Condoms have always had the two distinct roles, as contraceptive (birth cotrol) and a prophylactic (disease control). Only the use as a contraceptive has ever been proscribed by the Church. Here is what one Jesuit has to say in an article worth looking at: I accept that the difference between a condom-as-contraceptive and a condom-as- prophylactic is real and that one may use a condom to prevent HIV transmission, allowing its contraceptive action, according to the Principle of Double Effect. That is a completely different matter from the argument about how reliable they are as a method of preventing HIV transmission. And there does appear to be evidence that the level of risk is actually more significant than frequently claimed.
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