The Pope has completely wasted an opportunity to clarify a point of doctrine that is singularly responsible for millions of deaths.
Millions of children are being born HIV+ having contracted the disease in the womb.
These children and many more end up as orphans or in extreme hardship when one or both parents eventually die. It's not uncommon for children under 10 to adopt the role of 'head of the household' and provider to their younger brother's and sisters. Those not so fortunate die from malnutrition or neglect.
A person can be an HIV carrier for years without showing any symptoms. Some will never develop any symptoms at all. Many will get married, have kids and well ..... you know the rest.
You made a comment about the possibility that a condom could break or could even increase your chance of some diseases. We agree on that.
Car seat belts are frequently shown to be a major contributor to chest and neck trauma in road traffic accidents - would you suggest that we stop wearing them?
It's all about reducing risk and limiting the consequences.
A large number of organisations around the world are battling to educate whole communities about safer sex practices. The countries in which they operate do not have the facilities or the finances to be able to routinely screen pregnant women or to test individuals prior to engaging in intercourse (irrespective of whether or not they are married).
One of the major barriers to this education is the widely held and popular belief that the RC church prohibits the use of condoms (and the female equivalent) completely. Because of this, they aren't freely available and their use is frowned upon by both males and females alike.
This even extends to couples refusing to use a condom even if they are aware that one of them is a carrier. The church says no - end of.
The church has maintained it's stance that condoms should not be used when you are having sex for procreational purposes
. It has consistently failed to approach the matter of whether or not it's OK to use one in order to prevent transmission of STD's such as HIV.
It has also failed to clarify the use of condoms in those cases where people are occasionally tempted to have sex just for the 'fun' of it, or where they don't actually have a choice in the matter (males the head of the household in a lot of countries and what he says goes).
This is where the Pope has messed up big time and this is the opportunity he has missed.
He could have prevented millions of un-necessary deaths and countless tales of suffering just by saying a few words and clarifying a couple of points but instead he chose to reinforce his uneducated and criminally insane ideals and set back progress in this area by decades.
If you've go a few minutes to spare google aids orphans. UN reported 12.1 million aid's orphans back in 2001. Other organisations put the figure considerably higher than that now.
[url]http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol15no3/153child.htm
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