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This boggles my mind.
On Africa trip, pope says condoms won't solve AIDS
YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Pope Benedict XVI said on his way to Africa Tuesday that condoms were not the answer in the continent's fight against HIV, his first explicit statement on an issue that has divided even clergy working with AIDS patients.
Benedict arrived in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital, Tuesday afternoon to a crowd of flag-waving faithful and cameras. The visit is his first pilgrimage as pontiff to the African continent.
Benedict had never directly addressed condom use, though his position is not new. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, often said that sexual abstinence — not condoms — was the best way to prevent the spread of the disease.
Benedict said the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against AIDS.
"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."
The pope said that a responsible and moral at ude toward sex would help fight the disease.
About 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, according to UNAIDS. In 2007, three-quarters of all AIDS deaths worldwide were there, as well as two-thirds of all people living with HIV.
Rebecca Hodes with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa said if the pope is serious about preventing new HIV infections, he will focus on promoting wide access to condoms and spreading information on how best to use them.
"Instead, his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans," said Hodes, head of policy, communication and research for the organization.
While she said the pope is correct that condoms are not the sole solution to Africa's AIDS epidemic, she said they are one of the very few HIV prevention mechanisms proven to work.
Even some priests and nuns working with those living with HIV/AIDS question the church's opposition to condoms amid the pandemic ravaging Africa.
The Roman Catholic Church rejects the use of condoms as part of its overall teaching against artificial contraception.
Senior Vatican officials have advocated fidelity in marriage and abstinence from premarital sex as key weapons in the fight against AIDS.
The late Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo made headlines in 2003 when he said that condoms may help spread AIDS through a false sense of security, claiming they were not effective in blocking transmission of the virus. The cardinal, who died last year, headed the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family.
Benedict's African trip this week will also take him to Angola.
Benedict was met by a crowd of photographers and cameras as he stepped off the plane in Cameroon after ground crews struggled to place the aircraft's mobile staircase. Temperatures on the ground were 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 Celsius) with high humidity.
Africa is the fastest-growing region for the Roman Catholic Church, though it competes with Islam and evangelical churches.
The pope also said Tuesday that he intends to make an appeal for "international solidarity" for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn.
He said that while the church does not propose specific economic solutions, it can give "spiritual and moral" suggestions.
Describing the current crisis as the consequence of "a deficit of ethics in economic structures," the pope said: "It is here that the church can make a contribution."
On the plane, Benedict also dismissed the notion that he was facing increasing opposition and isolation within the church, particularly after an outreach to ultraconservatives that led to his lifting the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop.
"The myth of my solitude makes me laugh," the pope said, adding that he can count on a network of friends and aides whom he sees every day.
In a letter to Catholic bishops released last week, the pope made an unusual public acknowledgment of Vatican mistakes and turmoil in his church over the rehabilitation of Bishop Richard Williamson.
While acknowledging mistakes were made in handling the affair, Benedict said he was saddened that he was criticized "with open hostility" even by those who should have known better.
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Associated Press Writer Krista Larson in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
This boggles my mind.
Everyone knows that even wearing a condom is not 100% effective against AIDS.
Leave it to the church to say " people's well-being, do as we say". That is basically what those backward asses are saying. The condom is the most effective way to prevent the spread of desease through sex, barring abstinence. The church could be forward thinking and promote safe sex, but no. Same old bull .
No need to wear one then.
I didn't say that.
99% effective is better than nothing.
Abstinence IS the best prevention.
That is true but that 1% can still kill you, no?
I know I'll be alone on this one and that is okay.
Here we go again.....
Here we go again.....
But it's obviously not working, and I mean this is a respectful, non-anti-church way. The adults in Africa are dying; there are more than 20 million orphans who are running out of people to care for them. For the pope to make a moral point about something that could save lives is like rearranging the deck chairs on the anic. I think it's incredibly irresponsible of him.
Abstinence before marriage is the best and safest option to prevent unwanted pregnancies and disease.
If you fail to abstain, then at least use protection to minimize the chances of unwanted pregnancies and disease.
Under no cir stances have unprotected sex if there is any risk of unwanted pregnancies or disease.
What is wrong with communicating that message?
I'd prefer if he told his priests to abstain from little boys.
I'm not sure what you are trying to say then.
Hey, Joe . . . you're Catholic right?
Aaaaaaand, just a couple of weeks ago you were bragging about having banged hundreds of chicks on all the continents when you were on your travels.
How'd abstinence work for ya'?
The truth is that abstinence is contrary to human behavior, human instinct if you will.
To say that it is the answer vs. AIDS is just the epitome if stupidity.
so why wear one then?
+1 I concur. Damn right I preach abstinence to my girls. Am I fooling myself? Probably but I have faith in them and hope that they make the right decisions.
I just don't care too much about how teen pregnancy has become so acceptable these days.
I never said don't wear one.
There's nothing wrong with that at all.
But, abstinence goes against human nature. So, saying that it's the only way to prevent disease is just wrong.
If you can abstain, fine. But, if you're like the rest of humanity and fail at abstaining from sex, condom use should be priority.
Have fun!
This part basically
Abstinence is unrealistic. Anyone with any sense can see that. Condoms are a worthy compromise. The church should embrace it. Its the responsible thing to do."Instead, his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans," said Hodes, head of policy, communication and research for the organization.
While she said the pope is correct that condoms are not the sole solution to Africa's AIDS epidemic, she said they are one of the very few HIV prevention mechanisms proven to work.
nobody is saying teen pregnancy should be acceptable
I'm not married, I have sex, I use condoms, I don't have a kid. Abstinence is NOT the only way, and to teach that condoms aren't effective is disingenuous.
You also haven't admitted that people should wear them to prevent the spread of aids.
What is the point of you saying that condoms are not 100% effective.
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