Condoms 'not the answer to AIDS': Pope

17 Mar 2009, 10:17 pm   -   Source: AFP/SBS
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Health education groups have long called on the Pope to revise his stance on the use of condoms

Health education groups have long called on the Pope to revise his stance on the use of condoms

Handing out condoms is not the solution to combatting AIDS and actually makes the problem worse, Pope Benedict XVI claims.

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Handing out condoms is not the solution to combatting AIDS and actually makes the problem worse, Pope Benedict XVI claims.

AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," the pontiff said.  

The solution lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer," he said, while en route to Cameroon, for his first trip as pontiff to Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by AIDS than any other region of the world.

Southern Africa bears a disproportionate share of the global HIV burden, with 35 per cent of the world's new infections and 38 per cent of AIDS deaths in 2007.

Last year about 60 Catholic groups wrote an open letter to Benedict urging him to reverse the Vatican's opposition to contraception.

The ban on condoms "exposes millions of people to the risk of contracting the AIDS virus," they said.

The pope, who is scheduled to land in Yaounde, Cameroon later, will also travel to Angola during his week-long trip.

 

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Your Comments

Pope Benedict XVI's developing position on the use of condoms...

HappyOne_5_8_1990 - from United Kingdom, 1 year

Pope Benedict XVI's position on the use of condoms is developing. If you are interested in the subject, I recommend: "Light of the World - the Pope, the Church, & the Signs of the Times" - Pope Benedict XVI - interviewed by Peter Seewald - available from www.Amazon.co.uk More recently the Pope has been quoted as saying that the use of condoms by homosexuals is "the beginning of social responsibility". (The relevant part of the Bible is "the sin of Onan" - Genesis 38:9.)

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