Vatican on Condoms: Yes or No? Magister Says No

Sandro Magister writes:

ROMA, May 22, 2006 – “La Civiltà Cattolica,” the journal of the Rome Jesuits that is printed under the supervision of the Vatican authorities, doesn’t usually post to its website the complete text of all of the articles published in each of its editions. It does so only with one or two of its less significant articles, which are usually dedicated to art or literature.

But there are exceptions. In the case of an important editorial, or of another article also held to be significant, “La Civiltà Cattolica” immediately puts the entire text online, in order to bring the thinking of leading Church authorities to a wider audience.

This was done with an article dedicated to AIDS in Africa and to the Church’s efforts to combat it, published in the most recent edition of the magazine.

Why was this done? Presumably because during the preceding weeks there had been worldwide coverage of the controversy over the Church and AIDS, and in particular over the question of whether or not the use of condoms should be permitted.

The dispute was reignited by remarks from cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, and by later indiscreet comments about a possible Vatican document on the topic.

Both of these factors induced the opinion that the Church was about to loosen its ban on condoms, affirmed by the encyclical “Humanae Vitae” from Paul VI.

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The article published in the latest issue of “La Civiltà Cattolica” is an implicit response to the expectations for a change in the Church’s stance, beginning with the specific case illustrated by cardinal Martini.

And the answer is in the negative. Not only does the article make no direct reference to condoms, but it demonstrates that the Church’s activity is directed in an entirely different direction, which can be summed up in the word “chastity.” It maintains that the Church would do nothing but harm if its efforts in combating AIDS “seemed to support promiscuous, excessive, and destructive behavior.”

That this is also Benedict XVI’s thought is beyond all doubt. At the same time as “La Civiltà Cattolica” was publishing its article, the pope referred twice – in addresses on May 11 and 13 – to the encyclical “Humanae Vitae” by Paul VI, describing it as “prophetic and always relevant.”

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