Malawi Catholic Bishops Recommend Male Circumcision but Oppose Condoms. 2/2/12
You can chop off your foreskin but you cannot cover it to fight HIV - Catholic males are advised.
2 February 2012
You can chop off your foreskin but you cannot cover it to fight HIV - Catholic males are advised.
Catholic Bishops in the Malawi have recommended male circumcision to be carried out in all the Catholic health facilities as an effective tool to fight further spread of HIV.
They are however still opposed to use of contraception including condoms as a preventive measure to fight HIV, a position shared by the Vatican.
The Bishops made the recommendation at their first Annual Plenary Meeting of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi in Lilongwe on Friday.
“Circumcision can reduce the spread of diseases that are communicable through sexual intercourse. The medical personal of our church recommended that this procedure is in line with the church’s teaching,” Father Buleya, Secretary General of Episcopal Conference of Malawi told Zodiak Radio.
“As a church we are against the use of condoms and recommend male circumcision because it is in line with the church teachings,” said Fr. Buleya
Malawi government has also recently recommended male circumcision as a preventive measure in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In Malawi, 21 percent of adult males are circumcised, with significant regional variation: Northern region (5%), Central region (12%), and Southern region (33%).
According to UNAIDS, HIV and AIDS prevalence rate in Malawi has stabilised at 12 percent dropping from as high as 22 percent due to government impressive, comprehensive response to the AIDS epidemic in the past decade.