Cameroon: Cardinal endorses condoms for HIV married couples

Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi has endorsed the use of condoms as a protective measure against HIV/AIDS, provided the couples using them are married. "If a partner in a marriage is infected with HIV, the use of condoms makes sense," the Archbishop of Douala said in an interview with the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The 75-year-old cardinal said he agreed with the Vatican view that "loyalty and abstention remain still the best protection against AIDS." The latest data indicate that around 11 per cent of people in all Cameroon's provinces have HIV. Close to one million adults and children are currently living with HIV/AIDS and an estimated 210,000 children under age 14 have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Several church leaders have broken ranks with the Vatican's current position. Cardinal Georges Cottier, the theologian of the papal household, said the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" should be considered in cases where sexual activity involves a partner who is HIV-positive. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who chairs the Pontifical Council for Health, believes the use of condoms to be acceptable when abstinence is not an option. Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, and Archbishop Bonface Lele of Mombasa, Kenya, have expressed a similar view. Source: CISA