Catholic Church calls for ban on condom advertisements

Manila: The Catholic Church has called for a ban on condom advertisements in bid to protect the morality of young people.

"The condom business is a multi-million dollar industry that heavily targets the adolescent market at the expense of morality and family life," Bishop Nereo Odchimar, president of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines, said in a statement posted in the CBCP website.

"Condom advertisements should be banned in television, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, and public places, as they desensitise youths' delicate consciences and weaken their moral fibre as future parents," Odchimar said.

Promiscuity

Condoms "create a false sense of security; [they] condone and encourage promiscuity outside of marriage, and contribute to the further spread of HIV-Aids", argued Odchimar.

He also called on Congress to pass a bill for the regulation of ads, and insisted condoms should carry warning labels such as "Condoms may fail to protect from Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases".

"Consumer groups should insist on the right to know the real characteristics of products they use," the bishop said.