Vatican's opposition on condom use challenged

An international Catholic pressure group has launched a campaign aimed at countering the Vatican's claim that condoms did not prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS. The Catholic Church stunned scientists and angered the World Health Organisation (WHO) in October by claiming that condoms were permeable enough to allow the HI virus to pass through. However, the US-based Catholics For a Free Choice (CFFC), said its publicity campaign, currently underway in Washington, would spread from the US capital across the world by 2004 and "counter Vatican misinformation". CFFC said in a recent statement: "The campaign is a direct challenge to the cardinals and bishops who have recently claimed that condoms were helping to spread HIV/AIDS. For Catholics who follow the Vatican's policy, and Catholic health care providers who are forced to deny condoms, the Vatican's policy on condoms is a disaster."