More than 60 percent of the world's 40 million people with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa alone, 600 -1,000 people are thought to die every day because of AIDS. As shocking as this is, Pope Benedict XVI, during a recent visit to Africa, came out against the use of condoms as prevention against this dreaded scourge. This is the Pope’s first public statement about HIV/AIDS since being elected to office succeeding Pope John Paul II. According to a BBC Internet article, he was addressing bishops from South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho, who had traveled to the Vatican for a routine papal audience.

The Pope, during his address, stated that "The spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa should be tackled through fidelity and abstinence and not by condoms. The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS." He also stated that "contraception was one of a host of trends contributing to a "breakdown in sexual morality, and church teachings should not be ignored." He further stated the virus "seriously threatens the economic and social stability of the continent."

There is no doubt that practicing abstinence or fidelity would prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. This is common sense, and it’s an easy answer to a disease that threatens to decimate the African continent. It is also seriously flawed and out of step with reality. And the truth is that the "breakdown of sexual morality" is not confined to Africa - it is a worldwide phenomenon. In today’s world, with sexual messages used to sell everything, it is an incredibly hard sell to get people to practice abstinence, even in the momentum demonstrated by the social vectors of this disease.

We’re certain that the Pope recognizes this reality, so it is curious that he would warn people against using condoms, which have also been proven to be an effective strategy in fighting the transmission of this disease. As the father of the Catholic Church and its millions of worshippers, many of the faithful will probably eschew the use of condoms because of his words. It is not altogether certain, however, that they will practice abstinence. In short, the Pope’s stance is nothing short of religious imperialism of a malignant sort that can result in a deleterious impact as severe as the disease he speaks against. According to the aforementioned BBC article, "The UN estimates that without new initiatives and greater access to drugs, more than 80 million Africans may die from AIDS by 2025 and HIV infections could reach 90 million, or 10% of the continent's population." These are chilling statistics, and common sense within the context of present social reality should be used. The Pope's backward stance, however, has the potential of further exacerbating the problem of HIV/AIDS in Africa, rather than abating it. In light of this, it will certainly give those conspiracy theorists that were suspicious of this Pope, who was a member of the Hitler Youth, reason for consternation, especially those who think that HIV/AIDS is a manmade disease designed to cull certain populations thus paving the way for a land grab in the mineral rich African continent.

These sinister notions aside, at the very least, the Pope should understand the value of taking a both/and stance rather than an abstinence/fidelity only approach to skin the proverbial HIV/AIDS cat.