Spanish bishops defy Vatican by backing condoms

SPANISH Roman Catholic bishops have for the first time accepted the use of condoms to prevent AIDS, re-igniting a moral and religious debate but drawing a sharp response from the Vatican.

A senior prelate insisted the Vatican continued to condemn the use of condoms as “contrary to Catholic morality” while the conservative organisation Opus Dei reacted with astonishment.

The debate follows remarks from Reverend Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, secretary general of the Spanish bishops’ conference, who said the prophylactic “has its place in the context of the integral and global prevention of AIDS”.