Sex and the Catholic Church in Guatemala

Abstract

The Catholic Church's opposition to contraception makes it a prime target for criticism from those working to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS. But as rates of infection rise in largely Catholic Guatemala, dissenting church groups are starting to tackle taboos and invite change. Jill Replogle reports.When José Luis Velasquez, a cheerful 24-year-old health educator with a Catholic Church-sponsored HIV prevention programme, visits schools and youth groups to talk about HIV prevention, he is sometimes asked by the organisers not to talk about sex—even to not mention that HIV can be transmitted sexually. But, when it is time for questions, he says, what young people want to know most about are condoms, contraceptives, abortions, and sex.Velasquez, a Catholic, is the education coordinator for Proyecto Vida, or Project Life, an HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programme started by two Maryknoll nuns. The project is based in the town of Coatepeque, in southwestern Guatemala, along a main truck route running north to Mexico.Because the project falls under supervision of the Guatemalan Catholic Church, Velasquez and his colleagues have to tread carefully when it comes to condoms, contraceptives, and other sex topics considered taboo by the Catholic Church. In his talks, Velasquez always emphasises that abstinence and fidelity are the best ways to avoid infection and that condoms should be a last resort. Most priests and other religious leaders, he says, have gradually come to accept that it is necessary to discuss condoms and other subjects they consider controversial in HIV/AIDS education.They allow it, just as long as they're not involved, he says. “They support us with their silence. They'll say ‘OK, tell me when, and I'll leave the room’.”Though the Church officially condemns contraceptives, abortion, and homosexuality, many Catholics and clergy in Latin America are quietly dissenting from official church policy. In Guatemala and other Latin American countries with majority Catholic populations, the use of birth control is on the rise and national reproductive health and education programmes are spreading. Many of these programmes have the Church hierarchy's blessing, or at least its tacit acceptance.Experts say there is also a growing recognition within the Church that HIV/AIDS prevention programmes need to work with at-risk populations, such as homosexuals and sex workers.Nevertheless, there remains enough Church opposition to hamper efforts to reduce maternal mortality, prevent HIV/AIDS, and improve family health, say activists. “The Church has interfered a lot in what could have been, in terms of prevention of the epidemic”, says Richard Stern, a Costa Rica-based HIV/AIDS activist. He says it is a tragedy that the Church has not done more to help prevent the spread of the virus.But some Church leaders say it is time to stop waging ideological debates and start preventing HIV/AIDS. “Fighting has done us so much harm that we're trying to have a greater dialogue”, says Bishop Pablo Vizcaíno, head of the Guatemalan Church's pastoral health programme.Judging by the high rates of contraceptive use in many staunchly Catholic countries, a large number of Catholics are ignoring the Church's teachings against birth control. In Brazil and Colombia, for example, both strongholds of the Catholic Church in Latin America, over 75% of women use contraceptives.Despite widespread rejection of Church policy, activists say there is little chance official Church doctrine will change, especially since the election of conservative Joseph Ratzinger to the Papacy. As head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1981, Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, maintained a hard line against birth control, abortion, and homosexuality. On Ratzinger's election, the Latin American Network of Catholics for Choice, which lobbies for the Church's acceptance of contraception, abortion, and homosexuality, declared that “by electing him, our Cardinals didn't take into account the millions of parishioners who suffer and the thousands who have died because of his teachings”.Despite the Vatican's rigid condemnation of condoms as birth control, its top health official, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, has conceded that a non-HIV infected wife could ask an infected husband to use a condom to protect herself from contracting the virus.It is estimated that some 70 000 people are infected with HIV in Guatemala, one of the highest rates in Central America. Though Church leaders here tow the official line, they often turn a blind eye to the HIV-prevention efforts of some clergy, such as handing out condoms to sex workers and homosexual men. Nevertheless, neither the leaders nor the rebels want to publicise this quiet rebellion.“Officially, we don't know what they're doing”, says Conchita Reyes, head of the Church's network of health programmes in Guatemala, when asked about a specific HIV-prevention programme. Abstinence and fidelity are the Church's official recommendations for preventing HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, she says.When asked about birth control, Reyes said that although the Guatemalan Church's health programme only recommends natural methods approved by the Vatican, it provides information on all types of contraceptives. “We make it known that people have the right to decide, as long as they are well informed”, says Reyes. Those individuals who want to use artificial birth control will do so regardless of what the Church recommends, she adds.In fact, most experts in Latin America say religious beliefs are not usually people's first concern when it comes to making decisions about family planning. “Very few people don't use contraceptives because of God”, says Dalila de la Cruz, education coordinator at APROFAM, the biggest provider of reproductive health care and education in Guatemala.De la Cruz says the reasons most women don't use birth control methods are that they don't know about them, have no access to them, or are concerned about possible harmful side-effects. According to the 2002 National Maternal Infant Health Survey, only 43% of Guatemalan women and men use contraceptives, up from 31·5% in 1995.Catholic-run health programmes cope with conflicts between official church policy and health prioritiesView Large Image Copyright © 2005 Jill ReplogleRolando Figueroa, a gynaecologist and coordinator of the health programme for Catholic Relief Services in Latin America and the Caribbean, says Church opposition to reproductive health services was a result of Church leaders' views that reproductive health meant contraceptives, sexuality, and abortion. But some Catholic organisations are trying to change that stance by moving the debate away from taboo topics, Figueroa says. For example, some church programmes that will not discuss contraceptives have begun to recommend spacing between pregnancies using natural methods. “It's a step”, he says.Alejandro Silva, director of Guatemala's National Reproductive Health Program, says that since the Catholic Church helped formulate the Social Development Law in 2001, which created the National Reproductive Health Program, there have been few major conflicts with the Church on public reproductive health policies, including family planning and sexual education.But Silva says issues like emergency contraception and homosexuality are still too touchy to be included in public-health initiatives, for fear of a backlash that could hold up other reproductive health programmes.He added that there are more ominous barriers to good reproductive health in Guatemala than conflicts over religious beliefs. These include lack of education, under funding of the health system, and even biases among health workers.According to Silva, some doctors will not prescribe contraceptives to teenagers, while others recommend methods of contraception based on their personal religious beliefs, not science.Some activists say the Catholic Church's official stance against condoms and homosexuality is still hurting AIDS-prevention efforts. Nevertheless, the spread of Catholic-run programmes that are addressing HIV/AIDS, like Project Life, may indicate a change.“When we first started, the Church was very slow in responding because it's taboo to talk about sex”, says Dee Smith, a Maryknoll nun and co-founder of Project Life. “But now that so many people have died in the parishes, they're becoming much more helpful.”Smith, along with Project Life co-founder Marlene Condon, believes the energy wasted on the debate over condoms and the Church could be better used to fight the epidemic. “Making everything controversial does not help the fight against AIDS”, says Smith. The Catholic Church's opposition to contraception makes it a prime target for criticism from those working to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS. But as rates of infection rise in largely Catholic Guatemala, dissenting church groups are starting to tackle taboos and invite change. Jill Replogle reports. When José Luis Velasquez, a cheerful 24-year-old health educator with a Catholic Church-sponsored HIV prevention programme, visits schools and youth groups to talk about HIV prevention, he is sometimes asked by the organisers not to talk about sex—even to not mention that HIV can be transmitted sexually. But, when it is time for questions, he says, what young people want to know most about are condoms, contraceptives, abortions, and sex. Velasquez, a Catholic, is the education coordinator for Proyecto Vida, or Project Life, an HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programme started by two Maryknoll nuns. The project is based in the town of Coatepeque, in southwestern Guatemala, along a main truck route running north to Mexico. Because the project falls under supervision of the Guatemalan Catholic Church, Velasquez and his colleagues have to tread carefully when it comes to condoms, contraceptives, and other sex topics considered taboo by the Catholic Church. In his talks, Velasquez always emphasises that abstinence and fidelity are the best ways to avoid infection and that condoms should be a last resort. Most priests and other religious leaders, he says, have gradually come to accept that it is necessary to discuss condoms and other subjects they consider controversial in HIV/AIDS education. They allow it, just as long as they're not involved, he says. “They support us with their silence. They'll say ‘OK, tell me when, and I'll leave the room’.” Though the Church officially condemns contraceptives, abortion, and homosexuality, many Catholics and clergy in Latin America are quietly dissenting from official church policy. In Guatemala and other Latin American countries with majority Catholic populations, the use of birth control is on the rise and national reproductive health and education programmes are spreading. Many of these programmes have the Church hierarchy's blessing, or at least its tacit acceptance. Experts say there is also a growing recognition within the Church that HIV/AIDS prevention programmes need to work with at-risk populations, such as homosexuals and sex workers. Nevertheless, there remains enough Church opposition to hamper efforts to reduce maternal mortality, prevent HIV/AIDS, and improve family health, say activists. “The Church has interfered a lot in what could have been, in terms of prevention of the epidemic”, says Richard Stern, a Costa Rica-based HIV/AIDS activist. He says it is a tragedy that the Church has not done more to help prevent the spread of the virus. But some Church leaders say it is time to stop waging ideological debates and start preventing HIV/AIDS. “Fighting has done us so much harm that we're trying to have a greater dialogue”, says Bishop Pablo Vizcaíno, head of the Guatemalan Church's pastoral health programme. Judging by the high rates of contraceptive use in many staunchly Catholic countries, a large number of Catholics are ignoring the Church's teachings against birth control. In Brazil and Colombia, for example, both strongholds of the Catholic Church in Latin America, over 75% of women use contraceptives. Despite widespread rejection of Church policy, activists say there is little chance official Church doctrine will change, especially since the election of conservative Joseph Ratzinger to the Papacy. As head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1981, Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, maintained a hard line against birth control, abortion, and homosexuality. On Ratzinger's election, the Latin American Network of Catholics for Choice, which lobbies for the Church's acceptance of contraception, abortion, and homosexuality, declared that “by electing him, our Cardinals didn't take into account the millions of parishioners who suffer and the thousands who have died because of his teachings”. Despite the Vatican's rigid condemnation of condoms as birth control, its top health official, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, has conceded that a non-HIV infected wife could ask an infected husband to use a condom to protect herself from contracting the virus. It is estimated that some 70 000 people are infected with HIV in Guatemala, one of the highest rates in Central America. Though Church leaders here tow the official line, they often turn a blind eye to the HIV-prevention efforts of some clergy, such as handing out condoms to sex workers and homosexual men. Nevertheless, neither the leaders nor the rebels want to publicise this quiet rebellion. “Officially, we don't know what they're doing”, says Conchita Reyes, head of the Church's network of health programmes in Guatemala, when asked about a specific HIV-prevention programme. Abstinence and fidelity are the Church's official recommendations for preventing HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, she says. When asked about birth control, Reyes said that although the Guatemalan Church's health programme only recommends natural methods approved by the Vatican, it provides information on all types of contraceptives. “We make it known that people have the right to decide, as long as they are well informed”, says Reyes. Those individuals who want to use artificial birth control will do so regardless of what the Church recommends, she adds. In fact, most experts in Latin America say religious beliefs are not usually people's first concern when it comes to making decisions about family planning. “Very few people don't use contraceptives because of God”, says Dalila de la Cruz, education coordinator at APROFAM, the biggest provider of reproductive health care and education in Guatemala. De la Cruz says the reasons most women don't use birth control methods are that they don't know about them, have no access to them, or are concerned about possible harmful side-effects. According to the 2002 National Maternal Infant Health Survey, only 43% of Guatemalan women and men use contraceptives, up from 31·5% in 1995. Rolando Figueroa, a gynaecologist and coordinator of the health programme for Catholic Relief Services in Latin America and the Caribbean, says Church opposition to reproductive health services was a result of Church leaders' views that reproductive health meant contraceptives, sexuality, and abortion. But some Catholic organisations are trying to change that stance by moving the debate away from taboo topics, Figueroa says. For example, some church programmes that will not discuss contraceptives have begun to recommend spacing between pregnancies using natural methods. “It's a step”, he says. Alejandro Silva, director of Guatemala's National Reproductive Health Program, says that since the Catholic Church helped formulate the Social Development Law in 2001, which created the National Reproductive Health Program, there have been few major conflicts with the Church on public reproductive health policies, including family planning and sexual education. But Silva says issues like emergency contraception and homosexuality are still too touchy to be included in public-health initiatives, for fear of a backlash that could hold up other reproductive health programmes. He added that there are more ominous barriers to good reproductive health in Guatemala than conflicts over religious beliefs. These include lack of education, under funding of the health system, and even biases among health workers. According to Silva, some doctors will not prescribe contraceptives to teenagers, while others recommend methods of contraception based on their personal religious beliefs, not science. Some activists say the Catholic Church's official stance against condoms and homosexuality is still hurting AIDS-prevention efforts. Nevertheless, the spread of Catholic-run programmes that are addressing HIV/AIDS, like Project Life, may indicate a change. “When we first started, the Church was very slow in responding because it's taboo to talk about sex”, says Dee Smith, a Maryknoll nun and co-founder of Project Life. “But now that so many people have died in the parishes, they're becoming much more helpful.” Smith, along with Project Life co-founder Marlene Condon, believes the energy wasted on the debate over condoms and the Church could be better used to fight the epidemic. “Making everything controversial does not help the fight against AIDS”, says Smith.