Pope says condoms,,

[pledm]

Pope says condoms are not the solution to Aids - they make it worse

The Pope departing for Africa today - his first trip to the continent
Richard Owen in Rome

The Pope courted further controversy on his first trip to Africa today by declaring that condoms were not a solution to the Aids epidemic – but were instead part of the problem.

In his first public comments on condom use, the pontiff told reporters en route to Cameroon that Aids "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems".

Pope Benedict has previously stressed that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against Aids. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease.

After his election as Pope, Benedict described Aids as a "a cruel epidemic which not only kills but seriously threatens the economic and social stability of the continent", but reiterated the Vatican ban on the use of condoms.

He said the "traditional teaching of the Church" on chastity outside marriage and fidelity within it had proved to be "the only sure way of preventing the spread of HIV and Aids".

The Pope, who will also visit Angola, is making his first trip as pontiff to Africa, the continent where the Roman Catholic Church is growing fastest.

Two years ago there was speculation that the Vatican might amend its ban on condoms after Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the former Archbishop of Milan, said that in couples where one partner had HIV/Aids, the use of condoms was "a lesser evil".

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan of Mexico, the Vatican Health Minister, also said condoms could sometimes be exceptionally condoned, for example when a married woman was unable to refuse her HIV-positive husband's sexual advances.

"You can defend yourself with any means," he said. A subsequent Vatican study of the issue reiterated the blanket ban on condoms, however.

In 2003 a senior Vatican official claimed condoms had tiny holes in them through which HIV can pass, exposing thousands of people to risk.

The then head of the Vatican Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, said: "The Aids virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the 'net' that is formed by the condom."

He added "These margins of uncertainty... should represent an obligation on the part of the health ministries and all these campaigns to act in the same way as they do with regard to cigarettes, which they state to be a danger."

The World Health Organisation responded at the time by saying that "These incorrect statements about condoms and HIV are dangerous when we are facing a global pandemic which has already killed more than 20 million people, and currently affects at least 42 million."

The WHO said that "consistent and correct" condom use reduces the risk of HIV infection by 90 per cent.
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God I wish the Pope and catholics would get out of the stone age.

Thoughts?

[Bob]

The catholic church are lead by idiots and followed by idiots. I wish condoms had been around at the time the pope's mother had sex...

[pledm]

Ha,ha,ha

[pledm]

Vatican defends pope's stand on condoms as criticism mounts

YAOUNDE (Reuters) – The Vatican on Wednesday defended Pope Benedict's opposition to the use of condoms to stop the spread of AIDS as activists, doctors and politicians criticized it as unrealistic, unscientific and dangerous.

Benedict, arriving in Africa, said on Tuesday that condoms "increase the problem" of AIDS. The comment, made to reporters aboard his plane, caused a worldwide firestorm of criticism.

"My reaction is that this represents a major step backwards in terms of global health education, is entirely counter-productive, and is likely to lead to increases in HIV infection in Africa and elsewhere," said Prof Quentin Sattentau, Professor of Immunology at Britain's Oxford University.

"There is a large body of published evidence demonstrating that condom use reduces the risk of acquiring HIV infection, but does not lead to increased sexual activity," he said.

The Church teaches that fidelity within heterosexual marriage and abstinence are the best ways to stop AIDS.

Asked about the criticism, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the pope was "maintaining the position of his predecessors."

The Vatican also says condoms can also lead to risky behavior but many contest that view.

Kevin De cock, director of the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS department, said there is no scientific evidence showing that condom use spurs people to take more sexual risks.

"The guidance we give is that condoms are highly (effective) to prevent the transmission of HIV if they are used correctly and consistently," he said in a telephone interview.

He said abstinence and reducing the number of partners were also needed and praised faith-based groups, noting that many Catholic charities provide treatment for people with the virus in some of the poorest and most remote parts of the world.

HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, infects 33 million people globally and has killed 25 million.

AIDS ACTIVISTS CRITICAL

"Anything that reduces AIDS on a depressed continent like Africa should be welcomed," said Adeleke Agbola, a lawyer in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation.

"The pope saying they are not good is like someone saying traveling by air is not 100 percent safe, so we should not fly," said Pat Matemilola, national co-ordinator for the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), a medical doctor who has been living with HIV/AIDS for more than a decade.

A New York Times editorial said the pope "deserves no credence when he distorts scientific findings" about condoms.

France expressed "very strong concern."

"While it is not up to us to pass a judgment on the doctrines of the Church, we consider that such remarks put in danger public health policy and imperative needs regarding the protection of human life," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Belgian Health Minister Laurette Onkelinx said the pope's comments "... reflect a dangerous doctrinaire vision. His declarations could demolish years of prevention and education and endanger many human lives."

There were also some signs of dissent within the Church.

"Anyone who has AIDS and is sexually active, anyone who seeks multiple partners, must protect others and themselves," said Hans-Jochen Jaschke, Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of Hamburg in the pope's native Germany.

"So, no taboo on the condom issue, but also no myths and trivialization as if these put the world in order. Condoms can protect, but men often reject them," the bishop added.

[Summer]

I CANNOT believe the stupidity of this statement about condoms that the Pope made! How incredibly insane of him! Simply expecting people to be celibate in this day and age is absurd in my opinion! I could NEVER become a Catholic!

[pledm]

One more article on this;

Outraged medical journal calls for Pope to retract statement over claim that condoms increase spread of AIDS

A leading medical journal has accused the Pope of distorting scientific evidence in order to promote Catholic doctrine.

In an editorial published today, The Lancet has asked Pope Benedict to retract a comment made last week, in which he stated that condoms increase the spread of AIDS.

The journal said that anything less would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates fighting to contain the disease.


Pope Benedict, who said that condoms increase the spread of AIDS, has come under fire from Medical journal The Lancet

'When any influential person, be it a religious or political leader, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record,' it read.
'By saying that condoms exacerbate the problem of HIV/AIDS, the Pope has publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine on the issue.'


Protestors brandish condoms outside the Vatican. The Pope's comments have sparked a storm of criticism

During his first visit to Africa, the Pope told reporters that AIDS is a problem that 'cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms; on the contrary, they increase it.'

The comment ignited a storm of criticism from health officials, activists and politicians who criticised the view as unrealistic, unscientific and dangerous.

The Church teaches that fidelity within heterosexual marriage and abstinence are the best ways to stop AIDS. The Vatican also believes that condoms can lead to risky behaviour - though many contest that view.

Health experts say there is no scientific evidence showing that condom use inspires people to take more sexual risks and studies have shown that condom use reduces the risk of acquiring HIV infection.

The AIDS virus infects an estimated 33 million people globally, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and has killed 25 million. There is no cure.

[Summer]

Wow! 33 million people affected by the Aids virus! That is horrifying! I sure hope the Pope will retract what he said, but I doubt that he actually will.