How To Use A Duoderm Patch

Achilles heel condom

chastity and fidelity much more effective

The Catholic Church is once again criticized for its opposition to condoms.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, recently accused the Church of hypocrisy on this issue in a meeting organized by the country's health minister, Reuters reported March 12.

The agency also reported the response of Cardinal Eugenio de Araujo Sales, retired archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, in which he stated the problems posed by the government's condom program in a newspaper article. The policy of mass distribution of condoms, he wrote, promotes a culture of sexual promiscuity.

A statement issued by the Episcopal Commission on Family and life of Brazil also rejected accusations Silva. The committee stressed the need to educate adolescents on moral good.

Governments in many countries increasingly favor the widespread distribution of condoms in an attempt to reduce teenage pregnancies and the spread of sexual diseases. Earlier this year, in Scotland, condoms were distributed to children aged 13, reported on 16 January the Edinburgh Evening News.

The newspaper reported that the data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act revealed that in 2005 distributed a total of 56,638 free condoms to young people between 13 and 15 years in Edinburgh and surrounding areas.

Simon Dames, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, explained the program, indicating the inconsistency of government policy which prohibits smoking at the age of 18 years, and yet promotes sexual activity by distributing condoms to those who have not yet reached the age of consent, 16, for sex.

In the U.S., a joint statement by Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, and Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas Di Marzio, criticized city officials for distributing condoms Free Valentine's Day, the Associated Press reported on 16 February.

The bishops' statement said that the only way to protect against sexually transmitted diseases is through abstinence before marriage and fidelity after.

Health officials in Washington, DC, also distributed 250,000 condoms before Valentine's Day, reported on 16 February, the Washington Post.

the Church's position justified

According to Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, abstinence before marriage, as well as fidelity between spouses, is by far the most effective ways to prevent AIDS. The cardinal made the remarks at an AIDS conference in Rome, reported the Associated Press on 20 December.

There is increasing evidence supporting the statements of Cardinal. On 2 March, the Washington Post published a lengthy article examining the experience with AIDS in Botswana.

The newspaper noted that some studies indicated the practice of having sex with multiple partners "as the most powerful force for the spread of a killer disease on a continent vulnerable."

The Washington Post cited a July report AIDS experts in southern Africa and the officials who put "reducing multiple partners and casual" as their first priority to prevent the spread of HIV. The region has 38% of all HIV-infected world.

The article described how Botswana has followed for many years the policy recommended by international experts to promote condoms and distribute antiviral drugs. It has been useless. The rate of HIV infections in the country is among the steepest in the world. About 25% of the population is currently infected.

in Botswana have never been seriously promoted campaigns loyalty, noted the Washington Post, but condoms. It launched a $ 13.5 million to promote condoms in the country, thanks to financial support from the Foundation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and pharmaceutical company Merck. The amount spent on the promotion of condoms was 25 times that spent on abstinence programs.

"increasing rate of condom use has not led to a decline in HIV rates," concluded the article. "By contrast, both indices have increased at a time, to be both among the highest in Africa."

Behavior Change

Medical experts are increasingly recognizing the importance of changing the way people act, rather than programs based on condom distribution.

On March 11, 2006, the British Medical Journal published an article entitled "Risk Compensation: The Achilles' Heel of Innovations in HIV Prevention?" (Risk compensation: the Achilles Heel of Innovations in the Prevention of HIV?).

Written by a team led by Michael Cassell, the article noted that while the pharmaceutical and other measures can help reduce the spread of HIV, can also inhibit change to safer behaviors to reduce risk perception among people.

The condom promotion campaigns, combined with a reduction of perceived risk "may have contributed to increases in non-constant use, which has a protective effect at least as well as to a possible contempt of the risks of having multiple partners , the article commented.

The authors also observed that studies in some Western countries show that the promise of increased access to antiretroviral therapy "has been associated with a significant increase in risk behaviors."

Before this confirmation the need to change sexual behavior, a study has been conducted in Zimbabwe's rural population between 1998 and 2003. An article entitled "Understanding HIV Epidemic Trends in Africa" \u200b\u200b(Understanding HIV Epidemic Trends in Africa), published on February 3, 2006 in the journal Science, reported on the findings of the study.

Authors Richard Hayes and Helen Weiss, wrote that there had been a reduction in HIV due to changes in sexual behavior. The changes involved delaying the onset of sexual activity among adolescents and reducing the number of casual sexual partners.

A related issue debate is the question of promoting abstinence. An article published in February in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence stressed the negative consequences of sexual relationships begin at an early age.

The article, "Adolescent Sexual Debut and Later Delinquency" (Adolescent Sexual Debut and Later Delinquency), Stacy Armour and Dana Haynie, observed that the question of the harmful effects of sex outside of marriage is a controversial point about the debate whether or not to promote abstinence. So far, however, research has been done on the subject. Armour and Haynie

used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health to examine the interconnections between the age of sexual debut and subsequent delinquency problems. The study covered some 12,000 students and the results were controlled for variables such as age, race and family structure.

The findings of the study was the finding that premature initiation of sexual activity increases the risk of crime. Similarly, delaying sexual activity until later "offers a protective effect and reduces the risks of engaging in subsequent delinquency." The positive and negative effects go beyond adolescence and persist into adulthood.

A sustainable solution

The importance of a solution based a complete picture of the human person was the subject of a posting by the African bishops to the last World AIDS Day on 1 December.

The document was published by the Catholic Information Service for Africa, on November 21 and signed by the Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, Chairman of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

"We the Catholic bishops of Africa encourage everyone to consider the deeper causes of the pandemic," he declared. The problem is not just medical or technical, but involves deeper moral issues. Besides the commitment of the Church to provide health care to those patients, the statement noted the need to preach the Gospel message.

"Since the Church's mission is to address the whole person in all dimensions of life, we feel a special responsibility to revitalize the strong moral values \u200b\u200bof our societies," the document added. "This is what will lead to a real and sustainable solution to AIDS in Africa."

By Father John Flynn

ZS07033020

Ikusa Otome Suvia Dvdiso

The sexualization of girls

Reports show damage

An unhealthy sexualization is putting in danger the girls increasingly concludes a report published on 19 February by the American Psychological Association.

Entitled "Report of the APA Task Force on the sexualization of Girls" (Report of the Task Force of the APA on the Sexualization of Girls), the study is the result of research on the content and media effects media: television, music videos, music, magazines, movies, video games and the Internet.

The team also examined the industry's advertising campaigns for products aimed at girls.

"We have an extensive range of evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in various fields, including cognitive, physical and mental health and healthy sexual development, "said Dr. Eileen Zurbriggen, head of the team and professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in a note press release accompanying the report.

Sexualization causes difficulties at any age, the report says, but adds that is especially problematic when it occurs at a younger age. Achieve sexual maturity in adolescents is not an easy process, the study acknowledges, but encouraged observed that when a young girl or teen to be sexy, without them even knowing what this means, the process is complicated further.

media saturation

The report cited a number of studies detailing the large amount of time spent in contact with the media. According to the data, the child or adolescent is an average of three hours of television per day. However, when calculating the total number of hours to all types of media, is that children are exposed to some type of media - television, video games, music, et ... - six hours a day.

A study conducted in 2003 reported that 68% of children have a television in their room, and that 51% of girls play interactive games on their computers and video game consoles. Both girls and boys spend half an hour a day at the computer, visiting websites, listening to music, frequenting chat rooms, playing games or sending messages to their friends.

The report of the American Psychological Association noted: "On television, young viewers encounter a world that is disproportionately male, especially in youth-oriented programs, and in which female figures are more likely to wear so more attractive and provocative than male. "

A large percentage of music videos contain sexual imagery, and women are often dressed provocatively presented. The report also noted that female artists are presented in a way that its main focus is not his talent or his music, but rather your body and sexuality. Thus, the report concludes, viewers receive the message that success comes from being an attractive sexual object.

As for the songs themselves, the APA researchers lamented that there are no recent analysis of sexual content. In his report, however, cited some examples of how the words of some recent hit songs sexualize women, or refer to them in highly degrading ways.

As the great screen, the report commented on the lack of female characters in general films, and films of series G. A study of 101 movies G series from 1990 to 2004, revealed that more than 4,000 characters in these films, 75% were male, 83% of secondary characters were men, 83% of the narrators also were, and 72% of the characters with dialogue were also men. "This clear lack of representation of women and girls in films with familiar content reflects a missed opportunity to present a wider range of girls and women in roles that are not sexualized," noted the report of the APA.
Doubtful
influences

Teen magazines are another important influence on girls. The report cited some studies about the content of the magazines, and revealed that one of the central messages of the publications is that "present oneself as sexually desirable, and thus obtain the attention of men, is, and should be, focal goal for women. "

is difficult to determine the enormously varied content that is available via the Internet, but the APA researchers cited one study on websites that generally appeal to women - the websites of fans of male and female celebrities. An analysis of the content found that female celebrities were overwhelmingly over-represented in the male sexual images, whether it was the official website or one created by their fans.

Advertising is another important area where women often sexualized. The study also notes that research has shown the tendency to portray women in a decorative or operator continues to grow. You have reached the point, he added, the girls used in seductive poses to attract adult audiences.

Recently, some commentators have highlighted the fact that even the toy market is being affected by the trend sexualization. APA researchers said they were concerned about sexually provocative dresses usually wear the most popular dolls for girls between 4 and 8 years.

The same goes for clothes. Girls are invited to increasingly younger ages to wear clothing designed to highlight female sexuality. The cosmetics are also heading to younger girls.

All these influences combine to cause a series of problems for girls. The APA report stated that sexualization is linked with three of the mental health problems more common in girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression.

The researchers added that there is also evidence showing that the sexualization of girls, and negative feelings by the body it causes, can lead to sexual problems in adulthood. Indicated that the problem is related to the idealization of youth as the only good and beautiful old life. The current boom in anti-aging and cosmetic surgery is a result of this beauty imposed.

The victory of the mobile

Resist the tendency to hyper-sexualization is not easy, but in Canada, two weeks ago, won a battle of decency.

In January, the second Canadian phone company, Telus, started offering pornographic photos and videos to its users. The Vancouver-based company was heavily critical of Archbishop Raymond Roussin. "The decision by Telus is disappointing and cause for discomfort," he declared on 12 February.

In another statement released four days later, the archbishop of Vancouver accused the company of damage to society in their quest for a share of the lucrative profits from the pornography industry.

The archbishop called for a mobile phone service free of pornography. Also stated that it was getting in touch with churches and Catholic schools to not renew their mobile phone contracts with Telus. Also, calling on all Catholics and other Canadians concerned about the fact that contact with the mobile phone companies to express concern about the proliferation of pornography through mobile phones.

February 21, Telus announced it was canceling the service of "adult content." According to a report in the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, the company said it had received hundreds of complaints from users. Archbishop Roussin
held
As in a statement the same day: "We are just beginning to realize how serious it is in fact the subject of sex addiction and pornography," he commented.

Concern about the effect of culture fashion was also expressed recently by Benedict XVI. In his message for World Day of Social Communications, which will take place on 20 May, the Pope noted the tendency toward the exaltation of violence and the trivialization of sexuality.

The Pope wrote: "The beauty is like a mirror of the divine, inspires and enlivens the hearts and minds, while ugliness and coarseness have a depressing impact in attitudes and behavior "(No. 2).

champions of modern culture have frequently and falsely accused the Church of being obsessed with sex. Indeed, contemporary society is suffering from this obsession, as the Church continues to uphold the dignity and beauty of the human person.

By Father John Flynn

ZS07030907