Pope Benedict XVI is in Africa this week (17th-23rd March) on his first trip to the continent as Pontiff and is already angering AIDS activists with his anti-condom stance.
Pope Benedict is representing the Catholic Church on visits to Cameroon and Angola.
Although the Vatican website describes his visit as an 'Apostolic Journey', with his itinerary including meetings with high-level political and Episcopal figures, it is the Pontiff's continuing controversial message regarding HIV/AIDS that has attracted the most international attention.
A staunch proponent of sexual abstinence and marital monogamy, the Pope has said that HIV/AIDS is "a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem".
Speaking to journalists en route to Cameroon, he said that a Christian "can never remain silent" and that the solution to the pandemic lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer".
Rebecca Hodes, Head of Policy, Communication and Research, at the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) expressed the organisation's anger at these comments.
"The Pope is correct that condoms are not the sole solution to Africa's AIDS epidemic," she said. "However, they are one of the very few HIV prevention mechanisms which are evidence-based - they are proven to work."
TAC activists distribute over 500 000 condoms every month in Khayelitsha, a disadvantaged community which has traditionally seen high incidence of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. As a result of the TAC's distributions, however, medical officials in the area have reported a decline in sexually transmitted infections.
Hodes explained that millions of rands have been spent on sexual abstinence campaigns in South Africa, but that "with over 1,000 new HIV infections daily in South Africa alone, it is increasingly apparent that current prevention strategies have failed and continue to fail".
The Papal schedule lists a meeting with youth on Saturday March 21st in Luanda, Angola. The BBC has reported that the Pope is likely to speak to young people about AIDS and about the Catholic stance of abstinence being the best preventative measure.
This would echo a speech he made to African bishops in 2005, in which he said that abstinence and monogamy - rather than condoms - were the best method of tackling the AIDS epidemic.
In response, Rebecca Hodes highlighted the importance of considering gendered power imbalances and the socio-eonomic context which fuels HIV infection rates.
"Preaching abstinence to many communities in Africa is alienating and irrelevant," Hodes said. "Many, many women in Africa only know co-erced and transactional sex. To instruct these women to abstain from sex or to remain faithful to only one partner demonstrates an alarming and pernicious ignorance of their sexual realities."
The TAC suggests that the Pope, who is reported to have said that he wanted to "wrap his arms around the entire continent", with "its painful wounds, its enormous potential and hopes", could make a more practical contribution to the global struggle with HIV/AIDS.
"If the Pope is serious about preventing new HIV infections, and about saving the lives of people living with HIV," Hodes said, "He will focus instead on promoting wide access to condoms and femidoms, and on disseminating information on how best to use these. He will also devote much more time to raising funds and spreading awareness about antiretroviral drugs and their potent potential for HIV prevention".
She concluded by saying that, "His opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans".
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The pope is senile, puerile and a pervert, who heads a Christian Institution of Child Sodomy. No awake African mind would give even one moment to this destructive devil, who oversees the sodomizing and traumatizing of children for generations. These demons continue to invade and plunder Africans and, waste and weaken African minds with their foreign religious rubbish. If African juju was potent, the pope would drop dead on this latest campaign to re-affirm the destruction of African culture.
http://africa-onecountryaweek.blogspot.com/
Unintended consequences- a lesson for Pope Benedict
Pope Benedict is in the media spotlight again. I guess we should expect regular international coverage, being that he is at the helm of a faith that boasts billions of followers. However, the perverse interest of myself, and that of many fellow world citizens, is not spiked by the gracious and noble achievements this holy man makes but by his major gaffes. Pope-related stories would prove boring if they ranted off narratives filled with things we expect from a Pope, but not so of a little Pope-scandal, whether real or artificially inflated. Hmm, sensational!
In January, the issue of contention was over Bishop Richard Williamson whose excommunication was lifted by the Vatican. Reports later surfaced of Williamson's controversial views, especially of his denial of the holocaust. As you can imagine, the response was absolute outrage from the Jewish community and many others. The Pope later released a letter admitting to mistakes in the handling of the matter. The situation was a real public relations debacle, which was blamed on lack of communication within the high echelons at the Vatican and the inadequacy of their spin establishment.
Now, the Pope is visiting Africa, his first visit since assuming the position in 2005. However, the predominant media coverage in Europe and America is not of the great spiritual and symbolic significance of the event, but the coverage is about the potential public health nightmare the Pope's recent statement may cause. So, what did the Pope say and what's all the huff and puff about?
Pope Benedict is quoted by Reuters as saying condoms are not the solution to the AIDS crisis and may serve to "increase the problem." Since his statement was translated to English, there have been questions about the appropriate exact wordings. However, the message was quite clear: forget about using condoms, they risk making the HIV/AIDS problem worse. The position of the Vatican on the use of condoms and its sole support for abstinence is very well known; this stance has even been previously publicly ratified by this Pope. But the uttering of what is arguably a very careless statement is an example of an instance when the the potential resulting harm completely obviates any initial good intentions, however noble them may have been.
Here are some well known, dare I say, common-sense facts. HIV/AIDS afflicts tens of millions in Africa; millions have died and many more will die from the disease. Condoms, when properly used, cut the rates of HIV transmission, as well as transmission of other STDs, to less than 10%. Obviously, abstinence is the only full-proof method; but, as the world experience very clearly continually shows, it is not fool-proof. There is also no expert consensus that the use of condoms significantly changes people's level of sexual activity.
I understand that the Pope is a deeply religious man, clearly with strong spiritual convictions, which he may feel compelled to share. But Pope Benedict is neither an epidemiologist nor a public health specialist and should exercise extreme caution when dabbling into unsure territory especially when many lives, thousands and millions of them are at stake.
To many, Pope Benedict is a demigod. He speaks for God and has the utmost respect of many. I do not envy such responsibility nor do I crave the power his position wields. I can very clearly envisage religious poor African peoples led by some high-school educated minister latch on to the words of the Pope; abandon condoms and leading to HIV spread between lovers and worst of all to the resulting children. What a wonderful chicken-out excuse to be wielded by many, "the Pope says... so I won't use a condom." If the fornicators and adulterers deserve the retribution of HIV/AIDS for their sins, their faithful innocent spouses and resulting children do not.
http://africa-onecountryaweek.blogspot.com/
I have read Rebecca Hodes' of TAC comment and reaction on the Popes insistence of abstinence as the best option to check HIV/AIDS. I want to afirm that the Pope is not wrong in saying that. The workability of this option might be difficult for some, but it still is the best. It is difficult because values and moral standards have been lowered and in most cases outrightly jettisoned in most communities. If people are trained in the right moral values and principles, living it would not be a problem. And this is what the world needs more. Not spending millions of dollars producing condoms and contraceptives and encouraging people to go out and live loose lifes to their own destruction, while the manufacturing companies smile home with millions of Dollars. It should also interest Rebecca to know that the church supports and treats a lot of this cases through its mission hospitals found in almost all parts of Africa. and this has been going on even before the NGOs that pay and spend so much came into existence in Africa. We in Africa have benefitted more from the Church's ran hospitals, medical and educational institutions than we have from our home governments. Therefore the pope as a symbol of morals and right principals, though sympathising with the world's suffering, would not come to promote wrong values for any reason.
As an African, that grew up in a village of Africa, I have seen polygammy and multiple sex partnership practised it its crudest form. At a point, I used to believe that there was nothing any man can do than live that way. Then, the christian teaching on abstinence and fidelity sounded like theory and impracticable, but deep within, I acknowledged it to be the best way to live. Going through a compulsory pre- marriage course programme before my wedding sparked off in me a deep desire to live a simple, uncomplicated Christian and fulfilled life. After my marriage, that desire moved me to study more the churches teachings and doctrines on sexuality and marriage. with this desire and openness, the Grace of God has been there to help me through. If this can happen to me, then it can happen to others, but one has to be open to this doctrine of Love and Life! The grace of God abound, but remember that grace builds on nature.
Mfon Akpan, Lagos, Nigeria
Hodes ,
could you advice youths to avoid sexual intercourse and at the same time provide them with advice on using condoms? telling them is the only way? some people even cal it safe sex.........
what do you think of a typical african? monogamy and abstinence? or 'kam we stay' marriages?
The Pope is just reaffirming what has been said years ago. I also think distributing 500 000 condoms in one month to a community implys go on and have sex. use condom as a passport.
My opinion is that,
looing at the spiritual piont of view, only God has an answer to this problem.
lets pray and act towards this pandemic.
Every species on earth is inately deposed to multiplying their numbers and having their genes dominate the population. Basic human nature is no different. Suppressing our natural sex drive is extremely unhealthy. Healthy adults think about sex for almost 50% of their waking hours. Our base instinct is to constantly seek out sex. When the opportunity arises we rarely deny it.
To say that a lack of condoms will lead to less sex is to be criminaly negligent.
To say that easy access to condoms will lead to more sex is extremely ignorant.
No organisation has a right to be a moral authority on human sexual nature.
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