Catholic Church Condom Ban in Latin America
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by: Ken Brower
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UN officials strongly believe that the epidemic has been fueled in part by the Catholic Church’s prevalent and rigid ban on condoms. Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS coordinator for several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica and Honduras, issued the following statement: “In Latin America, the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region.” Consider the fact that in today’s world, 1.1 billion people (about 1 in 6 people) label themselves Catholic. Of these Catholics, half reside in Latin America. Despite the departure from the church of many of these Catholics to the Protestant movement taking hold in Latin America, the Catholic Church is still an impacting force in Latin American society.
The Catholic Church has a firm stance on abstinence before marriage and feels that this chastity along with fidelity between man and wife are true protectors against the plight of AIDS. They feel that educating the youth about the values of marriage and family will solve the root of the problem and that handing out condoms to teenagers is akin to promoting sex before marriage and promiscuity. Stella responds with “The fact that young people start to be sexually active between 15 and 19 without sex education contributes to the spreading of the virus, as well as the fact that the evidence shows abstinence is not working.”
Reports indicated that 35% of those infected with AIDS can be attributed to sex between two men. The Catholic response to this is a call for monogamous heterosexuality. Catholic supporters feel that if Catholics followed the Church’s teachings, including abstaining from sex before marriage and remaining loyal to one’s husband/wife, AIDS would not be as rampant as it has become.
The fact of the matter is that in 2004, there were 320,000 new cases of HIV reported. Only two years later, that number had risen to 410,000 cases, as reported by UNAIDS. The percentage of those infected between the ages of 15 to 24 years has been reported to be about 0.5%. In response to these growing cases, Brazil’s health ministry has gone to great lengths to promote safe sex in their region by handing out millions of free condoms (especially during its Carnival festival in February), advertising on the radio about the benefits of safe sex and planning for the installation of condom machines in schools throughout the area.
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