Swiss officials withdraw AIDS ads

Officials with the Swiss Health Ministry have withdrawn two HIV/AIDS advertisements promoting condom use to avoid upsetting the country's Catholic bishops, Reuters Health reports. The ads, which urge church officials to talk to parishioners about condom use, were part of a nationwide campaign launched after reports indicated that new HIV infections rose by 25% in Switzerland last year. Marc Aellan, deputy secretary general of the Swiss Bishops' Conference, said the church is not against condom use but that it found the two ads in question "particularly offensive." Health ministry spokeswoman Sandra Meier said the ads were pulled because their language was inaccurate. "It was never our intention to attack Rome, the Vatican, or the church or to hurt religious feelings," she said.