Comments on: The Pope, Africa, and Condoms http://www.quietatheist.com/index.php/2009/03/the-pope-africa-and-condoms/ Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:05:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: JoJo http://www.quietatheist.com/index.php/2009/03/the-pope-africa-and-condoms/comment-page-1/#comment-6 JoJo Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:26:07 +0000 http://www.quietatheist.com/?p=137#comment-6 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. 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.

]]> By: Slugsie http://www.quietatheist.com/index.php/2009/03/the-pope-africa-and-condoms/comment-page-1/#comment-5 Slugsie Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:04:56 +0000 http://www.quietatheist.com/?p=137#comment-5 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. ;-) 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. ;-)

]]> By: Boxer http://www.quietatheist.com/index.php/2009/03/the-pope-africa-and-condoms/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Boxer Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:58:11 +0000 http://www.quietatheist.com/?p=137#comment-4 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. 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.

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