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Catholics agree to conditional condom use

One of the Roman Catholic Church's most prominent cardinals is supporting the use of condoms for HIV prevention among married couples.

This was despite the Church having always stood firm in its objection to the prophalactic as an intervention against the pandemic.

In a recent interview with Italian weekly magazine, l'Espresso, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini said the use of condoms could be considered "a lesser evil" in discordant couples - where one was HIV-positive and the other was negative.

The Vatican has yet to make an official comment on the article, in which the cardinal - a close runner-up in last year's papal election - also raised the possibility of single mothers adopting abandoned children.


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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