{{A war of words has erupted between the Catholic Bishops in Kenya and a congregation calling itself Catholics for Choice (CFC).}}
When the Catholic Church Kenya Episcopal Conference condemned the message “Good Catholics Use Condoms” propagated by the US-based CFC, a number of Kenyans Catholics and non-Catholics expressed mixed reactions on the issue.
A choirmaster at St Andrews Catholic Church in Bondo, Nichodemus Omondi, argued it was inappropriate to generalise that all Catholics partook of a specific notion that had nothing to do with an individual’s spiritual growth.
“The message from CFC is contextually misleading because when they say ‘Good Catholics Use Condoms’ who are the good Catholics or do they mean there are bad Catholics? What kind of message are they sending to Catholics and non-Catholics who don’t embrace condoms but still lead happy lives?” argued Mr Omondi.
However, in a rejoinder, CFC released a statement challenging the Catholic bishops’ integrity. In a press release titled “Six Questions for the Kenyan Bishops,” the statement reads in part, “Catholics are the most supportive of the use of condoms for contraception and preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
Mombasa Archbishop Boniface Lele said, “With some counseling — and this is something we don’t tell everyone — you can ask couples to use condoms, so that the rate of reinfection goes down.
“Cameroon’s Cardinal Christian Tumi supports the use of condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV between married couples, saying, “If a partner in a marriage is infected with HIV, the use of condoms makes sense.”
The statement further states the Kenyan bishops, and other bishops’ conferences around the world receive millions of dollars to provide care to people living with HIV and Aids.
“The stance by the Kenyan bishops highlights their refusal to provide condoms to the many international development agencies that send money their way to help in the fight against the spread of HIV”, CFC wrote.
{wirestory}
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