Members of the European Parliament Back Catholic Condom Campaign

Advertisement in the European Voice newspaper decries Vatican's ban on condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Political leaders from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and the United Kingdom gave their support today to the first global campaign to end the Catholic bishops' ban on condoms. In an advertisement appearing today April 25th in the European Voice newspaper, 29 political leaders signed their support for the condoms4life campaign. The advertisement states, "Catholic bishops preach sanctity of life. But their ban on condoms contributes to the tragedy of AIDS and death around the world. Most Catholics disagree with this policy. Yet the Catholic bishops who control 100,000 hospitals and 200,000 other social services worldwide ban both education about and the provision of condoms in their institutions."

The advertisement is part of an unprecedented worldwide public education effort, aimed at Catholics and non-Catholics alike, to raise public awareness about the devastating effect of the bishops' ban on condoms in preventing new infections of HIV/AIDS. The campaign, entitled Condoms4Life, is sponsored by the international movement Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), including CFFC-Europe, based in Paris, France.

Roadside panels stating, "Catholic People Care-Do The Bishops? Banning Condoms Kills" are now up in prominent locations throughout Brussels.

"Like the current scandals on pedophilia and rape of nuns by priests, the Vatican's position on condoms puts Catholic bishops on the defensive," stated Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice. "Our campaign message is hard hitting and hard for the bishops to take, but the message is true. The bishops do ban condoms and education about them in over 100,000 hospitals and Catholic AIDS treatment programs worldwide. Many bishops disagree with the church policy and are sympathetic to people living with AIDS. We hope that the campaign will touch their hearts and get them to speak out within the church for a change in policy."

Condoms4Life ads, appearing in different countries in various forms, are generating controversy and discussion. In Mexico and South Africa, despite pressure put on advertising vendors to stop billboard ads from going up, the campaign rolled out on schedule; in Washington, DC, the Catholic archdiocese's claim that subway ads were false was rejected; in Canada, conservative Catholics tried but failed to have billboard ads banned. These attacks and resulting media coverage inspired fresh public debate, helping people understand how the Vatican's anti-condom position undermines HIV/AIDS prevention efforts.

The ads will be in a dozen countries over the course of 2002 and invite the public to join the Condoms4Life campaign at www.condoms4life.org. Thousands of individuals have signed up and are being urged to contact local policymakers to express support for the availability of condoms and concern that Catholic bishops not undermine responsible public health policy on HIV/AIDS.

Members of the EU Parliament voiced support for the campaign, including Lousewies van der Laan, MEP for The Netherlands, who said: "The Condoms4Life Campaign carries an important life-saving message. With 2.6 million people dying of AIDS last year alone, fighting this disease is the most urgent challenge facing people worldwide. We must use every resource we have, including condoms."

Ulla Sandbaek, MEP for Denmark, stated: "As a Lutheran pastor, I find it in complete contradiction to the Gospel to pursue a policy which is killing people. Making any kind of law and order out of the Gospel is perverting it and a very illuminating example of that is the Vatican's policy on condoms. Christ's only concern was compassion and love, and I believe he would be horrified about the position of a church that says it is acting in his name today."

Ann van Lancker, MEP for Belgium, said, "More and more adolescents engage in unprotected sex nowadays. Providing information on condom use and the provision of condoms is a crucial part of an open-minded sexuality education that is based on young people's real needs. Banning condom use means being blind to the potential life-endangering consequences of unprotected sex. Basically, it denies young people's right to a healthy and care-free life."

Mary Banotti, Irish Member of Parliament, said, "Use of condoms is an essential part of the worldwide campaign to prevent the catastrophic spread of HIV/AIDS.

Glenys Kinnock, UK, Member of Parliament and a Member of the Development Committee and Co-President of the EU/ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly, said, "The campaign is a welcome addition to efforts which have to be taken to ensure that we raise awareness of the need for a responsible attitude to health rights in developing counties. It is regrettable that the bishops undermine these efforts by opposing initiatives around the world that encourage condom use as a part of public health policy for those who are sexually active and at risk."

Lissy Gröner, German MEP, said, " I think it is appalling that the bishops abandon their faithful and expose them to the risk of dying from AIDS."

Elfriede Harth, European representative for CFFC-Europe, stated, "We cannot stand by and allow the Catholic bishops' ban on condoms to go unchallenged. The EU is a major provider of funds to help developing countries fight HIV/AIDS. It must ensure that charities receiving EU funds are acting responsibly in preventing HIV and are adhering to a policy that includes condoms, not a policy that bans condoms and puts lives at risk."

Roadside panel advertisements will go up on main streets throughout Brussels, including Avenue de la Chasse, ETTERBEEK; Avenue F. Guillaume/Rue des deux Maisons, EVERE; Avenue de la Couronne, 431/Face Avenue Fraiteur, IXELLES. Similar ads appeared as billboards or newspaper advertisements in countries with a significant Catholic population or AIDS crisis, such as Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the United States and Canada. This public education effort is the first phase of a sustained mobilizing effort to change the Vatican's policy against availability and access to condoms, especially in countries where HIV transmission and AIDS deaths are rising dramatically. Condoms4Life ads point out that many of the 4,435 Catholic bishops worldwide actively lobby governments and the United Nations to restrict access to condoms, claiming that condoms cause AIDS, not prevent it. The effect of the bishops' ban on condoms-the only technology available that can prevent sexual transmission of HIV-has been noted by world leaders in the fight against AIDS. UNAIDS Director Peter Piot stated in June 2001, "When priests preach against using contraception, they are committing a serious mistake which is costing human lives. We do not ask the church to promote contraception, but merely to stop banning its use."

In Brussels, the campaign echoes the European Union Commission's position that "prevention of HIV/AIDS concerns not only issues linked to the situation as regards health policy or general living conditions, but in particular, social, cultural and religious issues." In its October 2001 resolution,* the Commission noted that half of new HIV infections occur in the 15-24 age group and called on the EU Parliament "to give particular attention to preventing HIV infection in this age group by providing them with the information, education and services necessary to reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection, and promoting the use of condoms…" and that "parents, primary and secondary school teachers, health workers, politicians, religious leaders [our emphasis] etc. in the communities must be trained along these lines."

The Condoms4Life website contains facts on HIV/AIDS and details of the Catholic hierarchy's opposition to condoms around the world. It is being visited by thousands as the campaign gains momentum in different countries. Information and ads can be viewed at: www.condoms4life.org

Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament on accelerated action targeted at major communicable diseases within the context of poverty reduction (COM(2000)585 - C5-0014/2001 - 2001/2006 (COS)) and the Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament on a Programme for Action: accelerated action on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the context of poverty reduction (COM(2001)96 - C5-0112/2001-2001/2006(COS)).

View the advertisement that will appear in the European Voice here
(Adobe Acrobat required -- click here to download)

-- Statement ends --
+1-202-986-6093
+33-1-3902-7890

Catholics for a Free Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to women's well-being, and respect and affirm the moral capacity of women and men to make sound decisions about their lives. Through discourse, education, and advocacy, CFFC works in the United States and internationally to infuse these values into public policy, community life, feminist analysis, and Catholic social thinking and teaching. www.catholicsforchoice.org