Pope says "No to Safe Sex"

[DrinkingHarp]

On Africa trip, pope says condoms won't solve AIDS

   

By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer Victor L. Simpson, Associated Press Writer – 47 mins ago
Pope says condoms won't solve AIDS Play Video AP  – Pope says condoms won't solve AIDS.   



YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Pope Benedict XVI said condoms are not the answer to the AIDS epidemic in Africa and can make the problem worse, setting off criticism Tuesday as he began a weeklong trip to the continent where some 22 million people are living with HIV.

Benedict's first statement on an issue that has divided even Catholic clergy working with AIDS patients came hours before he arrived in Cameroon's capital — greeted by thousands of flag-waving faithful who stood shoulder-to-shoulder in red dirt fields and jammed downtown streets for a glimpse of the pontiff's motorcade.

In his four years as pope, Benedict had never directly addressed condom use, although 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 also said the Roman Catholic Church was at 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 heading to Yaounde. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."

The pope said a responsible and moral attitude toward sex would help fight the disease, as he answered questions submitted in advance by reporters traveling on the plane. His response was presumably also prepared in advance.

The 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 for saying that condoms may help spread AIDS through a false sense of security, claiming they weren't effective in blocking transmission of the virus. The cardinal, who died last year, headed the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family.

Three-quarters of all AIDS deaths worldwide in 2007 were in sub-Saharan Africa, where some 22 million people are infected with HIV — accounting for two-thirds of the world's infections, according to UNAIDS.

Rebecca Hodes with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa said if the pope is serious about preventing HIV infections, he should focus on promoting wide access to condoms and spreading information on how 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 group.

Hodes said the pope was right that condoms are not the sole solution to Africa's AIDS epidemic, but added they are one of the very few proven measures to prevent HIV infections.

Even some priests and nuns working with those infected with the AIDS virus question the church's opposition to condoms amid the pandemic ravaging Africa. Ordinary Africans do as well.

"Talking about the nonuse of condoms is out of place. We need condoms to protect ourselves against diseases and AIDS," teacher Narcisse Takou said in Yaounde.

Stanley Obale Okpu, a civil servant working in the ministry of urban development in Cameroon, said: "What the pope says is an ideal for the Catholic church. But he needs to look at the realities on the ground. One should be aware of these realities. In the case of Cameroon — and Africa as a whole — condoms are very necessary ... You need condoms to prevent AIDS and birth control."

A crowd of photographers and cameras flashed as the 81-year-old pontiff stepped off the plane into the steaming 88-degree heat, with humidity levels measuring a wilting 90 percent.

It was the first stop on a weeklong pilgrimage that will also take Benedict to Angola as he seeks to draw international attention to Africa's problems of famine, poverty and armed conflict.

The pope was greeted by Cameroon's President Paul Biya, who has ruled since 1982 and whose government has been accused by Amnesty International of abuses in crushing political opponents.

The pope made no specific reference to the situation in Cameroon, but he did say in general remarks on Africa that "a Christian can never remain silent" in the face of violence, poverty, hunger, corruption or abuse of power.

"The saving message of the Gospel needs to be proclaimed loud and clear so that the light of Christ can shine into the darkness of people's lives," Benedict said as the president and other political leaders looked on.

Africa is the fastest-growing region for the Catholic church, though it competes with Islam and evangelical churches.

The pope said Tuesday he intends to make an appeal for "international solidarity" for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn. He said while the church does not propose specific economic solutions, it can give "spiritual and moral" suggestions.

He described the current crisis as the result of "a deficit of ethics in economic structures."

"It is here that the church can make a contribution," he said.

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 has a network of friends and aides whom he sees every day.

[Puckoon]

I was gonna post this today, but figured the church needed a break.

Im all for his global healing ideals, but the fact of the matter is that in the time it will take the chuch to educate and teach (never mind promoting abstinence) millions will die from HIV and AIDS. Makes no sense from a practical, or even an ideological point of view.

[carribbear]

Perhaps folk should think of abstinence? I can never figure out why at this stage some people haven't seen the risks they take sleeping around especially when so many have died in their own communities.

[Puckoon]

Its a bit like teaching them to survive a tight rope walk, but not allowing a safety net.

Lets solve the immediate problems now, and work on the mind set in parallel.

[Maguire01]

I was gonna post this today, but figured the church needed a break.

It looks like it doesn't need a break.

[ardmhachaabu]

I was gonna post this today, but figured the church needed a break.

It looks like it doesn't need a break.

[Pangurban]

Pope says yes too safe sex would be a story, this is just the usual lazy, gutter journalism

[Treasurer]

From what little I've seen in Africa, I think the reality on the ground is that this kind of preaching is pretty much ignored by those working there. One nun told me that the bigger problem is getting them to actually use the condoms.  She said they're perfectly aware of the risks but despite the frightening statistics, still think that it "won't happen to them".  In the area I was in, as many as one in four were believed to be HIV positive - heartbreaking stuff.

[carribbear]

I was gonna post this today, but figured the church needed a break.

It looks like it doesn't need a break.

Did you manage to find those articles on the reverend Stephen Crowther in Fermanagh?

[pintsofguinness]

From what little I've seen in Africa, I think the reality on the ground is that this kind of preaching is pretty much ignored by those working there. One nun told me that the bigger problem is getting them to actually use the condoms.  She said they're perfectly aware of the risks but despite the frightening statistics, still think that it "won't happen to them".  In the area I was in, as many as one in four were believed to be HIV positive - heartbreaking stuff.

People aren't interested in what the reality on the ground is like, they're interested in finding a reason to bash the catholic church. 

I'm by no means religious but the same people queuing up to have a go at the catholic church (or indeed religion) on this board is just getting boring.  It must be the new cool thing to do.

[carribbear]

From what little I've seen in Africa, I think the reality on the ground is that this kind of preaching is pretty much ignored by those working there. One nun told me that the bigger problem is getting them to actually use the condoms.  She said they're perfectly aware of the risks but despite the frightening statistics, still think that it "won't happen to them".  In the area I was in, as many as one in four were believed to be HIV positive - heartbreaking stuff.

People aren't interested in what the reality on the ground is like, they're interested in finding a reason to bash the catholic church. 

I'm by no means religious but the same people queuing up to have a go at the catholic church (or indeed religion) on this board is just getting boring.  It must be the new cool thing to do.

Live long and prosper

[DrinkingHarp]

From what little I've seen in Africa, I think the reality on the ground is that this kind of preaching is pretty much ignored by those working there. One nun told me that the bigger problem is getting them to actually use the condoms.  She said they're perfectly aware of the risks but despite the frightening statistics, still think that it "won't happen to them".  In the area I was in, as many as one in four were believed to be HIV positive - heartbreaking stuff.

People aren't interested in what the reality on the ground is like, they're interested in finding a reason to bash the catholic church. 

I'm by no means religious but the same people queuing up to have a go at the catholic church (or indeed religion) on this board is just getting boring.  It must be the new cool thing to do.

POG, I find most of your posts informative and with point, but this one I feel is way off base.

I did not post this report to bash on the the Catholic Church as a group but to show their Ideology is antiquated in modern times.

I can see their justification to stop members from using contraceptives to keep their "flock" from decreasing in numbers but with  1.3 billion catholics worldwide in 2006 you would think common sense would prevail here. Millions of Africans are dying each year due to AIDS and now their leader believes protection is not the answer .

The majority of the Africans coming down with AIDS are from remote villages with little or no education. My point of posting was to emphasis the lack of reality the POPE has with the real world.

As you stated, you are not religious. And I will admitted the older I get the less I admire religion on a whole. I feel I am more spiritual (than religious) and believe in the golden rule more than strict guidelines to secure my eternal bliss.

Its just a shame that a man who guides 1/5th of the worlds population is the end all to problems that plague the world.

Call me hip to be square (Huey Lewis) but the way some religions practice and emphasis their rule over their followers continues to baffle me.

Who on this board can state with 100% guarantee that condoms is not the best way to go about to stop the epidemic of AIDS in Africa at this time? Of course abstinence would decrease and eradicate this plague on the African continent but it has done nothing to date and the first defense seems like the best defense, unless you are the Pope.

[pintsofguinness]

DH, the church are not going to change their teachings because it's no longer the cool thing.  Yes I know they've changed teachings in the past but it's people like you who'd be queuing up to criticise them for it. 

It's ridiculous to even try and lay blame at them for the Aids problem, they teach that there should only be sex in marriage, if people followed this there wouldn't be so many dying with aids, that's the churches answer.  They're not going to change because people can't do that.

btw, I don't see how throwing condoms at people who are clearly uneducated will help matters, are they going to use them? They clearly need educated because they don't grasp the danger. 

The Church doesn't teach against the use of condoms so they'll increase their membership btw. 

[DrinkingHarp]

Pog,

As a man of common sense I thought you would get the gist of the post (article).

The Pope states condoms are not needed to PREVENT AIDS in Africa.


YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Pope Benedict XVI said condoms are not the answer to the AIDS epidemic in Africa and can make the problem worse, setting off criticism Tuesday as he began a weeklong trip to the continent where some 22 million people are living with HIV.

The Catholic Church rejects the use of condoms as part of its overall teaching against artificial contraception.

How are condoms going to make the situation worse?

My point again is the simplistic way the church goes about issues. It may seem all black and white but reality shows different.

If you believe, like the Pope, that condoms can only make the situation worse than the alternative, I would love to hear an alternative to remedy the situation that hasn't improved since the 80's.

More education on AIDS as a disease is needed, the first step is the USE of condoms. Second step is abstinence, but because most humans enjoy the act of sex as a whole and to tell someone that abstinence is the only way- will not work on the African continent.

Again common sense must prevail before semantics and that is not happening with the Popes statements.

[Hound]

This is a load of bull.

The Catholic Church does not stop anyone using condoms. Just like they don't stop anyone having sex outside marriage.

People having sex and not using condoms has little or nothing to do with the catholic church.