There will be no relaxation of the ban on condoms. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is responsible for the matter, has made this clear in Rome. The latest condom statements of Pope Benedict XVI. had caused a broad discussion. The Catholic Church will not change its position on contraception. The Pope's statements do not refer to conjugal love, but only to prostitution.
The pope's words in the "Light of the World" interview book "change neither the moral teaching nor the pastoral practice of the Church," according to a note released by the congregation Tuesday afternoon.
"Completely arbitrary"
According to the note, the amption that condom use is permissible in some cases to avoid pregnancy is "completely arbitrary" and does not correspond to the pope's words or thinking.
The "indissoluble connection" of loving union and procreation must continue to be respected. Benedict XVI. In the book published a month ago, the Council referred only to the "completely different case of prostitution, which Christian morality has always regarded as gravely sinful".
Prostitution must be fought
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith made it clear that prostitution must be fought. Aid agencies of the Church, states and civil society must work to free affected persons from it, it said.
With regard to the spread of AIDS, the problem becomes even more dramatic, the two-page note says. Those who know that they can pass on their HIV infection are also acting against the prohibition of homicide. Thus, it cannot be denied "that the person who uses a condom to reduce the risk to the life of another person wishes to limit the harm associated with his wrong behavior".
Premarital abstinence and fidelity
Further, the Roman faith authority opposes the interpretation of the Pope's words as a reference to the theory of the "lesser evil". Prostitution does not become a lesser evil by using a condom. Members and institutions of the Church in the fight against AIDS should continue to educate to premarital abstinence and fidelity.
Where sexuality is trivialized, the pope points out, many people no longer find in that sexuality an expression of their love. The fight against this trivialization is "part of the struggle for sexuality to be valued positively and to develop its positive effect in the whole of being human".
As cause of the letter the Vatican authority mentions "different aberrant interpretations", which had caused "confusion" about the attitude of the Catholic Church, but had nothing to do with the meaning of the words of the Pope. Their importance becomes clear, he said, when one examines the chapters