At Long Last, Pope Speaks Out About Safe-Sex & AIDS! Oh, Wait..

pope_benedict_xvi_4So, as you might have heard, using contraceptives significantly reduces your exposure to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The trick is, especially in Africa, where the virus has destroyed entire communities, educating people about condom use and convincing people that it’s not just smart to use condoms, it’s the moral thing to do. Enter Pope Benedict XVI, whose been silent on the issue of condom use. And what does he say? “You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem.” And the infallible word of God can’t be wrong, right?

The AP has more on the Pope’s trip to Cameroon this week and the fun things he said about HIV:

“The pope said that a responsible and moral attitude toward sex would help fight the disease.

About 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa 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.

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

“Instead, his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans,” said Hodes, director of policy, communication and research for the action campaign.

While she said the pope is correct that condoms are not the sole solution to Africa’s AIDS epidemic, she said they are one of the very few HIV prevention mechanisms proven to work.

Even some priests and nuns working with those living with HIV/AIDS question the church’s opposition to condoms amid the pandemic ravaging Africa.

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

Maybe it’s time to start supplementing those “Silence=Death” posters with some “Dogma=Death” ones as well.

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