Mar 16 2013
ABC News examines how the selection of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina to be Pope might impact Catholic organizations' work in disease prevention, including HIV/AIDS prevention. According to ABC News, the Guardian reports that Bergoglio, now known as Pope Francis, "takes a slightly more pragmatic view on contraception, believing that it can be permissible to prevent the spread of disease." However, "[t]he National Catholic Reporter wrote in early March that 'Bergoglio is seen as unwaveringly orthodox on matters of sexual morality, staunchly opposing abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception,'" the news service writes. "No matter what, Francis' stance will be closely watched and will impact how humanitarian organizations, particularly those fighting AIDS, do their work," ABC News states (Hesson/Deruy, 3/14).
This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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