Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Scientific studies vindicate Pope: Condom distribution linked to HIV increase

>» 03/19/2009 19:01
VATICAN

AIDS and the ‘threat’ posed by the Catholic Church
by Bernardo Cervellera

Rome (AsiaNews) – The “scourge [of AIDS] cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem,” said the Pope. Since he made the statement criticism has been voiced around the world for his alleged lack of sensitivity towards the tragic epidemic that is affecting many parts of the world, especially Africa.

Dutch Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders said the Pope’s remarks were “extraordinarily harmful and serious” and “making matters worse.” France’s foreign minister said that Benedict XVI’s words “put in danger public health policies and the imperative of protecting human life”. Germany’s health minister said that it would be “irresponsible” to deny “the poorest of the poor” the use of condoms.

So much (fake) humanitarianism by representatives of European governments is especially irrational and unscientific. The United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) in a 2003 study indicated that condoms are ineffective in protecting against HIV an estimated 10 per cent of the time. Other studies have suggested that failure rates might be as high as 50 per cent.

In Thailand, Dr Somchai Pinyopornpanich, deputy head of the Disease Control Department in Bangkok, said that 46.9 per cent of men and 39.1 per cent of women who use condom are infected by HIV-AIDS.

When the Pope said “we risk worsening the problem,” statistics bear that out. Countries like South Africa, which have embraced safe sex and condom use with support from the United Nations, the European Union and non-governmental organisations have seen AIDS explode. Countries that have promoted abstinence and fidelity have cut infection rates.
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AllAfrica

Africa: Are World Media Fighting Pope Benedict XVI?
Henry Makori
24 March 2009
opinion

A priest I spoke to last week was so incensed by the media's coverage of Pope Benedict's comments on condoms he wished, jokingly though, that the Vatican would next time bar reporters of a certain international news organization from the papal plane.

The media house was among the first to report the pope's rejection of condoms to combat HIV. The pope spoke to reporters on his plane en route to Cameroon.

His comments sparked widely reported protests by HIV/Aids activists and some governments, nearly overshadowing whatever else the pontiff said on his first apostolic trip to Africa. The Vatican later issued a clarification.

The HIV/Aids scourge, the pope had said, "cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem. The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanization of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly, true friendship, above all with the suffering, a readiness - even through personal sacrifice - to stand by those who suffer".

Anything radical in that statement? Everyone knows that condoms are not the best guard against HIV and that the surest way to avoid infection is abstinence for the unmarried and fidelity within marriage. Moreover, Catholic opposition to condoms is well known, and no one would reasonably expect the pope to state otherwise.

Were the pope's remarks misrepresented by hostile secular media? A quick look at the reports reveals that they generally did not differ much from the clarification offered by the Holy See. Why then did the comment draw so much fire?
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 2:35 PM