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Manhattan Diary by Cahir O'Doherty

Pope Benedict - poor ethics lead to HIV and AIDS

Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 08:38 AM

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Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict traveled to Africa this week to lay out his vision for the Church's future there. As expected he took the opportunity to remind the faithful never to use condoms in the fight against AIDS.

It was a bold stance to adopt in a continent that accounts for around 70 percent of the world's HIV cases. But for Benedict, AIDS is not so much a health problem as an ethical one.

'Above all, (AIDS) is an ethical problem,' he said, raising eyebrows in a continent devastated by the HIV virus. 'The change of behavior that it requires – for example, sexual abstinence, rejection of sexual promiscuity, fidelity within marriage – ultimately involves the question of integral development, which demands a global approach and a global response from the Church…'

The pope's central point is that the ethical challenges AIDS poses to his Church teachings are ultimately more important than, you know, actually helping to prevent people from becoming infected in the first place.
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It's the general lack of ethics, Benedict implies, that results in the continuation of this deadly disease. In other words a lack of ethics leads to deadly diseases.

But you know, if that were really true, then most of the world's major religions, and indeed its political and financial systems, would have been wiped out centuries ago - wouldn't they?

In May 2005 Pope Benedict made his first public pronouncement on Aids, insisting that condoms never be used to fight it. At the time he was addressing the bishops of South Africa, where somebody dies of Aids every two minutes.

You have to admire his chutzpah. It's the kind of flying-in-the-face-of-reality pronouncement that social conservatives used to make back in the early 1980's, before they were shamed into adopting a more compassionate stance. So Pope Benedict takes us back 30 years in his theological time machine. Condoms are part of the problem, not part of the solution, he is still saying, although settled medicine contradicts him.

To be clear, condoms can not immunize someone against HIV infection, but they do effectively stop the virus from being transmitted during sex.

But with two million people dying every year from a preventable disease, Benedict's irresponsibility to look reality square in the face even once, rather than retreat behind life-denying theological hairsplitting, makes him part of the problem, not the solution.

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stanJames | Nov 23, 2011, 02:08 AM EST

What else would you expect of a pope who grew up in Nazi germany and learned his lessons well - lessons about how to murder 55 million people. And whats really behind this catastrophe of a pope - he's calculated that despite the death and destruction of AIDS, in the end the net will be more soldiers for his army - to most likely molest. If there were truth in the world, the swastika would be flying over the vatican. Protecting life is just the smokescreen to hide his own crimes. Here to praying the group trying to get him extradited to the international criminal court succeeds. the trial if tellevised, could well create an earthquake when guilty of crimes against humanity is published. Too bad they dont have a death sentence, but its probably just preferable to pray for his suicicide

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hollabackgurl | Nov 22, 2011, 10:53 PM EST

Toronthab demonstrates there's no cure for dumb.

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Toronthab | Nov 22, 2011, 07:51 PM EST

Apparently the author has not read or understood the two major megastudies on the effectiveness of condoms. Both the UNAIDS Hearst study and the Harvard University study headed by Green BOTH agreed that the pope was exactly right and all the clever sophisticated plastic pushers, actually continuing the deaths of millons. Not that anybody really cares.

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SingleDonald | Nov 22, 2011, 06:45 PM EST

I'll try to sort this whole mess out. 1) Pope Benedict is naive to believe that the Church's old stand, that anything sexual, outside of marriage (even fantasies) is a "mortal sin", is still accepted by the majority of Catholics today. 2) While abstinance will indeed prevent AIDS, it is unrealistic. Therefore, people should protect themselves as best they can. Condoms are one way.3) While homosexual practices indeed are risky, I understand that many African men prefer buggery, rather than normal intercourse, with women. THIS IS THE HIGHLY DANGEROUS PRACTICE, among straight men. If they became more conventional with their sexual practices, and, at the same time, met their wives/girlfriends physical & emotional needs, we would see a sharp decline of AIDS, in African nations. I'm so happy American straight men both know better, and are not into kinky sex, with women.

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ChrisVogel | Nov 22, 2011, 04:14 PM EST

What a joke! His opposition to condoms causes the spread of HIV and lots more. Pope Benedict has blood on his hands.

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snakehips | Nov 22, 2011, 03:53 PM EST

These idiots, especially their leader, stick to their screwed up opinions whether they make any logical sense or not. If you want more catholics in Africa, you better advise them on how to stay alive your _ _ _ holiness!

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CeiliGoddess | Nov 22, 2011, 03:30 PM EST

Really? This is just one more reason for the separation of church and state.

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CitizenWhy | Nov 22, 2011, 03:19 PM EST

Half true, like most blanket statements made by someone with a partisan interest. Also half untrue.

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hollabackgurl | Nov 22, 2011, 03:16 PM EST

It will be news to the people of Africa, PiperMac52 (you ridiculous old fool), that they contracted AIDS via the homosexual lifestyle. Since it has been rampant there among heterosexuals for decades. Not wearing a condom is a stupid way to protect yourself. But your comment was stupid too so you're consistent.

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Collette2 | Nov 22, 2011, 03:11 PM EST

I don't know what fool he's getting his data from, the Vatican is full of it, so too where he has just returned from, the infecting of vulnerable women including religious who are soft targets, coerced by their clergy keepng clear of local prostitutes for fear of infection.

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eiriamach | Nov 22, 2011, 03:08 PM EST

Sure, we know that death cures all diseases. If we all just practice total sexual abstinence, there will be no more births, no more diseases attacking human beings, no more problems for us to solve, no more global crises like the spread of HIV, and no more humanity to mess up this planet. So let's take a vote: how many of us are in favor of Benedict's solution?

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cynicus | Nov 22, 2011, 02:25 PM EST

I suppose his 'ethics' will also put food in the mouths of the starving children! Would these 'ethics' put an end to the sexual abuse of children by some of his ministers? For Jesus' sake, bring back Jesus! And quick.

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mfinucane | Nov 22, 2011, 01:59 PM EST

get real you old fool.

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hybernia | Nov 22, 2011, 12:27 PM EST

If brains were taxed, he'd get a rebate.

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PiperMac52 | Nov 22, 2011, 12:20 PM EST

Pope Benedict is spot on. It is an ethics/morality problem.Contrary to liberal propaganda HIV/AIDS spread almost exclusively via the Homosexual lifestyle and it's inherent promiscuity. To think that condoms alone will solve the problem is naive at best.

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