I read Dr Moodie's article with a sense of disbelief.

It is clear that condoms are promoted as a substitute for sexual morality. I therefore repeat the ABC of sexual health.

Abstinence
Abstain from sex until you are married.

Be faithful
Do not have sex with anybody but your own spouse.

Condom
As a last resort, if you cannot do the above, use a condom. This would also cover the hypothetical case of the faithful wife mentioned by the doctor. While it is well known that condoms are not foolproof they are the best cover when risky sexual behaviour is undertaken.

Ken, it looks to me that you and Rob Moodie are not saying radically different things. You may place a different weight on the value of A and B (and I'm not even sure that is true).

The focus of his article was on a multifacetted approach and the damage done by regarding the use of condoms as immoral. ABC has a C in it as you note, the Catholic church appears to want the C to stand for Catholic, not Condom.

Personally I would prefer abstinance if there was a significant chance that a potential partner was HIV positive, condom or not. In the context of HIV rates in Africa the focus on the A and B parts of ABC make sense but don't forget the C when needed.

Considering condoms (both for birth control and STD) have been around for at least fifty years and the Church still disapproves of them) because they still believe in abstince (though rather loosely and we'll get to that later) - it is kind of like asking whether Camilla thinks that Diana was wearing a nice frock at her wedding. So NO IDEA!

The good Church tries to pretend that abstinence is going to save souls in Africa, that's going to solve the problem of mankind - abstinence. Never has and it never will. Meanwhile that country, poverty galore, finds ways of dumping born babies, to get rid of them because of cultural and economic circumstances beyond the individuals control. The Church thinks it has a right to veto those decisions just because it's set up a two bit refuge in the neighbourhood?

Most of us are not necessarily for rampant, unprotected sex, but yes Catholic Church! it does happen! It doesn't make us sinners, rather just more seasoned travellers. Asking for the Church for common sense on birth control is like asking why is the sky blue

Di,

The sky is blue because that's the way the Creator intended it to be.

That we choose to pollute both atmosphere & sexual morality is our choice (failure, lack of control, exploitation, ill informed must have now tendancies) and if we can back Greenies saying stop the smog, then why can't we back a Church saying keep it in your pants outside of a monogamous marriage!?!

Both views, in your mind, are no doubt purist nonsense!

Because of the way that Church let's it all hang out when it suits them! Don't give me a moral crusade about the church telling the masses how it should be and then covering up their own "immoralities" which they have had another set of rules to! I'll throw the "moral" part of this argument back to you. The sky being blue is another issue.

* Thousands die because virgin Popes reserve the right to defend their fear of God.