[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by FireFly

I'm not saying it isn't the best thing for the Church to promote. I'm not trying to justify or defend what the Church is saying at all. It is however their belief that people should remain abstinant until marriage and they are free to promote that stance. That *some* ministers are saying using condoms WILL give you AIDS is a bit much, but I can understand where he's coming from when you're dealing with an uneducated culture that has rampant sex with multiple partners. Apparently they just don't *get* that they're killing themselves off.... or perhaps they don't care.

My point is that to blame the Catholic Church for all the problems with AIDS in Africa is ridiculous and ignorant. Has anyone stopped and asked these people if they know about condoms? If they replied yes, were they asked whether or not they used them and why or why not? No. Such a survey has never been done, and it's likely that a large proportion of these people are aware of condoms and don't want to use them even though they are fully aware that without them, they likely will contract a disease that will kill them. It's just a handy tool to blame the Catholics for not solving all the world's problems. There are more people in the world who are not Catholics than who are... I'm going to blame them. DOWN WITH THE BUDDISTS FOR NOT GOING INTO AFRICA PRAISING THE USE OF CONDOMS! **** that.

People are harping on the Catholic church because they have a great deal of power and influence in various regions of Africa. Do Buddhists? They don't have even close to the number of followers in Africa that Christianity has. The reason people are saying the church should do more, is because they have the power to do so. Moreso than many other instituations in Africa.

That *some* ministers are saying using condoms WILL give you AIDS is a bit much, but I can understand where he's coming from when you're dealing with an uneducated culture that has rampant sex with multiple partners. Apparently they just don't *get* that they're killing themselves off.... or perhaps they don't care.

This is way over the top FF, the state of birth control when it comes to Africa is filled with misinformation and miseducation for precisely the reasons we have been discussing. There is no clear message coming into the various groups inside regions of Africa. You've got some groups spreading complete lies and misinformation when it comes to Birth control.