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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 09 2010 19:52 | LAST UPDATED Feb 09 2010 19:52 |
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Pope Benedict XVI headed to Aids-ravaged Africa on Tuesday standing firm against the use of condoms, saying they were not a solution to combatting the disease. Aids "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," the 81-year-old pontiff said. The solution lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer", said Benedict, who will visit Cameroon and Angola during the weeklong trip. The pope is scheduled to land in the Cameroon capital Yaounde at about 3pm GMT. Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane, the pope also denied feeling alone in the controversy sparked when he lifted the excommunication of Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson. "In truth, this myth about solitude makes me laugh," the pope said, dismissing reports in the Italian media that the controversy had left him isolated. "I am surrounded by friends. Solitude does not exist," he said. The trip is Benedict's first as pontiff to Africa, and during his Sunday Angelus blessing he said he wanted to wrap his arms around the entire continent, with "its painful wounds, its enormous potential and hopes". The pope, who will turn 82 on April 16, last month said he wanted 2009 to be the "Year of Africa," which will also include a conference of African bishops in Rome in September and an African synod at the Vatican in October. The stop in Yaounde, where Benedict will stay until Friday, will include a meeting with the representatives of 52 African states preparing the October synod.  CONTINUES BELOW Benedict, who is due to celebrate an open-air mass in Yaounde on Thursday, will also meet with representatives of the Muslim community and associations serving the handicapped. In Angola, which is still recovering from 27 years of civil war, Benedict will meet with diplomats posted in Luanda and urge the international community not to abandon Africa. The German pontiff will celebrate an open-air mass in Luanda on Sunday. Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV/Aids than any other region of the world. Nearly two-thirds of all adults and children with HIV live in the region, according to a 2006 report by UNAIDS. The prevalence of HIV infection is "creeping up" in West Africa, notably in Cameroon at 5,1% and Gabon at 5,9%, according to the Aids charity Avert on its website. Southern Africa bears a disproportionate share of the global HIV burden, with 35% of the world's new HIV infections and 38% of Aids deaths in 2007. Aids prevention is a subject that often puts the Vatican at odds with international health organisations, since the Roman Catholic Church advocates abstinence as the only effective way of preventing the spread of the syndrome and opposes campaigns for the use of condoms. Last year about 60 Catholic groups wrote an open letter to Benedict urging him to reverse the Vatican's opposition to contraception. The ban on condoms "exposes millions of people to the risk of contracting the Aids virus", they said. The trip is Benedict's 11th outside Italy in his four years as the head of the world's 1,1-billion Catholics. While it is his first trip to Africa as pope, Benedict has travelled to the continent once before, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1987 when he visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire). - AFP TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
Comments
The Pope is clearly not living in the real for him to lambast the use of condoms just shows how ignorent some Leaders really are when it comes to the HIV/AIDS pendemic. Something needs to done to educate the leaders of this world, before the lives of their followers are ruined.
kabelo solomon on March 19, 2009, 10:35 am
The Pope is doing his job. What else can we expect him to say? He stands for the Bible. The continent has a few saints that can follow what he is saying. For the rest of us who are not saints the Pope is a human being like any of us. His ideas can be accepted or ignored if they do not suit our realities.
I do not know whether the Pope is virgin or not but I am sure he is not perfect. He should expect that there are many millions of Africans who are not perfect like him. There are others like me who are not even interested in going to his heaven. His idea is utopian. He would be naive if he really thinks that what he said can be a practical solution in todays world.
kizito mwanga on March 20, 2009, 5:09 am
I never thought I would ever see the day that I would agree about anything with any Pope,in this matter from my perspective he is right.
Condoms were invented to prevent unwanted pregnancies.When aids started getting out of control,it was lets use condoms until something better comes along.Sadly nothing has.Sperm is relatively large and is stopped by condoms.(after all they were designed with this in mind)The aids virus is very small in comparison,a condom is no great barrier for it,it gets through a very large percentage of the time.As Dr Phil says you measure future performance by past performance.Condoms have been no great shakes for twenty years, now,will they slow down aids significantly in the next twenty,based on performance NO,sorry, you have been fed misinformation for what I suspect are political reasons, up to now.To have a normal sex life from here,make it normal,abstain until such time as you meet someone you can/want to commit to.Make sure your new partner does not have aids,and you are A for away for the rest of your life, if a large section of the population of the country does this I am sure Aids will soon be a bad memory.
David Reynolds on May 16, 2009, 6:39 pm
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