The Windsor Star from Windsor, Ontario, Canada • 83

Saturday, December 2, 2000 The Windsor Star 1 -I AC tf 11. i Starting December 31st, the Government of Canada is extending maternity-parental leave from six months to one year. So now you have more choice about how much time you stay at home during your baby's first year. You can choose to take the entiie paiental leave or share it between you and your spouse staying heme tegsther or one after the other. How you choose to take the twelve months is entirely up to you.

For more information, call tU-iTC3 1 CZO (Xzr.Zil (1 800 622-6232) or visit our Web site at: www.hrdc-dihc.gc.ca Users of TTYTTD devices dial: 1 800 465-7735. For childien bom on or after December 31, 2000, or adopted children placed your care on or alter December 31 100a I Vatican says condoms not legitimate' By Reuters vatican city The Vatican reaffirmed its total opposition to the use of condoms Thursday, quashing speculation it might change its position to help battle the worldwide AIDS epidemic. Vatican officials also told a news conference it was no secret that some priests had contracted AIDS through sexual conduct but described the news media's interest in the subject as "morbid curiosity" "Is it possible to use condoms?" said Archbishop Javier Barragan. "Of course. Many people use them." "But if you ask whether they are allowed according to Catholic doctrine, the answer is no because they are not ethically permissible." Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Workers, was speaking on the opening of a two-day symposium at the Vatican on AIDS and health care.

The Roman Catholic Church has come under fire from international population and health organizations in recent years over its teachings against the use of condoms for birth control or to help block the spread of AIDS. The church teaches that artificially blocking the possible transmission of life is not moral and that only monogamous heterosexual relations within marriage are permissible. "We are opposed to the use of condoms because they do not respect the absolute dignity of the human person," Barragan said. Article misinterpreted Rumours have swept church circles that the Vatican might be on the verge of allowing limited use of condoms based on the concept of the "lesser of two evils." The speculation was fuelled by an article last September in America, the authoritative journal of U.S. Jesuits.

America had interpreted a complex article in the Vatican's newspaper as signalling that there had been a subtle but significant change in the Roman Catholic stand on condoms. Officials at Thursday's news conference said the article in the Vatican newspaper had been misinterpreted by America. "From the physical point of view, condoms are certainly a lesser evil," said Rev. Bonifacio Honings, a Dutch moral theologian who advises the Vatican. "From the moral point of view they are not a lesser evil and are absolutely not legitimate." Officials at the news conference rejected criticism of the church by some organizations over its stand on condoms.

"The laws of Christ are difficult to accept and there is compassion and understanding for those who are weak, but no exceptions to moral laws can be made," said Rev. Felice Ruffini, undersecretary of the Vatican department hosting the AIDS conference for health workers. Barragan said the Catholic Church is directly or indirectly involved around the world in 25 per cent of the work to help victims of AIDS and to stem the spread of the disease. A Canada mumi (smm v. I fl '1 I I .1 4 jf J'l ,1 .11 111 il 5 I i.lb '1 -vm: to i HF Jr.V niif DiC i.lm.

II I' 'i ill? IP fifi You NEED A FIREARMS LICENCE by January 1, 2001 Due to heavy demand, the $10 fee for a Possession-Only Licence will remain in effect until December 31, 2000. Only the $60 Possession and Acquisition Licence will be available after this year. (You must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course or equivalent to get this licence.) Application forms are also available at Canada Post outlets and Service Canada Access Centres. For more information, assistance or forms: call 1 800 731-4000 or visit our Web site at www.cfc.gc.ca If you DON'T PLAN TO GET A LICENCE by January 1, 2001, these are your options: (D you can turn it (A) You can sell or give vnur firparm tn a You can have it properly deactivated. in to your local police station (Call first.) properly licensed person or business OR VOR ODtBCEOfl OdCebbq (foam Canada To find out about the legal requirements for any of these options, call 1 800 731-4000 or visit our Web site at www.cfc.gc.ca.