It works fine for them because you can’t get prepubescent boys pregnant.

It really is about time we got together and asked some serious questions of these religious asshats in front of the world’s media.

He has an implicit secret premise that the only “problem” of importance is non-adherence to Catholic teachings. The only solution to that “problem” is greater adherence which means not using condoms. Lying about the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV transmission is a “solution” to the greater problem of non-adherence to Catholic teachings. Non-use of condoms may have the effect of exacerbating the minor problem of people getting HIV and dying of AIDS, but to the Pope, that is a minor problem compared to people not following the teachings of the Catholic Church.

If the Pope did not say what he is quoted as saying, please tell us what he said.

Second, I implore you to show us what study you have read that states condom’s make the AIDS problem worse.

That’s really clutching at straws. The pope was speaking Italian not ancient Sanskrit. His meaning is clear for anyone with a basic grasp of the language. Let’s look at the quote again:

“al contrario, il rischio è di aumentare il problema”

Are you really trying to say that the meaning of that sentence is very difficult to translate into English? If so language must really not be your forte. There can be difficulties with translation but in this particular case I don’t see where any real difficulty lies. This wouldn’t be a way for you to avoid admitting you were wrong for jumping to the conclusion that he had been misquoted because the Vatican said so, would it?

As for what the pope said being 100% true. No I’m sorry it isn’t true. Widespread condom use has been shown time and time again to reduce the spread of aids. Thus saying that it promoting condom use risks increasing/augmenting the problem is in complete contradiction of the facts.

In regards your strawman no-one is saying that you should ‘tell them it is OK to have sex as long as you wear a condom” or that increasing the prevalence and availability of condoms is the only thing that needs to be done. What people are saying is that it is an integral part of an overall strategy to combat the spread of aids.

Oh and as for the suggestion that having monogamous relationships is the way to prevent aids spreading that’s great and all but I wonder:
- How are you going to force people to have monogamous relationships?
- What do you think two people in a monogamous relationship should do if one of them has aids?

Remember aids can be inherited and it is extremely widespread in many African countries add rape into the mix and it’s not simply a matter that it’s only those who sleep around who get infected.

Condoms aren’t magic but what the pope said is based on a religious ideology not science. You can try and spin it whatever way you like sonic but those facts won’t change.

If the Pope and the Catholic Church can’t be trusted to be honest about something that is completely verifiable by other means, what basis is there for trusting them on something that is not otherwise verifiable?

A most pertinent question! (Says this particular Protestant.)

In this instance we know they are lying and they know they are lying (about what the Pope said). Why they think they can get their lies accepted as facts shows a level of hubris and disingenuousness that is breath taking.

Why they would want to shows what is fundamentally important to the Catholic Church (and hence the fundamental basis of their social/intellectual structure), superficial fawning agreement with “authority” rather than rational reasoned mutual understanding. The ultimate in appeal to authority. What ever the “authority” says is correct, even if it changes from year to year, day to day, or even minute to minute. “Truth” (as they understand it) is mediated through a social power hierarchy as dictated by authority. It is not independently verifiable.

My criticism was solely that he then misrepresented the scientific facts to bolster his moral position. And yes, the Vatican spin machine took over from there, but still muddled the science.

Although you can get aids even when wearing a condom it dramatically decreases the risk (by 90%!) therefore it will be an essential part of any successful strategy to combat the spread of the disease in countries where it has reached epidemic levels.

As for the Catholic Church’s opposition to the use of condoms it is not based on ‘the facts’ it is based on the Catholic religious dogma relating to sexuality.

In many countries in Africa aids is so widely spread that it’s simply ridiculous to suggest that condoms are not an important part of the solution. A 90% reduction in risk of transmission makes a hell of a difference.

As for the misquote the pope was claimed to have said “al contrario, il rischio è di aumentare il problema” which seems to me to mean ‘to the contrary, the risk is that this will augment the problem”. That’s still rubbish and it doesn’t actually seem to be very different to me than ‘it even aggravates the problem’.

Oh and now having done a bit more googling it turns out that the pope was not misquoted and some Vatican press officer altered what the pope said to try and soften the message. Unfortunately, another reporter had a recording of what the pope really did say and it turns out it was what was originally reported.

Here’s a link from the very blog you linked to:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/damian_thompson/

And the article discussing this from the telegraph:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5934912.ece

So in summary it’s not a good idea to just immediately buy into Vatican press releases nor can I personally see how the Vaticans alterations significantly change the fundamental fact that the pope’s statement was wrong.