AIDS as a Security Threat

[Tom Odom]

I cannot understand how the Pope and the Church continue to hold to dogma when it is destructive. The arrogance in this is stunning, a 21st Century religious equivalent of "let them eat cake."

Tom

Pope visits Africa, reaffirms ban on condoms

CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI refused Wednesday to soften the Vatican's ban on condom use as he arrived in Africa for his first visit to the continent as pope.

He landed in Cameroon, the first stop on a trip that will also take him to Angola.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit harder by AIDS and HIV than any other region of the world, according to the United Nations and World Health Organization. There has been fierce debate between those who advocate the use of condoms to help stop the spread of the epidemic and those who oppose it.

The pontiff reiterated the Vatican's policy on condom use as he flew from Rome to Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, CNN Vatican analyst John Allen said.

[Schmedlap]

I'm not a Catholic, but I do not view this as arrogance. I view it as quite the opposite. If one believes that God is sovereign and that something violates His word, then it is arrogant to think that "well, he obviously didn't consider this circumstance - God must have made a mistake." I understand the concern about the current suffering of many and the potential spread of that suffering to others, but if one takes the eternal view, as the Pope apparently does, and views current events in that light, then it is a difference of priorities, not arrogance. Ask him his rationale and I suspect he would say that he would prefer that they suffer from HIV, but go to heaven, rather than use condoms and go to Hell. Again, I'm not a Catholic.

[Tom Odom]

I'm not a Catholic, but I do not view this as arrogance. I view it as quite the opposite. If one believes that God is sovereign and that something violates His word, then it is arrogant to think that "well, he obviously didn't consider this circumstance - God must have made a mistake." I understand the concern about the current suffering of many and the potential spread of that suffering to others, but if one takes the eternal view, as the Pope apparently does, and views current events in that light, then it is a difference of priorities, not arrogance. Ask him his rationale and I suspect he would say that he would prefer that they suffer from HIV, but go to heaven, rather than use condoms and go to Hell. Again, I'm not a Catholic.

Perhaps, but somehow I doubt that God said don't use condoms. Rather the Church did. Eternal views aside, the close view is very different.

Tom

[marct]

Ask him his rationale and I suspect he would say that he would prefer that they suffer from HIV, but go to heaven, rather than use condoms and go to Hell. Again, I'm not a Catholic.

Perhaps, but somehow I doubt that God said don't use condoms. Rather the Church did. Eternal views aside, the close view is very different.

I'm not sure I even want to think about the theological implications here !

[Tom Odom]

I'm not sure I even want to think about the theological implications here !

No kidding. But I do care about the real effects on the ground. HIV education has been struggle even w/o theology due to cultural parameters. Africa is considered the Catholic Church's best avenue for expansion. This would be one way to self-limit that expansion.

Tom

[marct]

Hi Tom,

No kidding. But I do care about the real effects on the ground. HIV education has been struggle even w/o theology due to cultural parameters. Africa is considered the Catholic Church's best avenue for expansion. This would be one way to self-limit that expansion.

I know . The truly nasty thing about it is that a lot of it goes back to Vatican internal politics and the dangers to the established factions of having a strong African church. About 3 years ago, one of my students, who had been doing HIV awareness education in Africa, came up with a really great teaching tool. Do you remember the old game of Life? Well, she used that as the basis, set the game parameters around infection vectors, and produced a really accurate board game simulation to teach kids with. The goal was to live until 60 .

[Steve Blair]

I'd actually hazard a guess that the majority of it goes back to internal Church politics. Funny that the Pope can come out so strongly against something like this yet remain relatively silent about the abuse scandals that did so much damage to the Church's reputation in the US.