The media twists everything. .
The Holy Father: “I would say that this problem of AIDS cannot be overcome with advertising slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem. The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanization of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly, true friendship, above all with those who are suffering, a readiness - even through personal sacrifice - to be present with those who suffer. And these are the factors that help and bring visible progress.
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“Therefore, I would say that our double effort is to renew the human person internally, to give spiritual and human strength to a way of behaving that is just towards our own body and the other person’s body; and this capacity of suffering with those who suffer, to remain present in trying situations.
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“I believe that this is the first response [to AIDS] and that this is what the Church does, and thus, she offers a great and important contribution. And we are grateful to those that do this.” - Source
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As to be expected, the Roman Catholic Church continues to be in the forefront regarding the AIDS crises, as it had been from the very beginning. Many people seem to forget how in this country, beginning with the ministry of the Missionaries of Charity in lower Manhattan, when at the behest of Cardinal O'Connor, Mother Teresa opened the first home for AIDS patients in the Village. The Holy Father reminds us of the charity of the Church in his reference to the ongoing work of the order of St. Camillus, the Community of St. Egidio, as well as the work of so many religious engaged in serving the sick.
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Fr. Blake has a more precise clarification on what the Pope said than I do, visit him here.
Condom use does, in fact, exacerbate the problem of AIDS.
ReplyDeleteIn Botswana, condom use, not fidelity and marital abstinence, was widely promoted as a solution to the problem. Meanwhile, in Uganda, the method of dealing with the crisis was the teaching of abstinence and fidelity. Uganda's HIV/AIDS rate (and in fact, the rate of ALL STDs) was on a steady decline. The rate of casual sex in Uganda declined 65% during this period. In Botswana, the AIDS infection rate skyrocketed. As usual, sex-saturated Westerners decided they knew best and started promoting condom use in Uganda. Now, after so many years of success, HIV/AIDS is again on the rise in that country.
In 1984, both the Philippines and Thailand reported their first cases of HIV. By 1987, there were 135 cases in the Philippines and 112 in Thailand. The WHO (geniuses that they are) said that at that rate, by 1999, 85,000 people would die of AIDS in the Philippines, and 70,000 would die in Thailand.
Thailand immediately enacted their plan to combat the disease: 100% condoms.
The Philippines (heavily Catholic, of course, where only 4% of the population uses condoms) decided to go along with the Church's method of marital abstinence when one partner was infected, and taught fidelity and monogamy. Here we are, so many years later. 12,000 of the Philippines 84,000,000 residents have HIV/AIDS. The rate in Thailand? FIFTY TIMES HIGHER.
The best part? Jean-Marc Olive of the World Health Organization was asked why the Philippines clearly had HIV/AIDS under control and Thailand was in the midst of an epidemic? His answer? "The Philippines must be lucky."
Yeah, luck.
That's what it is.
Church, 1.
Condoms, 0.
Thanks Cathy - You provided back up for my simple claims!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, Cathy. The statistics are interesting.
ReplyDeleteOne thing puzzles me; a lot of people in Africa (and everywhere else) apparently don't pay any attention to the Church's teaching about extramarital sex. So we are supposed to believe that they are waiting with baited breath for permission to use condoms? I have read that many men in Africa consider sex without condoms to be an "upgrade", and that some prefer "dry sex" (you don't want to know) which contributes to the spread of infection. So yes, a "humanization of sexuality" is in order.