Italian school angers the Vatican by installing condom machines on campus

The Vatican today condemned a controversial decision by an Italian school to install a condom machine on its campus, saying it 'trivialises sex.'



Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the Pope's chief vicar of the diocese of Rome, spoke out after the dispensers were installed in the boys and girls toilets of the Keplero secondary school.

Cardinal Vallini said he was 'very worried' by the move, which is the first of its kind in an Italian school, and added: 'This trivialises sex and will not find agreement in the Church community of Rome or with Christan families who will be seriously considered about children's education.'



Cardinal Agostino Vallini, pictured with Pope Benedict XVI, has spoken out against an Italian school's decision to install condom machines

The Roman Catholic Church is strictly against the use of condoms and any other form of contraception - although privately some priests are in favour of them to cut down the spread of AIDS especially in Africa.

Council officials approved the installation of the machines after meeting with student representatives and they will sell three condoms for €2 (£1.80), which is around half the usual retail price in chemists.

Aids campaigners have welcomed the machines and they hope to install them across the country and are planning a campaign with the slogan: 'Want to make Love? Then use your head get your school to install condom machines.'



Today students at the Keplero, which is three miles south of the Vatican, also backed their introduction with many saying it was the 'logical way to cut down on pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.'



A teenage boy interviewed on Italian TV news said: 'It's a good ides because it also cuts out the embarrassment of going to the chemist and buying condoms and also they are cheaper at school.'



Headmaster Luigi Barbato said: 'We decided to introduce these machines after talks with the students and with council chiefs. It was agreed unanimously even by the parents.

According to he latest figures available from the Italian Ministry of health the teenage pregnancy rate is six per 1000 girls aged between 15 and 19, compared to 26.4 in the United Kingdom - one of the highest in Europe.

In a recent survey of 7482 students in Italy by the Ministry of Health on sexual knowledge 18 per cent admitted regularly having intercourse without using a condom, which officials said had contributed to rises in sexually transmitted diseases.

The Keperlo school, which specialises in science and technology, is named after Johannes Kepler, a German 17th Century mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, who defended and cleared his mother when she was accused of being a witch.

In Britain the issue of condom machines in schools has caused controversy. Some schools have announced they are considering such a move but so far none have introduced the machines.

Last month it was revealed that Labour was considering the use of machines in schools as part of its drive to cut down on the country's teenage pregancy rate but critics have labelled the idea as a 'disaster.'



Researcher and author Patricia Morgan said: 'They say they want to help girls resist pressure for early sex but this will encourage the opposite. 'It will legitimise sex - far from helping girls resist pressure, it will help boys bully girls into sex.'