Letters

Condom use

Tim Coyle

Contents - Mar 2011 - Buy a copy now Nazareth: Patriarch Fouad of Jerusalem: Annunciation homily - His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Personal Ordinariates for former Anglicans: worldwide progress - Michael Gilchrist News: The Church Around the World iWitness 2010: an unforgettable retreat for young Catholics - Br Barry Coldrey Islam divided over Pope's call to respect religious freedom - Babette Francis Faith and reason at Notre Dame, Sydney - Fr Richard Umbers New Divine Mercy parish and school for Perth - Fr Paul Fox What are the marks of an authentically Catholic university? - Cardinal Raymond Burke A bishop and his priests: united in truth with Christ - Fr John O'Neill Netherlands: Migrants keep Church alive in Holland - Fr Cornelius van der Geest Letters: St Peter's wife - John Young Letters: Beatification case for Bob Santamaria - Brian A. Peachey Letters: Condom use - Tim Coyle Letters: New 'morality' - Fr Bernard McGrath Letters: Missionaries of God's Love a welcome initiative - Tom King Letters: Understanding Islam - John Frey Letters: Baby killing - Frank Bellet Letters: Gender selection - John Royal Books: William Wardell: Building with Conviction, by A.G. Evans - Terri Kelleher (reviewer) Books: Theophilos: A Novel, by Michael O'Brien - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: THE AUSTRALIAN BOOK OF ATHEISM, Edited by Warren Bonett - Frank Mobbs (reviewer) Books: Order books from www.freedompublishing.com.au Reflection: Mary's rosary: picture book of faith, hope and love - Bishop Robert Finn

The correct response to an enquiry about sexual intercourse by male prostitutes and the use of prophylactics is advice that the person concerned should not be performing such acts because they are extremely dangerous. Recomending the use of a device such as a condom is even more dangerous because of the high failure rate of this device.

The enquirer may be referring to one single act, but the reality is multiple acts increasing the chances of failure to certainty. The "what if" student and journalist enquiries such as "wouldn't you rather be raped with a condom" are multiple, but bypass the basic truths such as, in this case, civil litigation and protection against such violence as rape.

The Holy Father should continue his comments that the promotions of condom devices are dangerous and make the situation worse because their use makes infection eventually inevitable because of their high failure rate and because the essential infectious act is that of extramarital and homosexual intercourse.

TIM COYLE (DR)
Woree, Qld

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 24 No 2 (March 2011), p. 14