JUST weeks after Pope Benedict XVI attracted widespread ire when he said condoms were aggravating the AIDS epidemic in Africa, the head of the Catholic Church in Australia has backed the pontiff's stance. Cardinal George Pell said yesterday that the health crisis facing Africa was "an enormous challenge" but contraception was not the answer to stopping the spread of AIDS.
"The idea that you can solve a great spiritual and health crisis like AIDS with a few mechanical contraptions like condoms is ridiculous," the Archbishop of Sydney said in a television interview.
"Condoms are encouraging promiscuity. They are encouraging irresponsibility."
His words echoed the remarks made by the Pope during a visit to Africa last month, when he said that AIDS could not be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which "can even increase the problem".
The Pope said the solution lay in sexual abstinence and monogamy within marriage.
Cardinal Pell yesterday compared the AIDS infection rate in the Catholic Philippines with that of Thailand, which, he said, was struggling to cope with an epidemic of the disease.
"If you look at the Philippines, you'll see the incidence of AIDS is much lower than it is in Thailand, which is awash with condoms," he said.
"There are condoms everywhere and the rate of infection is enormous.
"That's what the Pope is talking about."
However, Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations executive director Don Baxter said condoms in Africa were not the only solution but were a vital part of a solution, as they had been in Thailand.
"The virus was well established in Thailand very early on and the rates of transmission have declined since the widespread use of condoms in the sex industry and the general population," he said.
Mr Baxter said the Pope's comments about condoms were easily misunderstood in Africa, where it was common for both men and women to have several concurrent sexual partners but still see themselves as being faithful.
"Calls for not using condoms and being faithful are heard by Africans to mean if they have regular partners, they don't need to wear condoms," Mr Baxter said.
"It only requires one person in the quite complicated sexual networks to be exposed and then all in the network are at risk," he said.
Cardinal Pell's comments received little support from other Australian religious leaders.
The Anglican Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, lent his support to Cardinal Pell's criticism of society's increasing promiscuity, but not to the banning of condoms.
"We don't oppose the use of condoms," he said. "The Catholic Church has opposed condoms. We haven't.
"We have no problem with birth control that includes condoms."
Dean Jensen said there was more to modern promiscuity than just the ready availability of condoms.
"In terms of adultery, in terms of divorce, yes, we are in big trouble as a society because of the sexual revolution," he said.
"It's a century-long movement that has happened. In my view, it's a disaster. It has ruined lives. It is ruining our society."
A spokesman for the Uniting Church said the use of condoms had led to improvements in people's quality of life. "They have obviously stopped people from catching life-threatening diseases," he said. "The Uniting Church is not opposed to the use of condoms."
AIDS Council of NSW president Mark Orr said it supported the many HIV/AIDS organisations throughout Africa which had rejected the Pope's position. "The facts are quite clear," he said. "We're living in a world where there is a new HIV infection every seven seconds.
"Someone dies of an AIDS-related condition every 11 seconds. A large proportion of people with HIV are in Africa.
"In the face of those facts, it is incredibly irresponsible for someone in Cardinal Pell's position to discourage the only proven method that we have of stopping the transmission of HIV.
"Abstinence is one method of preventing the transmission of HIV, but we need to live in the reality of people's lives and their decision making. And often people choose not to abstain."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce
(Source: TA)