In a stunning, ‘oh no, he didn’t’ act of irresponsibility, the Pope said people in Africa shouldn’t use condoms because it would further spread HIV infections.
22 million people are infected in Africa, and three quarters of all AIDS deaths occurred there in 2007. “You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” the pope told reporters aboard a jet to the continent. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.”
The Pope believes that abstinence, not condoms, is the only way to stop the raging AIDS epidemic. Fine. You don’t have to give up your belief in abstinence to have an impact on curbing the spread of HIV. You just have to give up making everything else its enemy.
The Pope seemed to have declared logic, reason and facts the new Axis of Evil. Condoms are far more likely to protect you from HIV than abstinence. Studies show that “condom failure” hovers around 1-5%. They also show that “abstinence failure” hovers around 80% (very few people can practice abstinence over a long period of time and when they ‘fall off the wagon’ they almost never use protection).
I understand Pope Benedict XVI wants to advocate abstinence but he doesn’t have to do it in a way that tells the world, “Just Say No To Safe Sex.”