Cardinal says to skip debate over condoms

World Digest 12-18-04
Vatican City

Cardinal says to skip debate over condoms

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, chosen by Pope John Paul II to head a new Vatican foundation to help AIDS victims, said yesterday that too much time was spent arguing over the Catholic Church's opposition to condoms while too many people were dying.

"I don't care about the condoms yes, condoms no, debate," Barragan told a news conference. "What concerns me is that these people are dying and I have to help them.

"It's one thing to talk about moral problems. That's legitimate and we as Catholics have our position on this. It's another thing to help those who are suffering. While people are arguing about whether or not condoms can be used, every day 12,000 people die of AIDS."

The Roman Catholic Church, which teaches that the conjugal act must always leave open the possibility of conception, also says promoting the use of condoms to fight the spread of AIDS fosters what it sees as immoral and hedonistic lifestyles and behavior that will only contribute to its spread.