Demagogue

Last week, I made this post about a statement by the Spanish Catholic Bishops Conference in support of condom use to prevent the transmission of HIV.

Well, it appears that someone from that lovely palace in the middle of Rome picked up the phone and called these Spaniards on the carpet. Now, the Spanish bishops have issued a statement to help calm the Vatican's furor. According to the website gay.com:

Sexual health workers and Catholics across Europe became confused about the church's stance on condoms on Thursday, after a leading Spanish bishop appeared to retract his fleeting support for contraception in the fight against HIV.

The Rev. Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, the secretary general for the Catholic Bishops Conference (CBC), said Tuesday that condoms "had a place" in the worldwide fight against HIV and AIDS.

However, in a rapid move to align itself back with the official Vatican stance on the issue, an official statement was released on Wednesday dismissing the comments.

According to the BBC, the statement repeated that the Catholic Church viewed the use of contraception as "immoral."

"The statement must be understood within the meaning of Catholic doctrine, which says use of condoms implies immoral sexual conduct," the Spanish CBC said in a press release. "The church cooperates efficiently and rationally in the prevention of AIDS by advising the education of people on married love, which is faithful and open to life with the aim of avoiding inappropriate, promiscuous relations which give rise to perceived 'risk situations.' "

Earth to Spanish bishops: There is nothing efficient or rational about an AIDS prevention policy that is based on "advising the education of people on married love ..." Doctrinal? Yes. Rational? No.

Finally, when the CBC press release declares that the church "cooperates efficiently and rationally in the prevention of AIDS," I can't help but wonder: cooperates with whom?