Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI, AKA, Pope RatNAZI, 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.
Landing in Cameroon, the Sub-Saharan African country 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 medical professionals who advocate the use of condoms to help stop the spread of the epidemic and the leader of the Roman Catholic church who oppose the use of condoms.
RatNAZI reiterated the Vatican’s anti-condom use as he flew from Rome to Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, according to CNN Vatican analyst John Allen.
More than 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, according to a 2008 UNAIDS/WHO report. Nine out of 10 children with HIV in the world live in the region, which has 11.4 million orphans because of AIDS.
From the Left 
People like this freaky damned Pope have no bidness weighing in public health issues.
All Pope Rat needs to do is write the checks to the victims of pedophile priests and STFU.
Bro,
In about 10 days im heading back to work in Swaziland, the country with the highest prevalence of HIV in the world – 42% almost one in 2.
In the town where I work there are more coffin salesmen than grocery stores.
As a doctor I do what i have to do in the settings we find ourselves… and try not to complain too much.
But if the pope thinks for one second that he is a follower of Jesus Christ, the embodiment of compassion, then he is the most deluded man on the face of the earth.
Shame on him. Shame on the catholic church for the holocaust in which they are complicit.
Thank you for always raising your voice for justice Christopher,
Its an honour to call you brother,
Maithri
WAKEUP!!!!!! for any of u who think that a bunch of old men…or anyone for that matter, can ”elect” ”god’s representative” and dictate to people what to do- you are part of the collective unconscious of this planet…this no condoms is beyond stupidity…..but more people ,more money for these controlling fools
For the life of me, I don’t understand the way the Catholic church is organized. It’s not enough to say “it is written” or “we’ve done like this for 1,000 years.” Organizations — if they are living, breathing entities must change, too. As a casual observer of what goes on among Catholics, I long ago lost any hope the church would adapt to the 21st century. No wonder their numbers are down, as more and more people who identify as Catholics just ignore this silly cabal at the Vatican and express embarrassment and even outrage at their crazy Pope.
Nearly 20 years ago I worked with a devout catholic who told me that he would never encourage his kids to wear condoms. In my shock I said to him “but what if they were to get AIDS?” and he responded that that would be god’s punishment on them for premarital sex. I knew in that moment that many more innocent people would have to die before religious wingnuts would get it about prevention.
I’m going to be much less charitable than any of the previous comments suggest regarding this Nazi-loving, radical menace.
Pope Benedict is a threat to the developing world and by developing world, I’m referring in large part to Africa. His comments about condom use is by far the most unintelligent and uninformed position on how to effectively reduced the spread of the HIV pandemic.
Mr. Vatican never ceases to amaze as he blathers on about everything and he clearly knows nothing yet because he wears Prada and spouts ancient scripture, people in the developing world and even here in the U.S., think he has moral authority.
Benedict needs a crash course on the etymology of the HIV virus and what steps can be taken to curb its spread in a responsible and cost-effective way developing nations can incorporate into their national public health policy.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, anyone who is Catholic and becomes HIV-positive from this day forward, should join in a global, class action lawsuit against this religious madman because he is largely to blame for dispensing irresponsible public information to millions.
vicodaniel1987@yahoo.com
The old geezer kicks the bucket and St Peter stops him at the gates. “Let me in I’m the Pope” says he. Peter then answers, “How many people died in Africa because of you and your policies?…” “Err, I’m the Pope!”. John Paul shouts over his shoulder…”the elevator is down on your right, all the way down….Pope”.
Appalling. I don’t know what more there is to say about this asshole.
Sure, the Catholic Church is a sick con game that has terrorized, crippled, and killed millions of people for centuries. But, sad to say, it’s a highly successful and very lucrative hustle that works because people keep on coming back to play. Faith is the only thing that keeps the Pope from being a creepy old bigot in a funny hat. To paraphrase that Shakespeare guy, “The fault lies not in the Church, but in ourselves.”
Vico Daniel hit the nail on the head. This Pope and his irresponsible views will result in a public health crisis and a worsening of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in a region of the world with the least resources to treat it. Pope Rat is beyond shame. He’s a threat to the human race.
It’s very sad because it obscures the other messages that the Vatican sends out: on social justice, poverty, scepticism of free market capitalism and even environmental stewardship – that we’d all agree with. People focus their quite righteous anger on his sexuality statements and miss the other, important messages.
Why (mostly) celibate men feel a need to regulate everyone’s sexuality is beyond me, but they need to wake up to the fact that it ruins the rest of their message.
This Pope is the best description of a self centered, uneducated, non caring, piss pore excuse for humanity I’ve seen in my 59 years on this planet!!
The greed of so many of the Priests that I’ve had the misfortune to learn about first hand I would never have believed had I not seen it for myself. Now don’t get me wrong, naturally there are good Priests as well, but they sure seem to be few and far between these days!!
Y’all….. he’s a Nazi. It isn’t even a secret. How can we be the least bit surprised at any of this?
Do we need any further proof that the Pope is an embecile? Ane they wonder why their numbers are declining.
Maithri…Thanks for doing a job that most of us wouldn’t. It must be tremendously hard to watch the suffering that you do. Good luck to you while you spread the concept of hope. It would be easy for you to stay here in the states and make money off of your PhD. Yet, you have chosen to use your resources to better humanity. A cause most noble.
The Dope…err-r-r Pope could take a lesson by that.
The Catholic church in general and the Pope specifically, it like a trip to crazy-town. This is the same Nazi who restored a Holocaust denier to the flock and only after a global outcry, admitted he had fucked up and blamed the Internet. People, really now. You don’t need this clown to be spiritual and you don’t need organized religion to lead a moral life.
It’s a tale of two Catholic Churches.
Catholic Charities are vibrant and generous and were at the frontline in supporting AIDS victims when many in Washington DC were afraid to mention the acronym AIDS.
But the Catholic hierarchy, starting with the Pope, is about as dysfunctional as any organization can be and survive to tell about it.
retahyajyajav,
Historically, I think what you describe has always been true about the Catholic church. It’s always been their dirty little secret, too.
The women in the church — the Nuns, have done the majority of the heavy lifting while the all-boys club made up by the Priests and Bishops and of course, the top guy — the Pope, get to wear the fancy clothes and enjoy the faux moral authority according men in an arguably misogynistic organization.
Think of corporate America. Until very recently, most of the top executive jobs were held by men and most of the secretarial and executive assistant jobs were held by women. Do you think these male executives would have their heads screwed on straight were it not for their secretaries?
The Catholic church is no different.
The Catholic Church pays lip service to peace and social justice while suppressing liberation theology, fighting to elect Goppers, and promoting overpopulation. Ratzi doesn’t give a crap about anything but his rightist agenda.
He opposes condoms because he wants people of color and queer men to suffer and die. He wants women barefoot and pregnant. Ratzi is truly a monster.
Unbelieveable. My father was a Catholic Monk in his younger days. He is outraged by such comments as well. It is high time that the Catholic Church and religion in general start waking up to the fact that we live in a different world now. This is the same as telling people to play Russian Roulette. Its despicable and something should be done about it to tell you the truth. Its high time we all started pressuring the Catholic Church and those who support it to enact some real change. How about a Vatican III as a followup to I and II to enact new policy on birth control and other issues just as they finally decided to stop giving mass in a language that died more than a thousand years ago.
I wonder if this stupid fuck uses a condom when he plays with little boys at lights out in the Vatican?
Let’s hope so. I’m sure he’s as filthy as they come.
The Catholic Church is the most corrupt organization in the history of the world. Is it any surprise that this wackadoo is sticking to a ridiculous dogma that following it results in death?
I hope he stays in Cameroon. They can slaughter him and eat him in a sacred ritual honoring visiting religious figures.
A Chardonnay with that Pope, perhaps?
We seen that abstinence only didn’t work for Bristol Palin.
We seen that abstinence only didn’t work for Bristol Palin.
Or Mary Cheney! LOL!
Indeed the Pope is a threat to the survival of Africa. This is criminal-not less, to go against the prevention of AIDS. All Catholics should scream and write to the Church Management to express their disagreement. It is time to save a the African Continent ! Condoms against disbelief : on behalf of the human race .
Don’t worry Goats. You can still kill the little babies before they cause you any trouble. We all know how the free condoms have worked in Africa right? and of course these little animals would breed like rabbits if we didn’t give them condoms….
I am not a Progressive Goat. I don’t get bent of shape when a Progressive Goat says something I disagree with… viva diversity!
Is this guy on drugs??
Seriously… telling people not to wear protection in a continent overrun by people becoming sick and dying in the thousands each year? What the heck is the point?
I know the church doesn’t like contraception (something or other) for (forgive me if I’m wrong) wasting your potential or something?
Firstly, this is like telling a woman she MUST get pregnant everytime she menstruates. Hey! She’s wasting her eggs, isn’t she? A man can’t even LIVE if he had to use all of his “potential” and not waste any. That would have made that Indian king with the 800 children the most moral man on Earth.
Wake up, Pope-man! We’re living a couple thousand years from when you were born!
Jesus Christ.
The Catholic Church is the largest contributor to HIV treatment yet does not allow or promote the accepted safety precaution to stop people from dying. Why do we allow this religion to continue to have a say in world affairs? It is time to turn our backs on religions that are this dangerous by removing their voice from the UN and world news media. Yes I mean censor them. All we are doing is allowing them to lead millions of people to their death. Genocide in any form must be stopped.
by stating that condoms will protect you absolutely from aids is misleading and most certainly tragic…only abstinence will protect you. By promoting a ‘magic shield’ to peoples that feel it’s necessary to act upon lascivious and lustful impulses isn’t the answer; through education and the teachings of the Church, open their eyes and explain what their own actions are doing to their families and communities. Can you imagine telling a drunk driver to buckle up before he drives home, and all will be fine? Silly.
Common Sense,
Your screen name is as misleading as your comments.
No one said, “condoms will protect you absolutely from aids.” But the fact remains, humans are sexual beings by nature, so it is uniformly unrealistic and foolhardy to screech “abstinence.” No healthcare policymaker would say such a thing because in the real world, people fuck.
Your comments remind me of that birdbrain, Nancy Reagan and her ridiculous, “Just say No” PR campaign. Get real.
A few thoughts on the matter (Many of the misconceptions above about Catholic social teaching can be cleared up by reading Christopher West’s “The Good News About Sex & Marriage”):
– It is worrisome that among 30 or so comments, only one of them even hinted at the actual root cause of HIV spread – multiple sexual partners. Only one comment even mentioned that the infected man and woman (if she consented) bear any responsibility whatsoever. The underlying, unstated assumption of social liberalism is “Sex is a right, no matter how potentially deadly the consequences”, an assumption which deserves to be rethought.
– There is also the matter of moral culpability. If I tell someone “Reserve sex for marriage”, I have given him/her all the necessary advice to completely avoid AIDS. If he/she does not listen to that advice, then the failure is on his/her shoulders. If, however, I say “Reserve sex for marriage, but use a condom if you do not”, then I have implied there are two valid options, even if one is preferable. If he/she chooses option two, the condom breaks, and a new infection results, then part of the moral responsibility now lies on my shoulders, for implying an inferior solution was not really that different from a superior one.
– One also gets the sense that, if the Vatican were to say “Okay, condom use is legitimate in the case of non-consensual sex where HIV infection is a probable risk”, the Vatican’s critics would hardly reply, “Well, our concerns have been answered. We are done arguing contraceptive policy.” In short, the critics’ interest often seems to have an eye toward legitimizing condom use in the West, with the AIDS pandemic in Africa being a heart-rending talking point toward that end, much in the same way that the case of rape is used to justify the other 99% of abortions that are not due to rape.
– Society has also tried to “close” the debate on artificial contraception out of convenience, i.e. no one wants to hear that consequence-free sex might have a downside. However:
– Declaring sex consequence-free and requiring no sacrifice has led to its trivialization, which in turn trivializes the people involved. Little wonder that women today are still evaluated often on the sexual appeal of their bodies. Little wonder that men in many societies consider it acceptable to demand sex from women, if sex is “just for fun”.
– Condoms make adultery feasible, contributing to the breakup of numerous marriages
– Chemical contraceptives actually frustrate the healthy design function of the reproductive system, which means society should be much more concerned about health ramifications than it is
– The idea that children are an optional by-product of sex has led us to make children expendable in the womb. Just a private matter? Consider that the United States has been aborting one in five of its future workers and citizens for decades now, and abortion rates are so high in some of the Blue states that ones like New York, Massachussetts, and Illinois are projected to lose House seats, electoral votes, and federal funding after the next census. Japan is already losing population, and Europe is demographically dying. We actually need growing Third World populations to take care of the aging Western ones.
– How, then, to deal with the spread of AIDS in Africa? In countries where 10% to 25% of the population are infected with a deadly disease and forced sex is socially tolerated, is it time to require HIV testing and criminalize sex if one cannot produce recent, negative test results? Should a new infection and failure to produce said test be grounds for manslaughter? If a person carried a deadly airborne disease, would we simply provide him ample free surgical facemasks and say “Go ahead and mingle with the population – these facemasks are 98% reliable”?
If the Pope’s advice of abstinence outside of marriage were followed, there would be no AIDS pandemic in the first place. Do not blame him if we fail to follow sound advice.
Bryan Kirchoff
St. Louis
The scary thing is not what this LUNATIC is saying (what can we expect from an institution that condems everybody but their own pedophile priests?), but the fact that there are people in this world that consider these a-holes holy!!!
In my book, they are not different than muslim extremists who blow themselves up – he is MURDERING people with their backwards teachings and beliefs.
If he believes his own preachings, he will be the one to burn in HELL one day!!!!!
Multiple partners are a fact of life that is not going away. Millions all over the world are involved and morally correct or not (everyone is allowed an opinion) this still comes down to a very visible world leader and his organization not promoting the one option that all experts agree severely reduces the risk of HIV. This is akin to supporting genocide no matter which way you slice it. Those who die by following the advice of the Catholic Church do so with the Popes blessing. Their death and the misery leading up to it is on the church without having to pay the price for their actions.
So the Pope would like to see all women in third world countries producing as many children as they possibly can, or not have sex at all with their husbands.
That’s insanity
An overwhelming body of evidence demonstrates that condoms are highly effective in preventing transmission of HIV. Correct and consistent condom use should give you a high degree of confidence in your ability to prevent HIV transmission.
At least four different types of evidence demonstrate the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV transmission. Laboratory studies have shown that the virus cannot pass through latex or polyurethane. There is also a theoretical basis for effectiveness: condoms prevent exposure to semen or vaginal fluids that may carry the virus. Epidemiological studies, which compare infection rates among condom users and non-users, have found that condoms offer significant protection against HIV infection. Finally, in many countries that have significantly reduced HIV infection rates (such as Brazil, Thailand and the USA), reduced rates of transmission have been strongly associated with increased condom use.
Few prevention methods are 100% effective. Condoms do occasionally slip or break, although fortunately this rarely happens. Condoms that are outdated, poorly manufactured, or inappropriately stored are especially susceptible to breakage. Oil-based products (such as hand lotion or petroleum jelly) can also damage male latex condoms, so only water-based lubricants should be used during sexual intercourse with a male condom.
In general, condoms are most likely to fail when they are not used as directed. Opening a condom packet with your teeth, a knife or scissors, for example, can inadvertently cause the condom to tear. It is important to use condoms from the beginning of a sexual act, rather than just before ejaculation, to prevent exposure to potentially infectious pre-ejaculate or vaginal fluids. Studies suggest that the frequency of condom failure declines as individuals become more accustomed to using condoms. That is one reason why effective HIV prevention includes both accurate information on condoms and measures to increase individual skill in using condoms correctly. As employees of the UN system, we are entitled to a facilitated demonstration of the use of both male and female condoms.
In reality, condoms are extremely effective in preventing HIV transmission when they are used. Because sexual intercourse is often unplanned, it is a good idea to always carry a condom in case you need one. If you have a steady partner, you should also discuss how you as a couple intend to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.
Ideally, a couple’s decision to use a condom results from a process of negotiation. The couple discusses the benefits of using a condom, addresses any concerns or resistance, and agrees on a mutually satisfactory approach. Sometimes, though, one member of the couple may lack the power to negotiate condom use. Many women, for example, report having difficulty asking their husband or partner to use a condom.
SOURCE: UNAIDS 2008
What socially redeeming function is served by the Catholic Church? Can anyone tell me?
in so many ways the hierarchy of the catholic church is the most dangerous organization man has ever created……. they are insidious
as for bryan kirchoff – i dont where to begin on his lunacy – but this one
—Condoms make adultery feasible, contributing to the breakup of numerous marriages
takes the cake for shear stupidity and ignorance
Rope-a-Dope-Pope giving out medical advise?
What a fucking idiot! Waterboard this asshole now before he can say anything else.