By Slugsie, on March 18th, 2009So, the Pope is on a little trip to Africa, and just can’t resist spreading some mis-information.
Unfortunately Africa is a very poor continent, and STDs like AIDS/HIV are rife. The two most effective methods of combating AIDS/HIV are abstinence and condoms. Guess which the Catholic Church thinks works? Sex is good, sex is fun, sex is completely natural. People always have had, and will continue to have recreational sex, and long may that practise continue.
This does however lead to the spreading of STDs, which takes a terrible toll on the populations of the various sub-Saharan countries. Therefore the only effective method to try and to bring this under control is to encourage the use of condoms. Various health agencies (including the UN) have instigated programs to distribute free condoms in Africa, but it appears to be too early for the programs to show any effect.
The thing is, the Catholic Church actually claim that the use of condoms might actually make matters worse! Reading through that article some of what they say does make sense (shock, horror, I’m agreeing with the Catholics!), but I doubt it’s as simple as they are making out. Like any big problem, it is highly unlikely that there is a single, simple, solution. The problem of AIDS/HIV in Africa needs a many pronged approach. Education has to be high on the list, teach people about sexual health, give them the knowledge, skills, and tools to make more informed choices. Make access to barrier contraceptives easy, and make sure people are aware of their proper use. And yes, promotion of a more monogamous lifestyle won’t hurt.
March 18th, 2009 | 
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Look, the pope has to have an idealist position. The reality is, if you have sex outside marriage you are sinning, so you might as well sin a bit more by using a condom – then at least you won’t kill your partner.
Maybe the Pope does need to have an idealist position with the set of beliefs that he has chosen to adopt. Doesn’t mean he should go around trying to force those beliefs on others though.
The African peoples are in desperate need of help from all quarters – and many organisations are in a position to help. Even the various large religious organisations have a part to play. However I feel that it would be much more beneficial if a consistent message was used, it would make it much easier to get the message across, and make it easier for those in need to accept that they are getting the right help.
P.S. Thanks Boxer, you’re my first proper commenter, I was beginning to think no-one cared.
I have to disagree with the author. NOTHING in the referenced article made sense. The thrust is that condoms are proved ineffective by the fact that there is still a high incidence of HIV in areas where there are people handing a lot of them out. FFS! First, people handing out condoms will want to target the hotspots first – if they are allowed. Second, even if there are a lot of condoms available, there are also a lot of priests telling people not to use them. You don’t get to sabotage a program and then point to lower than hoped for success to prove it was ill-founded to begin with. Unless you’re the Pope, obviously. Of course total abstinence is effective. But it’s never going to happen. but no educator working in HIV prevention would advocate promiscuity as the article insidiously implies they do.
People don’t like using condoms – there is already resistance there that education needs to overcome. The Catholics just give irresponsible people a get out from wearing them. What? Someone justifying doing a really shitty thing to someone else by invoking the authority of the Church? Hardly new.
As slugsie rightly points out, a combined solution is required. Catholic misinformation and dogma are just part of the problem.