Catholic condom ban helping AIDS spread in Latin America, from Reuters via Yahoo! News.
The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms, a U.N. official said on Monday...
"In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region," said Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
The Catholic Church, which holds sway in Latin America despite the rise in evangelical churches, opposes all forms of contraception and instead promotes abstinence as a way to avoid spreading AIDS.
These Yahoo! headline writers need some help themselves. How about "AIDS pandemic worsened by idiotic policy masked as religious doctrine"? This isn't just a Catholic thing. According to the US Department of State, it is literally the main thrust of "The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief."
I don't remember the passage in the Bible where Jesus said, "Don't talk about sex, and don't use condoms." I do remember Jesus saying something about helping the poor and the sick. Many of the people contracting HIV are poor. And if they weren't poor before, they will be soon because those AZT cocktails are expensive.
That is all. :(
