Letters

Safe Sex?

Arnold Jago

Contents - Sep 2006 - Buy a copy now Editorial: 2006 Fighting Fund launched - Peter Westmore Conscience: AD2000 interviews Cardinal Pell - Cardinal George Pell USA: Liberal Christianity goes into meltdown - Charlotte Allen News: The Church Around the World Chavagnes: Catholic education in a secular culture - Alexander Morrison History: The Counter Reformation and the Jesuits - John Morrissey Family in Society: Asian and Australian families face similar challenges - Leslie Sammut Clergy: ACCC Annual Conference focuses on theology of Benedict XVI - AD2000 Report Letters: Thomas Groome (letter) - C. Hungerford-Morgan Letters: Baptism - Mark Moriarty Letters: Correction to last month's reflection on Baptism - John Young Letters: Communism - Frank Bellet Letters: African pen-friend - Fr Vincent Kajoba Letters: Safe Sex? - Arnold Jago Letters: Judicial activism - Henk Verheven Letters: Stolen faith - Marie Adamo Letters: Helping the Carmelites - Beth Burns Letters: Thank-you note - A. van Tilburg Poetry: The Touch of the Master's Hand - Myra Welch Books: William Bernard Ullathorne: A Different Kind of Monk, by Judith Champ - Michael Gilchrist (reviewer) Books: Advancing the Culture of Death, by Peter Hung Manh Tran - Peter Westmore (reviewer) Books: Why Must I Suffer? by Fr F.J. Remler CM - Jacinta Cummins (reviewer) Books: Stimulating reading from Freedom Publishing Reflection: Cardinal Arinze on the need for Eucharistic reverence - Cardinal Francis Arinze

We have all heard the publicity about how condoms provide "safe sex". I hope you didn't believe it.

Australia's most common Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) is Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This is the biggest factor in cancer of the cervix, a potentially fatal disease. Condoms give no protection from HPV.

Almost as common is chlamydia, a major cause of sterility. Condoms offer no protection against chlamydia.

Genital herpes is painful and incurable. It risks fatal infections to babies born of infected mothers. Condoms offer no effective protection against herpes.

Condoms offer no protection against gonorrhoea for females - and only partial protection for males.

The sources of the above information are the US Department of Health, "Scientific Evidence on Condom Effectiveness for STD Protection" and the ABC website, www. abc. net. au/health/library.

There is a lot to be said for delaying sex until you marry; then marrying somebody who has done the same; then being faithful to that person for life.

Then you won't catch anything.

ARNOLD JAGO (DR)
Mildura, Vic

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 19 No 8 (September 2006), p. 14