Condoms Packets Tell the Truth About Condoms

Here is what it says on the back of a packet of condoms:

'No method of contraception can give you 100% protection against pregnancy, HIV or sexually transmitted infections.'

That is why Durex is never sued because, despite condom use, HIV has been transmitted to sexual partners in some incidences, the number of which is not known.

Therefore, even if a married man who is HIV positive were to use a condom, he still places the future health of his wife at some considerable risk, despite the fact that the risk is difficult to quantify.

Therefore, even if the Holy Father were to have suggested that condom use in marriage, where one partner is infected with HIV, was justified (something that His Holiness definitively did not say), Durex themselves advertise on their product that their condoms are not 100% effective and that no contraceptive method can provide 100% protection.

What loving husband would be willing to 'reduce' the risk of transmitting HIV to his wife by using a condom? A loving husband would ensure that the risk of transmitting HIV to his wife was zero.

Anyway, back to that article. Fr Frederico Lombardi has released a clarification:

Clarification on remarks on AIDS and condoms

The head of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, has issued a statement clarifying passages of the book Light of the World, in which Pope Benedict discusses AIDS and condom use.

The statement says Pope Benedict states that AIDs cannot be solved only by the distribution of condoms, and, in fact, concentrating on condoms just trivializes sexuality, which loses its meaning as an expression of love and becomes like a drug.

At the same time, the Pope considered an exceptional situation in which the exercise of sexuality represents a real risk to the lives of others. In this case, the Pope does not morally justify the exercise of disordered sexuality (in other words, yes, such an act still constitutes a grave sin), but believes that the use of condoms to reduce the risk of infection is a "first step on the road to a more human sexuality”, rather than not to use it and risking the lives of others.

Father Lombardi’s statement clarifies Pope Benedict XVI has not reformed or changed the Church's teaching, but by putting it in perspective reaffirms the value and dignity of human sexuality as an expression of love and responsibility."

Theresa of the Villa. I don't know who you are, but your battle, if it is indeed a battle, is a battle with Catholic Truth expressed through the Magisterium of the One True Church. Fornication and all sexual acts outside of the married state are still matters for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Condom use within Holy Matrimony is still a matter for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On a purely human level, the use of a condom in marriage where one partner is HIV positive is understandable but is still considered by the Church to be illicit. We, the Faithful, are bound by Conscience to believe that even in these circumstances, it is still a matter for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to consider this, as well as all the aforementioned examples cited, as matters which are gravely sinful, in accordance with the Teaching of Holy Mother Church as explained in Pope Paul VI's encyclical, Humanae Vitae.