Pope on Condoms - Out in the Cold

*/LISBON, Mar (IPS) - Political leaders, activists, scientists and evenCatholic bishops all joined in the chorus of criticism against thestance taken by Pope Benedict with respect to the use of condoms to curbthe impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa./*AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannotbe overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravatesthe problems," the Pope said on a flight to Cameroon at the start of hisfirst visit to Africa - home to 70 percent of all people living withHIV/AIDS - which ended Monday in Angola.The governments of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, theNetherlands, Portugal and Spain were among the first to react vigorouslyto the pontiff's words, defending the views of the leaders of the UnitedNations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and civil society groups,who had lashed out at the pope's remarks.The Spanish government went so far as to order last Friday a donation ofone million condoms to Africa, to underscore its opposition to PopeBenedict's statement.UNAIDS, most of the world's governments, and NGOs defend the use ofcondoms as an effective measure to curb the spread of the AIDS virus.The Catholic church, on the other hand, maintains that abstinence andmarital fidelity are the only ways to prevent infection - a positionheld by Pope John Paul II and ratified by his successor Benedict shortlyafter he became pope in 2005.NGOs, including groups with ties to the Catholic Church, used terms like"unacceptable" and ''mistaken, irresponsible and dangerous'' whendescribing the pope's remark, and said they were "furious" and "in astate of shock."Jon O'Bien, president of the U.S.-based group Catholics for Choice,issued a statement saying that "For the Catholic hierarchy to deny therole that condoms play in preventing the further spread of HIV isirresponsible and dangerous."Judith Melby, an Africa specialist with Christian Aid, said "The pope'scomments are not very helpful. It's sending a confusing message toAfrica, in those countries where the Catholic church is very important."Alain Fogué, a spokesman for MOCPAT, a group in Cameroon thatfacilitates access to antiretroviral drugs for people living with HIV,asked "Is the pope living in the 21st century?""The people will not follow what the pope is saying. He lives in heavenand we are on earth," he said.In an attempt at damage control, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardisaid on Mar. 19 that in his statements, the pontiff "put the emphasis oneducation and responsibility.""You mustn't expect that this trip will change the position of theCatholic Church towards the problem of AIDS," because "to develop anideology of confidence in the condom is not a correct position,"Lombardi said.However, condoms are distributed by many Catholic groups that providesupport for those living with HIV.This was acknowledged in May 2008 during a meeting of the heads ofCatholic organisations in Rome, when Italian missionary Maria Martinellisaid that in many situations, condoms are necessary - a statement thatwas backed up by many African bishops.The pope's six-day Africa tour focused on visits to Cameroon and Angola,areas where the Portuguese began the evangelisation of Africa in thelate 15th century."Last year alone, another 1.9 million cases were added to the 22 millionpeople living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa," Dr. Ana Filgueiras,coordinator of Rede-Sida, an NGO dedicated to fighting the spread ofAIDS in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), told IPS.Rede-Sida works closely with Brazil, "the most advanced CPLP country inthe fight against AIDS and one of the countries in the world that hashad the greatest success in the war on the pandemic because civilsociety has a huge commitment to direct participation in policy-makingby those affected by the disease," she said.Although the group is also active in Portugal itself, the greatestemphasis in the activities led by Filgueiras is on East Timor in Asiaand on Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé andPríncipe, the five African members of the CPLP.The pope's stance against the use of condoms "is completely criminal,aside from the fact that it contradicts scientific studies by the WHO(World Health Organisation) and UNAIDS, which have been widelyreported," said the activist."These studies demonstrate that the use of condoms can prevent 90percent of HIV infections," she stressed.In many cases, no significant strides have been made in the fightagainst AIDS because the strategies "have been based on subjectiveconcepts like morality," she said.The Catholic church, "of all religions, is the only one that hascontributed to the spread of the disease, by seeing it simply as aproblem that could easily be solved if sex was only practiced withinmarriage, with strict observance of marital fidelity," she added.The bishop of the armed forces of Portugal, Januário Torgal Ferreira,told the local press on Mar. 21 that "from a medical point of view, Ihave no doubt that there are obviously circumstances where prohibitingcondoms is to consent to the death of many people."Asked about the discrepancy between his and the pope's views, the bishopmerely stated that "everyone knows what I think about condom use," andsaid "the people who are advising the pope, who should be morecultured," are to be blamed for triggering the storm of outrage.For her part, Left Bloc parliamentary deputy Joana Amaral Diascomplained in an op-ed titled "Mortal Sin", published Sunday in the OCorreio da Manhã, a Lisbon newspaper, about those who defend the pope bysaying he was "merely expressing the position of the church," as if thisexplanation "reduced his responsibility" for his remarks."This position should be immediately modified, and they should acceptbasic scientific knowledge," because otherwise, "what should we think ofthe church and its leader when they use their power to spread medievalbeliefs that endanger human life?" the legislator asked.The Catholic church "can continue defending the stance that sex outsideof marriage is a sin, but it must avoid turning that sin into homicide,which in the case of Africa becomes genocide," said Amaral Dias.A Mar. 19 editorial in Spain's leading daily El País described thepope's rejection of condom use as "dangerous and irresponsible" because"no one, except the Catholic church, denies today the effectiveness ofcondoms in preventing HIV transmission.""Behind such an irresponsible message lurks the Catholic hierarchy'smixed-up relationship with anything to do with sex," wrote theeditorialist. "Rome defends abstinence even within marriage, as the onlyway to prevent the transmission of AIDS. Is the pope referring to thedanger of promiscuity when he says condoms only increase the problem?"Columnist José Ferreira Fernandes with the Diario de Noticias, a Lisbonpaper, wrote that according to the pope's arguments, "AIDS would stopspreading if sex were only practiced within marriage."However, "there is extramarital sex, and lots of it, so it is likesaying that condoms reduce transmission, but aren't the solution andactually become a problem. In the fight against AIDS, that is just whatthe pope is: a problem," according to the analyst. (END/2009)