The Pope: A Health Hazard?

Remember a few years back when the former Pope John made some statements about activities such as yoga being against church beliefs? I was pretty stunned, maybe even giggled and thought it was quite a lame little health hazard. I figured he was slightly absolved from saying something so silly when polluting the earth was later declared a "sin". But the new Pope, Mister Benedict XVI made recent statements about the AIDS crisis in Africa that make my toes curl, my lips curl, and cringe at the pure ignorance that could cause a major religious based health hazard.

"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon, where he will begin a seven-day pilgrimage on the continent. "On the contrary, it increases the problem." (read the rest of the article that has me pissed off here.)

With the lack of education & modern resources I imagine that Africa looks like a great place to go in and brainwash some people on how to get to heaven, in only the style the pope knows how. Abstinence. I suppose if he isn't getting any play, then no one should? What are you telling us Pope B? Just inform these people not to have sex, not to be humans, not to follow biological needs, to not do what inevitably WILL be done - and suggest that the one preventative contraceptive available and cheap isn't going to help the problem as good as your abstinence plan? Kind of like how Prez Bush took out sex education here in the US, replacing it with abstinence only programs that actually increased the percentage of teen pregnancies, and therefore STD's. Pope B, I have to ask, was this a statement directed towards your hunger for religious respect, fame and controversy - at the price of people's lives & health? I can not even fathom the numbers of people saved from terminal and terrible STD's using condoms since our knowledge of AIDS has increased. Not to mention pregnancies that were unwanted or unable to be cared for properly. And maybe you also forgot about things like misogyny and how possibly another culture differs from your micro Vatican white bread world in how they relate to their sexuality and relationships.

I am beyond disgusted that anyone is such power would propose statements that effect the minds of many people throughout the world, including impressionable and sexually active teens in the united states as well. In the real world people have sex- in fact, they have sex quite a bit - and once they get started they really aren't gonna stop because you said so - but maybe they won't have that condom in their hand to protect themselves because they couldn't get it from the government or they were too humiliated by the social & cultural rules you are perpetuating.
It's like you want to have blood on your hands - the blood of unwanted pregnancies, of people dieing of AIDS, people taking tons of STD meds that end up in our drinking water - while you sit pretty on your supposed moral high horse telling people not to be what they are (humans) as a solution.
Purity is in nature, not in selfish moral statements that have the weight to damage lives.

PS- Pope Benny, I would bet my life on the fact that you have your own F buddy - let's hope they use a condom (or vice versa) and don't give you AIDS.