Fuck that cunt, he’s a wanker! FACT!

Which part of that of that isn’t completely irresponsible ?

Some villagers in Africa are convinced that the way to cure AIDS is to have sex with a virgin. Did you have sex with a virgin? You still have AIDS? She must not have been a virgin! Better find a younger one! I don’t even know where to begin that’s so wrong.

Of course the Pope doesn’t like condoms, he’s the POPE.

Sorry, but I gotta call Occam’s Razor on this one. I find it unlikely that Benedict thinks condoms are really swell when used correctly, and that he was simply making a very narrow statement about how condoms don’t work well in southern Africa because the people there have sexual proclivities that make them less likely to use them correctly (or, perhaps, likely to use them _more incorrectly_).

Even if that’s what he meant, I’m not willing to concede that argument. Basically, it’s based on the assumption that distribution of condoms itself will cause so much more sex that the extra numbers will overwhelm the numbers who are actually successfully protected. I don’t think it’s at all obvious that assumption is valid, even given the special circumstances described by the article you quoted.

Anyway, I think it’s incredibly more likely that Benedict meant what Brad thinks he meant… the same counter-scientific dogma that the Catholic church in particular (and many others) have been spewing for years now: that preaching to the masses about all the sex they shouldn’t be having is better than using condoms.

But read this:

http://www.salon.com/health/sex/urge/world/1999/12/10/drysex/

“Dry, abrasive vaginas are seen as desirable in sexual intercourse in the vast majority of southern African cultures, notes an article in Tuesday’s Village Voice. Aversion to moisture in penetration has inflamed the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this region.”

I’m guessing that a culture that desires “dry, abrasive vaginas” would be extremely unlikely to use latex condoms “consistently and correctly” (indeed, the article notes that “condoms break far more easily due to the increased friction.”) I’m also guessing that among an uneducated populace people will believe that the condom will work no matter what “Here, use one of these and you won’t get AIDS.”

I would not be surprised if there were parts of Africa where condom distribution made the problem worse. Certainly on the margins there are people who have put their trust in condoms not understanding how they work and have gotten HIV as a result. It’s just a guess, but I suspect that’s what the Pope was referring to in his speech.

And, being the Pope, he couldn’t exactly say “HIV/Aids is a tragedy that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem since you seem to prefer dry, abrasive vaginas while having sex.”

Yes, it’s unfortunate that so many people are going to misinterpret the Pope and run around calling for the banning of condoms, which, when used properly are a Good Thing ™. But I can’t see how he is totally wrong here, and I certainly don’t think that he is relying the invisible sky man to tell him what to say about the Evil Sex Bags.