Pope Benedict XVI
Digital News Report- France and Germany have publicly rebuked the Popes recent comments about the use of condoms and the AIDS epidemic. On a flight to Cameroon in Africa, the Pope stated that condoms do not protect against AIDS and could even aggravate the problem. Cameroon was the first stop in a six-day trip to Africa. He is also scheduled to visit Angola.
“France voices extremely strong concern over the consequences of Benedict XVI’s comments,” said a French foreign ministry spokesman. “While it is not up to us to pass judgment on Church doctrine, we consider that such comments are a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect human life.”
Approximately 25 million people have died from AIDS since it was first identified in the 1980’s. There is an estimated 33 million people living with the disease, which is often transmitted through sex or blood transfusions. About 67% of people infected live in Africa. Nearly 7,000 people are infected daily.
Alain Fogue, a spokesman for Mocpat, a group campaigning for access to treatment for sufferers in Cameroon, said, “the people will not follow what the pope is saying… Whether he likes it or not, 99 out of 100 Catholics use the condom today. The pope has to know that the flesh is weak. Did the pope not know when he arrived in Cameroon that HIV-positive people represent a large proportion of the population?”
Within the Catholic Church, there is dissent about the Pope’s comments. “Anyone who has Aids and is sexually active, anyone who seeks multiple partners, must protect others and themselves,” said Hans-Jochen Jaschke, the auxiliary bishop of Hamburg.
Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, released a statement saying, “We call on the pope to revisit the teaching on condoms with a view to lifting the ban at the earliest possible moment. In his review, he should include experts who are unequivocal that condoms can help prevent the spread of HIV, like UNAIDS, the World Health Organization and HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations around the world.”
However, some in the Church strongly support the position. Fr Lombardi, speaking in Yaounde, Cameroon, said, “Benedict XVI reiterated the stance already confirmed by John Paul II. Don’t expect any change of position during this trip. It’s not through the power of condoms that one blocks the spread of Aids.”
O’Brien responded to Lombari’s statement by saying that “It took the church hierarchy 359 years to stop continuing the line taken by their predecessors on Galileo. We hope that this error does not take so long to change.”
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