In the fight against Aids, the Church cannot recommend the use of the condom, because it is “contrary to the morality of the person. The only really advisable method is the responsible exercise of sexuality, in accordance with the moral norm”, declares a statement issued by the Spanish Episcopal Conference on the evening of 19 January, after a lengthy meeting. The statement was issued to rectify the interpretations circulated in the media on the same day with regard to some statements released to journalists by the general secretary and spokesman of the Spanish bishops, Father Juan Antonio Martinez Camino. “The general secretary – explains the press release of the Spanish Episcopal Conference – replied briefly to journalists who were waiting for him outside the entrance of the Ministry of Health” where a meeting had been held in which the representative of the Church was briefed by the Spanish Minister of Health, Elena Salgado, about the government’s programme for the prevention of Aids. “This is a problem – says the communiqué – that is a matter of great concern to the Church, Catholics and the ecclesiastical institutions”. The words of the spokesman, according to which the use of the condom has “a place” in the programme for the prevention of Aids known as ABC (abstinence, fidelity, condom) were interpreted as a “historic volte face” of the Spanish Church on the question of the use of the condom. The Episcopal Conference was forced as a result to intervene to set the record straight, in a statement in which it explains that “according to Catholic doctrine the use of the condom implies an immoral sexual conduct”. But that does not alter the fact that “the Church is cooperating in an effective and sensible way in the prevention of Aids by promoting education in conjugal love open to life” and the renunciation of “illicit and promiscuous relationships”. The Spanish episcopate also made a point of underlining that its position does not place it at loggerheads with the scientific community. “On the contrary – says the statement – abstention from illicit sexual relations and the mutual fidelity of spouses represent the only safe conduct” in response “to the danger of Aids. The recommendations of the experts in public health coincide in this respect with the moral doctrine of the Church”.
