Pope Egghead Benedict: Condoms won't solve Africa's AIDS crisis, "spiritual and moral" lessons will

[marmar]

Pope: condoms not the answer in AIDS fight


ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday that the distribution of condoms is not the answer in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Benedict has never before spoken explicitly on condom use although he has 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.

"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."

Some priests and nuns working with victims of the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa question the church's opposition to condoms.

The pope also said that he intends to make an appeal for "international solidarity" for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090317/D96VOF2G0.html

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Just follow the example of our priests. Smirk." - Pope Ratzinger

[skooooo]

2. Yep, those Africans need to be more spiritual.

:eyes:

[ogneopasno]

3. I wonder how much the church's hymen-worship has to do with the myth that raping a virgin will cure

AIDS.

[Incitatus]

4. New Vaginal Gel Stops AIDS Virus

March 4, 2009 -- A new kind of vaginal gel prevents sexual transmission of the AIDS virus in monkey studies.

The anti-HIV ingredient in the gel is glycerol monolaurate or GML. It's already FDA approved as an ingredient in cosmetics and medicines.

"The results are very encouraging. They point to a novel avenue to prevent sexual transmission of HIV," study researcher Ashley T. Haase, MD, head of the microbiology department at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, said at a telephone news conference.

http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/news/20090304/new-vaginal-gel-stops-aids-virus

[Marrah_G]

5. Dear Pope Prada:

Please stay the fuck away from African.

Your insane view of humans and sexuality is costing people their lives, unnecessarily.

You are killing people, You personally are killing people.

I hope at some point you are taken to task for your crimes against humanity.

I sincerely hope you choke on your green beer today!

Sincerely,

Marrah

[dkofos]

6. god I'm glad I'm not catholic and have to believe that shit.

[hobbit709]

7. So he wants to impose his religious beliefs

on the population of a continent where the vast majority are NOT Catholic.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. And THAT is evil.

To deny people a practical means to protect themselves from a deadly disease is EVIL. :mad:

It would be nice if we lived in a world where we could count on commitments being honored and we never had to worry about our partners engaging in risky behaviors behind our backs, but guess the fuck what??

WE DON'T.

The Vatican should know all too well the sexual frailties of the human species. After all, they are plagued with men who have sought a deepened "spiritual and moral" life and ended up fucking young boys. :mad:

A pox on that bastard Pope for helping kill a continent. :mad:

[Johonny]

9. I guess he's right

Yes in the magic land where people act spiritually and morally superior to human beings. Sure ideally this would work just like ideally abstinence only programs should prevent teenage pregnancy. In the real world though people have sex. There is a overwhelming biological desire to have sex. It seems highly likely they will have sex. So effective programs that deal with the real world seem much more likely to work.

[Rob H.]

10. Sam Harris has the perfect phrase to describe

Ratzinger's position on condom distribution: "genocidal stupidity"

[applegrove]

11. The pope is delusional in regards to condoms and safety. He is cruel, delusional and hypocritical...

the pope gets the best medical treatment available so why shouldn't the poor of Africa.