BERN, April 29, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An anti-HIV/AIDS advertising campaign in Switzerland that uses anti-Catholic messaging has been shelved, apparently out of respect for the country’s 3.3 million Catholics, almost half of the 7.3 million population. According to government spokesmen, the objections of Catholic bishops influenced the decision to pull the ads.
One poster in German said: “Dear Father, if Rome doesn’t want you to talk about contraception, then talk about condoms instead.” A spokesman said cryptically, “We had intensive talks with the Bishop’s conference, and agreed to drop that part of the campaign because we had used the word Rome rather than Vatican. … It was never our intention to attack Rome, the Vatican or the Church, or to hurt religious feelings.” For newswire coverage: https://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=2626131