The Nation - News from Dec. 29, 1987

The country’s Roman Catholic bishops will reconsider a paper issued earlier this month that gave approval to church-sponsored teaching about condoms in some instances, the New York Archdiocese said, according to a published report. The New York Times reported that the 380-member U.S. Catholic Conference will discuss the issue at its next gathering in June in Minnesota. Cited in the report was a statement from the office of Cardinal John O’Connor, who had called the paper “a grave mistake.” The paper, issued by the conference’s administrative board, said that instruction about condoms could be permitted in AIDS education programs if the instruction is presented within the context of church teaching. It did not advocate the use of condoms.