On March 27, a cartoon attributed to an artist from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette appeared in the Pages of Opinion of The Blade. The cartoon disparagingly depicted Pope Benedict XVI holding a document titled “Vatican Aids Policy — No Condoms.” This was a reference to the Holy Father’s comments in March about condom distribution in Africa and the spread of HIV/AIDS.  

In response to the intense criticism of the Pope’s remarks that arose in many quarters, an objective and open-minded inquirer can be directed to the following:

• A 2008 article in the journal Science, entitled “Reassessing HIV Prevention,” in which ten AIDS experts concluded that “consistent condom use has not reached a sufficiently high level, even after many years of widespread and often aggressive promotion, to produce a measurable slowing of new infections in the generalized epidemics of Sub-Saharan Africa.”

• Even before this 2008 article, as far back as 2003, a condom effectiveness study for United Nations’ AIDS program found no evidence of condoms working as a primary HIV-prevention measure in Africa. Since then, major articles in peer-reviewed journals have confirmed that condoms have not worked as a primary intervention in the population-wide epidemics of Africa.

As reported in the Catholic News Service by John Thavis, the context of Pope Benedict’s words was a question from a journalist aboard the Pope’s flight to Cameroon in March. The Pope was asked whether the church’s approach to AIDS prevention — which focuses primarily on sexual responsibility and rejects condom campaigns — was unrealistic and ineffective. Part of the Holy Father’s response was the following statement: “I would say the opposite. I think that the reality that is most effective, the most present and the strongest in the fight against AIDS is precisely that of the Catholic Church, with its programs and its diversity.”

The following day, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Pope’s comments were in line with the church’s basic position on AIDS, which has never had “excessive or absolute trust in condom distribution” as a way to stop the spread of the disease.

Sources: Catholic News Service, March 18, 2009; The Washington Post, March 29, 2009.