SACBC: Catholic Church and Condoms: What the Pope actually said...

(Southern African Catholic Dispatches )

Article by Marc Aupiais

Introduction, and disclaimer:

Details of message received, and our forwarding:

I am privileged to forward the following message from the SACBC, it concerns the recent statements by Benedict XVI, on Condoms. 

The bishops' conference did not note this: but SACatholic also covered this story, with some background:

http://southafricancatholic.blogspot.com/2009/03/france-germany-africa-vatican-former.html

As to the Bishops' Conference Press Release:

Rebroadcasting, or forwarding, or publishing this message does not imply endorsement of the Bishops conference, or any person mentioned in the contents of this dispatch/article, nor does it imply any endorsement of the accuracy, or content of views expressed in the forwarded content, which was sent to us by the Southern African catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC). We do not guarantee the accuracy, nor content, nor orthodoxy or fidelity of views expressed by the bishops conference, by emails sent to us via them, and by views recorded by them. These are not necessarily our views, nor do we necessarily express, or ascent to the views expressed in the message we are representing here for you:

The following is nothing, but a quotation of a source, that being an email we directly received from Father Townsend, of the SACBC, as a press release:

Received at: 22:08 (9 hours ago), Yesterday Evening.

Details of Message:

"---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Fr Chris Townsend 
Date: 2009/3/18
Subject: Catholic Church and Condoms: What the Pope actually said...
To: (we have this list, but have excluded it in forwarding)"

Contents of Message:

"From Vatican Information Service (VIS)

STARTS>
  Answering a question on the Catholic Church's approach to HIV/AIDS, considered by some as unrealistic and ineffective, the Pope said:

  "It is my belief believe that the most effective presence on the front in the battle against HIV/AIDS is in fact the Catholic Church and her institutions. ... The problem of HIV/AIDS cannot be overcome with mere slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem. The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanisation of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly, true friendship, above all with the suffering, a readiness - even through personal sacrifice - to stand by those who suffer".
PV-CAMEROON/PLANE INTERVIEW/...                                        VIS 090318 (600)

ENDS>

Fr Chris Townsend
Information Officer
Office for Communication and Media.
Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC)
P.O.Box 941 Pretoria 0001 South Africa
Khanya House - 399 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria, 0001
Tel: +27 (0)12 323 6458
Fax: +27 (0) 12 326 6218
Mobile: +27(0)82 783 4729
www.sacbc.org.za
P Please consider the environment before printing this email"