Advertisement Campaign Displays the Holy Eucharist to Promote Condom Use

Country: Spain

Date of incident: April 14, 2011


A media campaign to raise awareness on HIV uses the Holy Eucharist, a priest, and excerpt from mass to promote the use of condoms. Displaying an image of a priest giving communion, the add employs phrases like “Holy condom you take away the AIDS of the world.” Another phrase used in this add is: “Do not be given communion (Hostia), use a condom”. The word Hostia means communion in Spanish, but hostia can also be used with a pejorative meaning in Spanish.

The campaign was released last December 1st, 2010. Spanish media reported on April 14th, 2011, that the Catholic Federation of Student´s Parents in Sevilla has sued the authors of the campaign, PSOE/JSA (Socialist Youth of Andalucia), for infringement of article 525 of the Criminal Law for offending a religious creed. Sources: http://www.intereconomia.com/noticias-gaceta/sociedad/abren-diligencias-contra-las-juventudes-socialistas-presunto-delito-contra- 
http://www.larazon.es/noticia/2257-abren-diligencias-contra-la-campana-comulgar-con-condones-de-las-juventudes-socialistas
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/12/01/andalucia_sevilla/1291227218.html
http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/espana/noticias/2992246/04/11/Abren-diligencias-contra-las-Juventudes-Socialistas-por-campana-pro-condon.html
http://www.diariodesevilla.es/article/sevilla/951450/abren/diligencias/contra/las/juventudes/socialistas/por/una/campana/pro/condon.html
http://lanaciondigital.blogspot.com/2011/04/las-juventudes-socialistas-se-mofan-de.html
http://www.europapress.es/andalucia/sevilla-00357/noticia-fecapa-sevilla-llevara-fiscalia-campana-contra-sida-psoe-considerarla-ofensiva-catolicos-20101203124134.html