, but I couldn’t believe my eyes when reading this. Is there really some movement in these old halls, amongst this stiffness and under those religious stolas? Okay, I don’t mean this kind of movement, but you get the picture:

Roman Catholic church to review total ban on use of contraception in bid to curb the spread of Aids

ROME – The Roman Catholic church has taken the first step towards what could be a historic shift away from its total ban on the use of condoms.

Pope Benedict XVI’s “health minister”, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, is understood to be urging him to accept that in restricted circumstances – specifically the prevention of Aids – barrier contraception is the lesser of two evils.

The recommendations, which have not been made public, still have to be reviewed by the traditionally conservative Vatican department responsible for safeguarding theological orthodoxy, and then by the Pope himself, before any decision is made.

The rethink, commissioned by Pope Benedict following his election last year, could save millions of lives around the world.

Campaigners and organisations involved in the fight against Aids have long been pressing the Vatican to change its stance on condoms, which they believe obstructs attempts to save millions of lives.

The first-hand experience of Roman Catholic missionaries and pastors in the developing world has been the driving force behind the current rethink.

On Tuesday, Cardinal Barragán revealed that he had completed the first stage of the review. A 200-page report, reflecting opinion within the church, had been sent to the Pope and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s “theology ministry”, he said.

He did not reveal its conclusions. But Cardinal Barragán is known to favour reform and Vatican sources said it was highly likely that he had come out in support of using condoms in marriages where one of the partners was HIV-positive.

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported yesterday that the Vatican would “go from prohibition to the definition of exceptional cases in which it would be possible for the faithful to use prophylactics to avert fatal risks”.

Cardinal Barragán noted a passage from a 1987 document called Donum Vitae. The document was signed by the late Pope John Paul II and the current Pope, who was the then-head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It declared that the church could never agree to the use of contraceptives in homosexual relationships or by men and women who were not married. However, it omitted to mention married couples, indicating the possibility of a change in the church’s stance.

The Italian daily Corriere della Sera said the Pope’s decision could be announced as early as next February, on the 20th anniversary of the publication of Donum Vitae.

In recent years, the case for condoms as a defence against Aids has been taken up publicly by several Roman Catholic leaders. The Pope’s own theologian, Cardinal Georges Cottier, signalled doubts within the papal household and argued that the Roman Catholic “theology of life” could be used to justify a lifting of the ban.

“The virus is transmitted during a sexual act; so at the same time as (bringing) life there is also a risk of transmitting death,” he said. “And that is where the commandment ‘thou shalt not kill’ is valid.”

The Guardian

Technorati : aids, church, condom, health, hiv, politics, religion, vatican

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written by Chris