Pope sparks condom backlash on Africa visit

Pope Benedict XVI urged Cameroon's bishops Wednesday to defend the rights of the poor and essential values of the African family, on the second day of a visit dominated by his opposition to the use of condoms.

As Benedict reminded bishops of their mission to defend the poor, controversy raged over his remarks -- made as he began his week-long visit to Africa on Tuesday -- that condoms were aggravating, rather than containing, the continent's raging AIDS problem.

Alain Fogue, a spokesman for MOCPAT, a group campaigning for access to treatment for sufferers, said in Yaounde that the 81-year-old pontiff was out of touch with the modern world.

"Is the pope living in the 21st century?" asked Fogue.

"The people will not follow what the pope is saying. He lives in Heaven and we are on Earth."

"To claim that condoms 'aggravate' the problem of AIDS goes totally against all the efforts made by the Cameroonian government and other actors implicated in the struggle against AIDSin Cameroon," Fogue added.

The pope began his first visit as pontiff to the AIDS-ravaged continent on Tuesday, telling reporters that AIDS was a tragedy "that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems."

The solution lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer," he added.

But on Wednesday, Fogue argued: "Whether he likes it or not, 99 out of 100 Catholics use the condom today. The pope has to know that the flesh is weak.

"Did the pope not know when he arrived in Cameroon that HIV-positive people represent a large proportion of the population?"

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi defended the pope's comments in a press conference in Yaounde early Wednesday, saying Benedict had "put the emphasis on education and responsibility".

"You mustn't expect that this trip will change the position of the Catholic Church towards the problem of AIDS," Lombardi said.

The Church believes that "to develop an ideology of confidence in the condom is not a correct position" because it fails to put the accent on "a sense of responsibility," the Vatican spokesman said.

According to the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNAIDS, more than five percent of adults among Cameroon's estimated 18.9 million people suffer from the disease, based on 2007 figures.

France was among the first countries to criticise Benedict's comments, the foreign ministry saying it was deeply concerned about the effects of his claim that condoms were worsening the AIDS epidemic.

"France voices extremely sharp concern over the consequences of Benedict XVI's comments," foreign ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier told reporters.

"While it is not up to us to pass judgment on Church doctrine, we consider that such comments are a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect human life."

The pontiff, who paid a courtesy visit to President Paul Biya early Wednesday, arrived in Cameroon on Tuesday for a week-long visit to Africa which will also take him to Angola.





Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. AP Photo/Las Vegas News Bureau, Brian Jones