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May 08, 2005
Tsk, Tsk, Mr Kristoff.
Nicholas Kristoff in the New York Times continues the meme that the Catholic Church’s oppositon to condoms leads to millions of deaths.
Let's hope that Pope Benedict XVI quickly realizes that the worst sex scandal in the Catholic Church doesn't involve predatory priests. Rather, it involves the Vatican's hostility to condoms, which is creating more AIDS orphans every day.
The only problem with his analysis is that it appears to be untrue, as explained here and here. If people actually followed Catholic teaching then AIDS would not be a sexually transmitted disease, and there appears to be no evidence (at least as far as I can find) that there are higher infection rates in Catholics (or other religions that ban condom usage) than in those that allow them. As Daniel Davies (of the Crooked Timber kollektiv) noted in a comment here:
I've no bloody idea why so many people jumped on this theory, and have been doing my best to slap it down too. There are only three African states with a material Catholic population (DRC, Nigeria and Burundi) and they have about the same AIDS prevalence as their neighbours. And in any case, the idea that Africans are thinking that unprotected promiscuous sex is somehow more in keeping with Catholic teachings than promiscuous sex with a condom is patronising in the extreme and should never have passed a laugh test.
Sorry Mr Kristoff, you might find that you need to rethink your position on this one.
May 8, 2005 in Religion | Permalink
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Comments
It's quite bizarre but the liberal media simply won't let go of the idea that the Pope is somehow responsible for AIDS. It's especially strange in a week when the South African Minister for Health has announced that she's to warn people away from anti-retroviral drugs - AIDS apparently can be cured by garlic and lemon: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1601184,00.html. This is what contributes to the AIDS pandemic - African leaders (including the left's secular saint, Nelson Mandela) have for too long buried their heads in the sand.
Posted by: David H | May 8, 2005 1:39:06 PM
I wouldn't say it is the fault of the Pope personally, or only the catholic church, but it is clear that religious fundamentalists (among whom I include catholics) are iverting resources for fighting AIDS from interventions that work (auch as access to condoms) to interventions that do not work (such as promoting abstinence and fidelity - as this posting shows).
And by diverting resources from interventions that work to interventions that do not work, these people contribute to the AIDS pandemic.
Posted by: Owen Barder | May 8, 2005 3:52:19 PM
Suppose a skydiving instructor issues two edicts:
1) Jump out of the plane.
2) Open your parachute.
According to Kristoffian logic, that instructor is responsible for the death of anyone who follows the first instruction but not the second. Hmm...
Posted by: Marlon McAvoy | May 8, 2005 5:22:27 PM
The Catholic Church advice:
1) Do not travel by car
2) Do not wear safety belts
If you choose to ignore (1) but take our advice on (2) and something goes wrong, then it is your fault.
Posted by: Owen Barder | May 10, 2005 1:50:38 AM
