Priest calls proposal mandating citizens to carry condom superficial

Published: 2006-01-20

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) -- A Tulua city councilman's proposal to require all citizens age 14 and older to carry a condom "seems a little superficial," said a local parish priest. Father Roberto Sarmiento of St. Bartholomew Church in Tulua, a university city with a population of about 200,000, said carrying condoms would make little difference without a change in mentality. He declined to say whether he would carry a condom if the bill passed. "It's not just a matter of carrying (a condom)," he said. "One also has to carry responsibility. We have to look at it from the perspective of formation and education," he added. Councilman William Pena's proposed law, which he said has the support of most city council members, would require all Tulua residents and visitors age 14 and over to carry a condom at all times. Pena said he made the proposal after learning about the region's high rate of AIDS, although he said he is also concerned about the many teenage pregnancies. Adolescent pregnancy has received much attention in Colombian media recently.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .