Blame the Church

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms, a U.N. official said on Monday.

Some 1.7 million people across Latin America are infected with the HIV virus or full-blown AIDS, and the epidemic is spreading swiftly with up to 410,000 new cases in 2006, up from as many as 320,000 new cases in 2004, according the UN AIDS program, UNAIDS.

"In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region," said Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The Catholic Church, which holds sway in Latin America despite the rise in evangelical churches, opposes all forms of contraception and instead promotes abstinence as a way to avoid spreading AIDS.

If only the Catholic Church was a powerful as they infer and that Catholics are as obedient as they assume. Somehow we are suppose to believe that many Catholics won't use condoms, yet somehow they will commit fornication and adultery. I am pretty sure the Church teaches that these are grave sins regardless of whether you are using a condom or not. Final impenitence of these acts will send you to hell regardless. Do they think that there is a deeper circle of hell for those who use condoms in addition to these other acts?

Though this is the same logic they have used in Africa and the assertion that the Pope is personally responsible for any Catholic who die of AIDS.

Here is an example of just how wrong the UN and its organ the World Health Organization.

AIDS victims in 1987: Philippines 135 / Thailand 112

In 1991 the WHO predicted the Philippines would have 80,000 to 90,000 cases and Thailand 60,000 to 80,000 AIDS victims.

Thailand promoted the use of condoms in massive campaigns where Catholic Philippines promoted 'Abstinence' and 'Be faithful'.

The prognosis of the WHO was wrong for both countries:

1999: Philippines 1,005 / Thailand 755,000 AIDS victims

Source: British Medical Journal, volume 328, April 10th 2004

Here is another case:

Take for example a March 2004 article in the medical journal, Studies in Family Planning (cited by the Zenit News Agency, June 26, 2004). Titled "Condom Promotion for AIDS Prevention in the Developing World: Is It Working?," the piece was a meta-review of the scientific literature on the question.

The results shocked condom advocates. In the article, researchers Sanny Chen and Norman Hearst noted that, "In many sub-Saharan African countries, high HIV transmission rates have continued despite high rates of condom use." In fact, they continued, "No clear examples have emerged yet of a country that has turned back a generalized epidemic primarily by means of condom distribution."

No surprise, then, that Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa — the nations with the highest levels of condom availability — continue to have the highest rates of HIV prevalence ("The White House Initiative to Combat AIDS: Learning from Uganda," Joseph Loconte, Executive Summary Backgrounder).

And of course Uganda which once has the highest incidence of AIDS now has the lowest after a campaign the promoted primarily faithfulness and abstinence. This campaign resulted in the largest drop of any country in history.

The irony is is that it is the U.N., various government agencies, and other advocacy groups who have some culpability if anybody does. First off it is always the individual first that is culpability for the consequences of their actions, but this is reduced when all-out false information becomes common knowledge and is promoted far and wide.

I remember once being naive enough to believe that the AIDS epidemic would make people rethink their attitudes towards sexual promiscuity. Like I said it was naive and of course we soon had the false idea of safe-sex so that everyone could pretend to go on as usual. When it comes to the free sex culture - facts must never get in the way. Sex education and throwing condoms at the problems has done nothing to reduce STDs and yet the answer is of course always more sex ed and more condoms. Oh, but it is the Catholic Church that is out of touch. Why could you imagine what would happen if people actual followed the teachings of the Church on sexuality and marriage? Society would collapse as STDs and the moral repercussions due to sexual promiscuity were greatly reduced. Marriages would be stronger and kids would be safer - horrible to think about if society followed Church teaching. Lets just go on as we are because that is working so well for us.