Sep 9, 2004 / 22:00 pm
In statements to the Catholic News Agency, the Secretary General of the Bishops Conference of Brazil, Bishop Odilio Scherer, clarified the position of the Conference on the issue of AIDS, saying the bishops are “in completely agreement with the Holy See” and that they do not support the use of condoms.
The bishop denied reports by the director of the UN AIDS Program, Peter Piot, who said this week that “the Brazilian Church is more open to issues related to AIDS than the Church in other countries of Latin America, such as Argentina and Chile. In other countries the Church is more rigid regarding, for example, issues such as the use of condoms.”
Piot also said he asked “Brazilian Catholic leaders to speak with their colleagues in other countries” and he said that “Bishop Odilio Scherer promised us that the issue of AIDS would be discussed at the upcoming Latin America Bishops Conference in Bogota.”
Bishop Schere told CNA that Piot only made a courtesy visit the Bishops Conference on August 31, during which he asked about the Church’s collaboration in the prevention of AIDS.