Date of Award

Fall 2013

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Justice Studies

Degree Name

Master of Arts

First Advisor

Marion Girard-Dorsey

Abstract

Though prevention is the most stressed component of the global fight against HIV/AIDS, global agreement regarding the most successful prevention method does not exist. For example, the majority of the medical and scientific community agrees that condoms and other safe-sex practices are the key to reducing the number of HIV transmissions, while the Catholic Church and her ranking officials claim that abstinence and monogamy are the only moral solutions.

This Thesis examines the policies of the Church, including her dedication to the protection of the sanctity of human life, in an attempt to determine if the Church's words are shaping HIV/AIDS prevention and if there is an opening for a reprioritization on her stance on condoms without abandoning her principles. At the conclusion of this Thesis, it is established that the Church's own policies could support the use of condoms for disease prevention without compromising on her morals or canon.

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