It’s unfortunate that it has taken decades for the Catholic Church to acknowledge the crucial role that condoms play in halting transmission of HIV.

However, Pope Benedict XVI’s statement endorsing the use of condoms for combating the spread of HIV is misguided in labeling condoms a “lesser evil.”

The false dichotomy of the moral versus the practical that permeates Catholicism lies at the root of many of the primitive Catholic dogmas such as its stance on condoms.

Morality is a guide for living one’s life, not a recipe to gain admission into some mythical realm.

Catholicism divorces morality from the requirements for living life on Earth and, therefore, is not able to provide any practical guide to life, and is forced to resort to calling a life-saving intervention a “lesser evil.”