The Pope is still right.
Benedict XVI’s March 2009 remarks on condoms were made to a French reporter as he explained the Church's two-pronged approach to fighting AIDS. At one point in his response, the Pontiff stressed that AIDS cannot be overcome by advertising slogans and distributing condoms and argued that they “worsen the problem.” The media responded with an avalanche of over 4,000 articles on the subject, calling Benedict a “threat to public health,” and saying that the Catholic Church should “enter the 21st century.”
“The Pope is right,” argued Chris Stefanick, director of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries for the Archdiocese of Denver. “And the fact that people like Harry Knox are critiquing the Pope and continuing to throw condoms at the AIDS epidemic globally, and its not working, shows you who has personal dogmas that are more important to them than human lives.”
Stefanick’s statement also referred to Rebecca Hodes of South Africa’s Treatment Action Campaign who said of Pope Benedict, “his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans.”
But, Stefanick argued, the facts are behind Benedict XVI. To prove his point, Stefanick compared the African nations of Botswana and Uganda. Botswana promoted condom use from the beginning. Uganda, a primarily Catholic country, encouraged abstinence.
“In Botswana, Cameroon, and Kenya - they saw AIDS prevalence rise alongside condom distribution until they both leveled out,” noted Stefanick. “In Botswana today, where condoms are available nearly everywhere, one in six people is HIV positive or living with AIDS.”
For more sources and info, please see my earlier post on the Pope's comments.
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