Fr. Thomas Williams, LC sorts out the recent sensationalized coverage of Vatican "reconsideration" of its, er, position on condoms (have you noticed that it is nearly impossible to write about homosexuality or contraceptives without employing crude double entendres?). It will not shock anyone but the MSM to learn that the Church is still agin' 'em, but it's an excellent explanation of Church teaching on the matter nevertheless.
despite critics’ accusations that Catholic moral teaching is the cause of Africa’s woes, the facts demonstrate the contrary. The World Health Organization puts the figure for HIV infection in Swaziland at 42.6 percent of the population, where only 5 percent of the population is Catholic. Similarly, in Botswana, where 37 percent of the adult population is HIV infected, only 4 percent of the population is Catholic. Compare this to Uganda, where 43 percent of the population is Catholic, and the number of HIV-infected adults has dropped to only 4 percent. For those who wish to pay more than lip service to the problem of HIV-AIDS in Africa, the Catholic Church’s considered position merits more than cavalier dismissal.
