The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

Pope’s approach to ending AIDS unrealistic

Just when you thought the Catholic Church was out of the headlines for a little bit and that perhaps their rap would someday be repaired, Pope Benedict XVI had to go and blow the “no news is good news” streak for the whole gang. As we all know, there is a big AIDS problem in Africa. Hundreds of thousands of people have died from this horrible and seemingly unstoppable menace. Due to the nature of the continent – the number of countries, poverty, civil wars – trying to fight the disease seems like an uphill battle to many. About 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, according to UNAIDS, a United Nations agency.

In 2007, three-quarters of all AIDS deaths worldwide were in the region, as well as two-thirds of all people living with HIV.

Africa is also the fastest-growing region for Roman Catholicism, which is why old Pope B. thought he might pay a visit. Of course, one of the topics of discussion with the Pope was HIV/AIDS.

This is where he screwed up.

“You can’t resolve (the battle against AIDS) with the distribution of condoms,” he said. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.”

Now that’s just a ridiculous statement. We all know that.

But let’s put this into context. It’s not breaking news that the Catholic Church is against artificial forms of contraception. So an anti-condom statement is not surprising. But we all know that condoms don’t “give you AIDS.”

The Pope and the rest of his church believe that a more moral (read: Christian) attitude towards sex is the real solution. So, what he’s saying is that government distribution of condoms sends out a message that they are not viewing sexual activity with the seriousness it deserves.

With that disclaimer being said, I will now say that I politely disagree with the Pope’s stance.

What the Pope wants is abstinence, at least until marriage, for an entire nation. That’s just not realistic. You can’t stop people from having sex, even if they do live on a continent rampant with the disease, but you can bite the bullet and provide and promote sexual protection.

It’s like Guilford wanting to become a smoke-free campus to keep butts out of the mulch, and trying to create a bubble of “abstinence from smoking” instead of setting up more outdoor ashtrays – it’s just idealistic and doesn’t make any sense.

There is also the fact that the Pope’s anti-condom statement could be considered an ethnocentric one, and an example of the way Africa, as a whole, is constantly considered “less-than.”

“His opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans,” said Director of Policy Rebecca Rhodes of the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, an organization committed to preventing HIV infections.

I would argue that if the AIDS epidemic were occurring in Europe or North America, the Pope would work a little harder to promote a realistic way of stopping the unnecessary deaths.

But in all seriousness, the Pope is a little bit out of touch.

Yes, the only way you can prevent STDs is through abstinence, but the most realistic way is the use of proper protection – that’s right kiddies, condoms. And be careful because this stuff hits closer to home than you might think.

“There is AIDS on campus,” said Director of Student Health Helen Rice. “A lot of people in the class I teach look at me like I’m crazy when I say that, like ‘this is Greensboro, North Carolina,’ but it’s true.

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