Updated! Pope Benedict to Africa: Condoms Not the Answer in AIDS Prevention
March 18th 2009 21:43
*scroll to the bottom of this message to read an update*
Pope Benedict XVI has just made the most boneheaded and potentially dangerous statement imaginable.
"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," he said to reporters in reference to the AIDS epidemic in Africa, "On the contrary, it increases the problem."
There are roughly 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are that 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. To tell these people that practicing safe sex is not only not beneficial, but actually part of the problem is irresponsible and just plain untrue.
Up until this point, Pope Benedict had not made a public statement regarding condom use. It is understandable that the Church's official stance on sex is that abstinence is the best policy in disease prevention. However, his recent words could have dire consequences amongst Africans, particularly those who are devout Catholics.
Rebecca Hodes, director of policy, communication and research for the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa says, "...his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans."
This is not the first time the Vatican has made misleading and harmful comments about condom usage. The late Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, the former head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family, caused a stir when he said that condoms may help spread AIDS through a false sense of security, claiming they weren't effective in blocking transmission of the virus.
I think we can all agree that religious groups are entitled to their opinions about the best way to get into heaven, the best way to lead a pure life, and the best way to maintain relationships. It is when they start interfering in areas of proven science and health issues that they cross the line.
Further, by preaching that sex is only ok after marriage, and condoms are never ok, what is to become of men or women who are married to someone infected with HIV/AIDS? Are they supposed to maintain their marital duties, because the Church says so, and infect each other and their newborns? Not to mention married couples who already have more children than they can afford. Would the Church have them continue having babies, or just stop having sex? What sense does this make?
I am appalled. To expect impoverished people to avoid contraceptives under threat of religious guilt makes the Catholic Church somewhat culpable in the continued death of millions of people. It is possible to preach against the so-called sins of the flesh while still advising those that would continue to have sex to protect themselves. No one argues that behavioral modifications are necessary in the overall battle against disease and unwanted pregnancy, but condoms are a huge step in helping to keep people safe.
**Update** Our friend Post Modern Critic has supplied us with a link to an online petition specific to this very topic. If you'd like to sign and show support for the cause, please click on the link below:
Sign Here
souces:
BBC.com
MSNBC.com
UNAIDS.com
Pope Benedict XVI has just made the most boneheaded and potentially dangerous statement imaginable.
"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," he said to reporters in reference to the AIDS epidemic in Africa, "On the contrary, it increases the problem."
There are roughly 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are that 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. To tell these people that practicing safe sex is not only not beneficial, but actually part of the problem is irresponsible and just plain untrue.
A nun was among throngs greeting Pope Benedict XVI as he arrived in Yaounde, Cameroon. (finbarr o'reilly/reuters)
Up until this point, Pope Benedict had not made a public statement regarding condom use. It is understandable that the Church's official stance on sex is that abstinence is the best policy in disease prevention. However, his recent words could have dire consequences amongst Africans, particularly those who are devout Catholics.
Rebecca Hodes, director of policy, communication and research for the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa says, "...his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans."
This is not the first time the Vatican has made misleading and harmful comments about condom usage. The late Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, the former head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family, caused a stir when he said that condoms may help spread AIDS through a false sense of security, claiming they weren't effective in blocking transmission of the virus.
I think we can all agree that religious groups are entitled to their opinions about the best way to get into heaven, the best way to lead a pure life, and the best way to maintain relationships. It is when they start interfering in areas of proven science and health issues that they cross the line.
Further, by preaching that sex is only ok after marriage, and condoms are never ok, what is to become of men or women who are married to someone infected with HIV/AIDS? Are they supposed to maintain their marital duties, because the Church says so, and infect each other and their newborns? Not to mention married couples who already have more children than they can afford. Would the Church have them continue having babies, or just stop having sex? What sense does this make?
I am appalled. To expect impoverished people to avoid contraceptives under threat of religious guilt makes the Catholic Church somewhat culpable in the continued death of millions of people. It is possible to preach against the so-called sins of the flesh while still advising those that would continue to have sex to protect themselves. No one argues that behavioral modifications are necessary in the overall battle against disease and unwanted pregnancy, but condoms are a huge step in helping to keep people safe.
**Update** Our friend Post Modern Critic has supplied us with a link to an online petition specific to this very topic. If you'd like to sign and show support for the cause, please click on the link below:
To His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI: We appeal to your compassion to consider the men, women, children - and the poor - who are at grave risk from the spread of HIV/AIDS. We urge you to exercise care in your public statements, and refrain from undermining life-saving public education and AIDS prevention programs on the use of condoms.
Sign Here
souces:
BBC.com
MSNBC.com
UNAIDS.com
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