The church, AIDS and condoms

While appearing on Relevant Radio's "The Right Questions" show on April 26, Byzantine Father Thomas Loya, pastor of Annunciation of the Mother of God Parish in Homer Glen, Ill.. and a speaker on Pope John Paul II's "theology of the body," addressed the topic of whether a married couple can use condoms if one of the spouses has AIDS.

The truth of the matter is, and this may seem very difficult, but we have to remember Mother Church encourages the sacraments for God’s grace. If there is a situation of AIDS between a married couple, as hard as the reality of that might seem, quite frankly, they will have to abstain. If it means that (sex) is going to be very, very risky and injurious and perhaps even lead to serious illness and death, they literally will have to abstain. That would be the honest thing to do. That might seem unthinkable, but it is not with God’s grace . . . if you want to do the right thing.

This is where the difference comes down between the world and the church. The world does not want to accept – ever -- the fact that at times we have to say, “no,” to ourselves, that we have to use discipline. And the church is saying, the only way you can ultimately be happy and honest and holy is by continuously saying “no” to self … on various levels and in various ways. And sometimes that ‘no’ will have to be very, very difficult or very courageous, such as in this situation. But, that’s where the sacraments and prayer comes in to help you. Because it’s all about honesty. You cannot compromise the principle of honesty and expect something good to happen. It’s ultimately going to hurt you. Even if it seems like it’s good, it’s going to ultimately hurt you.

There is growing intrigue, particularly among the secular press overseas, about the Vatican's decision to research the issue of condoms and AIDS protection. The study was commissioned after Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan mentioned that using condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS could be seen as a lesser evil than just using contraception for any reason. The church teaches that contraception of any kind is intrinsically evil. His comments on this subject are not the first, as there has been a small group of bishops and cardinals in poor and AIDS-ridden countries expressing support of condom use for AIDS prevention. There is no word on whether or not a document will be released at the study's conclusion, so speculation is running rampant on why the pope has commissioned this study.