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Responsible sex is best means vs AIDS - bishop
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MANILA, Philippines - Responsible sex and not condoms is the way to go in preventing the spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and other sexually transmitted diseases, a Catholic bishop insisted Monday.
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San Fernando, Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said the issue of the spread of AIDS must be viewed at a wider perspective by looking at its root causes.
"In order to succeed, we must strike at the root of the epidemic by promoting responsible sexual behavior among adults, instead of simply trying to promote what is dishonesty and irresponsibly called 'safe sex,'" Aniceto, head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, said in a statement on the CBCP website.
Aniceto contested a claim by health undersecretary Mario Villaverde that condom use is one of the most effective ways of stopping the spread of the AIDS-causing HIV virus.
He said condoms do not prevent AIDS and may even help spread it because they create a false sense of security.
Besides, he said not a single scientific literature claims that the condom is "safe," whether as a contraceptive or as a prophylactic.
"It is the duty of the DOH never to propose for general public use any prophylactic that could increase the incidence of the disease it is supposed to prevent," said Aniceto.
Also, he said that while there is a need to protect people from sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS, it should be done in "morally upright" ways.
Despite the small number of registered HIV/AIDS cases (about 3,000) in the country, this should be a priority for the Health Department, he added.
Aniceto said the global incidence of infection with HIV and the effects of the virus in AIDS with consequent illness and premature death has been a cause of sorrow for the church.
One response to this global crisis has been to promote the use of condoms. But the Church has not shared this approach and instead encourages fidelity, monogamy and a traditional sexual morality.
"We must encourage men and women to live morally upright lives, and to practice marital fidelity and chastity within and outside marriage, instead of telling them that risky sexual behavior is acceptable, provided they wear a condom to protect them and their "partners" from HIV/AIDS," said Aniceto.
Citing scientific literature, he said the rate of failure of all brands of condoms is high. But this information is generally excluded from the usual propaganda about "safe sex."
He said this tends to create the kind of "risky sexual behavior," which increases the chances of contracting and transmitting the disease.
"It is, therefore, irresponsible, imprudent, and dangerous for the Department to declare that the use of the condom, without any change in unhealthy sexual behavior, will prevent seropositive cases from transmitting HIV/AIDS to their seronegative spouses," he added.
He also said Villaverde's statements coincided with the recent population report of the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and the intense debates on the reproductive health bill in Congress.
"We are inclined to view this as an underhanded way of subverting our strong moral and constitutional objection to the proposed legislation, and confronting the nation with a fait accompli bereft of any moral or constitutional basis," Aniceto said.
source::
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