Pope Benedict is in the media spotlight again. I guess we should expect regular international coverage, being that he is at the helm of a faith that boasts billions of followers. However, the perverse interest of myself, and that of many fellow world citizens, is not spiked by the gracious and noble achievements this holy man makes but by his major gaffes. Pope-related stories would prove boring if they ranted off narratives filled with things we expect from a Pope, but not so of a little Pope-scandal, whether real or artificially inflated. Hmm, sensational!
In January, the issue of contention was over Bishop Richard Williamson whose excommunication was lifted by the Vatican. Reports later surfaced of Williamson's controversial views, especially of his denial of the holocaust. As you can imagine, the response was absolute outrage from the Jewish community and many others. The Pope later released a letter admitting to mistakes in the handling of the matter. The situation was a real public relations debacle, which was blamed on lack of communication within the high echelons at the Vatican and the inadequacy of their spin establishment.
Now, the Pope is visiting Africa, his first visit since assuming the position in 2005. However, the predominant media coverage in Europe and America is not of the great spiritual and symbolic significance of the event, but the coverage is about the potential public health nightmare the Pope's recent statement may cause. So, what did the Pope say and what's all the huff and puff about?
Pope Benedict is quoted by Reuters as saying condoms are not the solution to the AIDS crisis and may serve to "increase the problem." Since his statement was translated to English, there have been questions about the appropriate exact wordings. However, the message was quite clear: forget about using condoms, they risk making the HIV/AIDS problem worse. The position of the Vatican on the use of condoms and its sole support for abstinence is very well known; this stance has even been previously publicly ratified by this Pope. But the uttering of what is arguably a very careless statement is an example of an instance when the the potential resulting harm completely obviates any initial good intentions, however noble them may have been.
Here are some well known, dare I say, common-sense facts. HIV/AIDS afflicts tens of millions in Africa; millions have died and many more will die from the disease. Condoms, when properly used, cut the rates of HIV transmission, as well as transmission of other STDs, to less than 10%. Obviously, abstinence is the only full-proof method; but, as the world experience very clearly continually shows, it is not fool-proof. There is also no expert consensus that the use of condoms significantly changes people's level of sexual activity.
I understand that the Pope is a deeply religious man, clearly with strong spiritual convictions, which he may feel compelled to share. But Pope Benedict is neither an epidemiologist nor a public health specialist and should exercise extreme caution when dabbling into unsure territory especially when many lives, thousands and millions of them are at stake.
To many, Pope Benedict is a demigod. He speaks for God and has the utmost respect of many. I do not envy such responsibility nor do I crave the power his position wields. I can very clearly envisage religious poor African peoples led by some high-school educated minister latch on to the words of the Pope; abandon condoms and leading to HIV spread between lovers and worst of all to the resulting children. What a wonderful chicken-out excuse to be wielded by many, "the Pope says... so I won't use a condom." If the fornicators and adulterers deserve the retribution of HIV/AIDS for their sins, their faithful innocent spouses and resulting children do not.
