Catholics
struggle with condom issues

Catholic leaders meeting last week at the 19th annual National Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry Conference in Chicago struggled with the issue of prohibiting condom use among church members, with some saying the church should support condom use to prevent HIV infections, the Chicago Tribune reports. Currently, the church views condoms as a form of artificial birth control, which is forbidden by church members.

But some religious leaders are struggling with whether it's wrong to prohibit the use of condoms in areas where HIV is prevalent. "The intention, in this case, is not contraception but decreased risk of transmission of a fatal virus," the Reverend Jon Fuller, a Jesuit priest and physician at Boston Medical Center, told the Tribune.

Pope Benedict XVI recently called for a Vatican study on whether the church should allow condom use when one partner in a marriage is HIV-positive. It was not reported as to when the study will be completed or if its findings will be released beyond the Vatican hierarchy. (The Advocate)