Kevin Dowling

Kevin Dowling (born 14 February 1944 in Pretoria) is the Roman Catholic bishop of the diocese of Rustenburg in South Africa. He is best known for his position, contradicting the official Vatican position, that the Catholic Church should reverse its position on the use of condoms to prevent HIV transmission.

Downling was ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer on 9 July 1967. He was appointed bishop of Rustenburg on 2 December 1990, and ordained on 27 January 1991.

Dowling first announced his position on condom use in 2001, in a response to a question by a Catholic news agency reporter during a bishops' conference in southern Africa. After stating the bishop's conference had not taken a position on condom use, Dowling was asked for his personal opinion, and said that he believed condoms should be used to prevent the spread of HIV.

Following this, he received a number of rebukes from the South African papal nuncio. The bishop's conference condemned his words, describing condoms as “an immoral and misguided weapon” in the fight against HIV, and argued that condom use could even encourage the spread of HIV by promoting extramarital sex.

External link

 * Information on Dowling, from catholic-hierarchy.org