Lancet says Pope distorting condom facts

Reuters

Friday, 27 March 2009

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A prestigious medical journal today accused Pope Benedict of distorting scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine by saying that condoms increase the spread of Aids.

The Lancet in an editorial called on the Pope to retract the comments made last week, saying anything less would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates fighting to contain the disease.

"When any influential person, be it a religious or political leader, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record," the editorial said.

"By saying that condoms exacerbate the problem of HIV/Aids, the Pope has publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine on the issue."

During his first visit to Africa, the Pope told reporters that Aids is a problem that "cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms; on the contrary, they increase it."

The comment ignited a firestorm of criticism from health officials, activists and politicians who criticised that view as unrealistic, unscientific and dangerous.

The Church teaches that fidelity within heterosexual marriage and abstinence are the best ways to stop Aids. The Vatican also says condoms can lead to risky behaviour but many contest that view.

Health experts say there is no scientific evidence showing that condom use spurs people to take more sexual risks and in fact studies show that condom use reduces the risk of acquiring HIV infection.

The Aids virus infects an estimated 33 million people globally, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and has killed 25 million. There is no cure.

Comments

( Leave a comment )

Irrelevant and Wrong

sceptic101 wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 01:23 pm (UTC)

Good. About time the ignorance and prejudice of this idiot and his kind was publicly challenged. Religion is a blight on intelligence.

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Re: Irrelevant and Wrong

hanif001 wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 06:19 pm (UTC)

Religion and intelligence are two separate things.

Religion is about belief in God and God encourages humans to become scientists so that they may understand and thereby use creation (I am talking about Islam here).

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Re: Irrelevant and Wrong

tommytcg wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 06:29 pm (UTC)

How can you be intelligent if you believe in an imaginary god? The highestr level is creation or pure spirit. God is simply the translation of King of Wisdom from Aramaic scripts, and refers to a human, You would of course need to go outside your little mind-control conversion book to learn much more than that which you are now allowed by your controllers.

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Re: Irrelevant and Wrong

hanif001 wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 07:28 pm (UTC)

There is a bit of the brain dedicated to God awareness. Yours might be deactivated - so for you it would be an imaginary God.

Your translation of God in Aramic is incorrect. The name of God in Aramic (the language of Jesus) is "Allaha". I wonder how many Chrstian priests know that?

The concept of human form of God in Western Christianity comes from the Roman empire, which in turn got its Pagan religion from Mithraism (the religion of the ancient Persians - the superpower preceeding the Roman empire). Eg, that is why Jesus is born on the 25th December in the Western version of Christianity, where as, when lambs are born in the northern hemishphere its spring time.

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Re: Irrelevant and Wrong

hanif001 wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 06:22 pm (UTC)

But I do agree with the rest of your comment.

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Outrageous statements by the leader of the Catholic church

stewmaker wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 02:24 pm (UTC)

You cannot believe in science if you have strong religious convictions.

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Outrageous statements by the leader of the Catholic church

stewmaker wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 02:27 pm (UTC)

You cannot believe in science if you have strong religious convictions. Obviously this Pope hates science.

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Re: Outrageous statements by the leader of the Catholic church

jardino wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 04:19 pm (UTC)

Dear borachon:

I have gladly signed your petition.

Why, however, should we be surprised at Brown's invitation?
He seems to be comfortable in the company of mass murderers, such as his recent boss.

jardino.

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Why has this dangerously misguided man been invited to the UK?

borachon wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 03:24 pm (UTC)

This Pope lacks grace, intelligence, common sense, dignity, and a grasp on reality. It outrages me that the UK is planning to waste taxpayers' money entertaining this foolish man and his entourage of toadies. I urge everyone to sign my petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stopthepope?e

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Facts

falanf wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 03:55 pm (UTC)

Why would anyone expect this guy, whose whole life and career depends on superstition and nonsense, to deal in facts?

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Retractions?

thesavageirish wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 03:55 pm (UTC)

Good Luck! Mr. Ratzinger should step down and put Mr Martini in charge. His given assertion of the Church as the temporal manifestation of God is correct but his confusion lies in his blind appreciation that the church is the organization in Rome. The church is the people and only partially is the hierarchy the agent of the people of god. Whatever regret he feels that requires him to control a dogmatic elusive metaphysical eternity to God, that personal contact with God can only be through the eternal and takes precedence over the now, such negation of personal responsibility for the world about one sounds of a time where he himself abrogated such responsibility and is searching for forgiveness not in the now but somewhere in the mists of time. His assertions of what is essentially 'grin and bear it' flies in the face of the idea of a living god which he would call necrophila.His strict adherence to regard the church of Christ on a corporate rather than cooperative level, his doctrine of a top down rather than a bottom up relationship with no room to manoeuver in the tween, as his priests, his footsoldiers well know, is a grasp for power that would put him closer to the Caesar than the Christ. His speciality of fundamentalist theology may sit well with some but the church, the people, are dying for comfort and cannot wait for the eternal to live the love and joy that should be the life 'in' Christ. His blind eyes to and active work against the liberation theology of the like of Archbishop Romero who after taking a bullet to the heart on the alter in Nicaragua while pleading in the name of God to cease the brutality,(which would result in the butchering of 75,000 souls 'in the name of God)' is to be abhorred. To now expect him to show regard for the living God over the eternal church is indicative of everything he has ever stood for and it won't change now. The German Shepherd. Good Luck Africa.

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Correction

thesavageirish wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 04:09 pm (UTC)

I'm incensed. My remark should have read

" to cease the brutality,(which would result in the butchering of 75,00 souls), "in the name of God" is to be abhorred."

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Further correction

thesavageirish wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 04:38 pm (UTC)

El Salvador, Not Nicaragua. Although that was another blind stance taken.

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groundzero1 wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 06:31 pm (UTC)

As the cartoon pointed out, the Pope obviously thinks they go on the head, hence the misunderstanding. But seriously, what an irresponsible comment! How many more millions of people will now die as a result of ideology?

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'HIV' does not exist

amunalien wrote:

Friday, 27 March 2009 at 11:14 pm (UTC)

Your statement: "The Aids virus infects an estimated 33 million people globally, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and has killed 25 million. There is no cure." is absurd nonsense and has no scientific foundation: what was alleged to be 'HIV' is in fact an endogenous epiphenomenon - an internal marker - and not an external cuase - of disease conditions cynically re-marketed and re-vamped as 'AIDS'. As 'HIV' does not exist how do condoms stop the spread of the 29 'AIDS' related conditions one wonders?

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Pope and AIDS

roxy641 wrote:

Monday, 30 March 2009 at 12:21 pm (UTC)

I wish the Pope could stop being a compulsive liar.

During his first visit to Africa, the Pope told reporters that Aids is a problem that "cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms; on the contrary, they increase it."</quote This man is a danger to society.

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Where is Christ?

albertoitaly wrote:

Wednesday, 1 April 2009 at 09:19 pm (UTC)

There is obviously a clear strategy of the Pope and the Catholic Church that appears behind these affirmations that condoms are unable to fight HIV and AIDS diffusion in Africa. These words will cause a lot of pain and deaths in Africa. This will weaken even more a lot of near-to-collapse nations creating the base for poverty and desperation. But they are the good actors for the well proven equation that help the Catholic Church to widespresd its message. This is pure science!! And also : What about the message of Christ of love and life? But this is another sad story.

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pope condoms aids

john9kinkel wrote:

Saturday, 18 April 2009 at 01:00 pm (UTC)

I am glad to see the secular leaders pointing out the dangers of paper teaching. Cardinals Martini and Daneels as well as Bishop Kevin Dowling of South Africa have stated that Pope Benedict is in error in rejecting the use of condoms to prevent AIDS. By his actions the pope puts Catholics at risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases. It is now necessary to remove the pope from office before he does more damage.

Dr. John Kinkel, Ph.D.

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