Pope tells Africa 'condoms wrong'

**Maggy** · 17-03-2009, 23:05

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7947460.stm

Quote:

Pope Benedict XVI, who is making his first papal visit to Africa, has said that handing out condoms is not the answer in the fight against HIV/Aids.
The pontiff, who preaches marital fidelity and abstinence, said the practice only increased the problem.

LemonyBrainAid · 17-03-2009, 23:08

Science: 100,000,000
Religion: 1

You've won the battle, religion, but you wont win the war!

Dai · 17-03-2009, 23:13

So in essence, a million HIV-positive humans is Ok so long as they're good Catholics..

Erm, yeah right..

There are times when the Moslem POV actually starts to seem sensible.

18-03-2009, 03:38

The catholic church really has got to start coming into the modern age before it ends up looking completely stupid. When faith puts life at risk there is a problem that won't be sorted by anything but modernising.

lucy7 · 18-03-2009, 07:18

Poor Pope!
He is not in the real world.

I perfectly understand that abstinence from sex will stop the spread of disease, but its just not going to happen!

Condoms are better than nothing.

I presume he thinks that by giving out condoms it may then encourage folk to have sex, as they then will think they are safe from contracting of passing on disease.
It probably will, but thats better than
not using them.

**Maggy** · 18-03-2009, 07:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucy7

Poor Pope!
He is not in the real world.

I perfectly understand that abstinence from sex will stop the spread of disease, but its just not going to happen!

Condoms are better than nothing.

I presume he thinks that by giving out condoms it may then encourage folk to have sex, as they then will think they are safe from contracting of passing on disease.
It probably will, but thats better than
not using them.

Particularly as not every African is a Catholic and even when Africans are Christians they quite often bolt on their old faiths and beliefs to Christian values.

papa smurf · 18-03-2009, 07:55

The Shepard has spoken .
will the sheep blindly follow ?

bopdude · 18-03-2009, 08:23

No religious 'spoutings' , nor condoms by the bucket load ( they don't get used ) will stop the spread of aids / hiv through the mainstream African population. Marital fidelity, give me a break, with more than one girlfriend / mistress in most cases, in many town ( ships ) as well as a wife, the aids / hiv virus is having a field day. I worked in one small town with a 1 in 10 ratio, and rising, scary to think what it is now

chuzzlemonkey · 18-03-2009, 09:36

*takes his 12 pack of mates back to tesco*

Maybe the popes just a big fan of bareback?

Peter_ · 18-03-2009, 10:44

The pope giving advice on birth control when he cannot even get his own priests and bishops to keep it in their trousers and not to touch the alter boys.

Delta Whiskey · 18-03-2009, 11:28

I wonder if he truly believes what he is saying, or is he having to spout outdated dogma to prevent condemnation from the conservative church. If it's the former then it's no wonder the church is considered unimportant and irrelevant these days.

18-03-2009, 11:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by bopdude

No religious 'spoutings' , nor condoms by the bucket load ( they don't get used ) will stop the spread of aids / hiv through the mainstream African population. Marital fidelity, give me a break, with more than one girlfriend / mistress in most cases, in many town ( ships ) as well as a wife, the aids / hiv virus is having a field day. I worked in one small town with a 1 in 10 ratio, and rising, scary to think what it is now

Ok this is not going to be liked but why do we keep on insisting on helping these people? we constantly see adverts asking for money save a staving child etc. They breed like rabbits its not the rest of the worlds fault. If science is to be believed a very large part of Africa will be uninhabitable by the end of this century all these Africans will be migrating north and south then in the millions the more you keep alive the bigger problem it will be. If they are 3rd world and not trying to help themselves leave them to the mess

Julian · 18-03-2009, 12:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinglebarb

Ok this is not going to be liked but why do we keep on insisting on helping these people? we constantly see adverts asking for money save a staving child etc. They breed like rabbits its not the rest of the worlds fault. If science is to be believed a very large part of Africa will be uninhabitable by the end of this century all these Africans will be migrating north and south then in the millions the more you keep alive the bigger problem it will be. If they are 3rd world and not trying to help themselves leave them to the mess

Are they not just guilty of the natural animal instinct for race/tribe survival?

They know a myriad of different things will take many of their offspring, so they produce more to hopefully ensure the continuation of the family tree.

If they failed to do that the future of their race/tribe/creed could be threatened.

Osem · 18-03-2009, 12:27

Perhaps if it were affluent European Catholics being struck down by Aids en masse the Pope would have a different sermon.

chuzzlemonkey · 18-03-2009, 12:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julian

Are they not just guilty of the natural animal instinct for race/tribe survival?

They know a myriad of different things will take many of their offspring, so they produce more to hopefully ensure the continuation of the family tree.

If they failed to do that the future of their race/tribe/creed could be threatened.

Agreed, however, they should take responsibility for their own rabbit-like existance.

I have to agree with Zinglebarb on this one, I don't see why others should be asked to pay. Give your charity money to kids in the UK

Or give it to the chuzzlemonkey charity