{"id":1301,"date":"2009-03-18T17:35:28","date_gmt":"2009-03-18T17:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/2009\/03\/vatican-defends-pope-on-condom.php"},"modified":"2009-03-18T17:35:28","modified_gmt":"2009-03-18T17:35:28","slug":"vatican-defends-pope-on-condom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2009\/03\/vatican-defends-pope-on-condom","title":{"rendered":"Vatican Defends Pope on Condom Rejection"},"content":{"rendered":"

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – The Vatican defended Pope Benedict XVI’s rejection of condoms as a way to stop HIV after international criticism Wednesday that he was weakening the fight against the disease.
\nFrance and Germany sharply critiqued Benedict’s declaration that distributing condoms “increases” the AIDS problem. The French foreign ministry said the statement could “endanger public health policies and the imperative to protect human life.”
\nTwo German ministers said on Benedict’s first full day as pope in Africa, a continent ravaged by HIV, that it was irresponsible to reject condoms. The U.N. agency charged with fighting AIDS also spoke out in favor of condom use.
\nBenedict told reporters on his flight Tuesday to Cameroon that a responsible and moral attitude toward sex would help fight the disease.
\n“You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” he said. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.”
\nBenedict’s spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, described the criticism as
\n“echoes caused by some words by the pope on the AIDS problems.”
\nLombardi said the church’s “essential principles” in its commitment against AIDS were “education about people’s responsibility in the use of sexuality” and the “essential role of marriage and family.” The Vatican has long rejected the use of all contraception.
\nLombardi said in the written statement at the end of the second day of the weeklong papal visit that the church stresses treatment for “the widest number of sick,” and “human and spiritual assistance” to AIDS patients.
\nThe pope met with Cameroon President Paul Biya, one of Africa’s longest-ruling strongmen. Biya has been in power since 1982 and recently was accused by Amnesty International of seeking to crush political opposition.
\nNo details of the meeting at the presidential palace were given. Local churchmen have spoken out against human rights abuses and the newspaper Le Jour carried a front-page interview with Cameroon Cardinal Christian Tumi asking Biya not to run again in 2011.
\nCrowds were sparse as Benedict was driven through the city in a closed limousine.
\nHe told Cameroon’s 31 bishops that Christians must fight for social justice and urged them to defend the traditional African family from the dangers of modernity and secularization. He also asked them to help protect the poor from the impact of globalization.
\nBenedict said that while the Catholic church in Africa is the fastest growing in the world, it faces competition from increasingly popular evangelical movements and “the growing influence of superstitious forms of religion.”
\nThe German-born pope also said that exuberant African rites should not “obstruct” the liturgy of the Mass.
\nHe called it the “duty” of Christians – particularly economic and political leaders – “to be guided by the church’s social teaching, in order to contribute to the building up of a more just world where everyone can live with dignity.”
\nThe meeting with the bishops had long been planned for the cathedral in Yaounde, but construction there has not been finished. Lombardi said he was aware of allegations in the local media that the funds set aside were embezzled by clergy, but had no comment.
\nBenedict flies next to Angola.
\nThe 81-year-old pontiff was holding up well in the torrid West African weather and felt “deeply moved” by the tens of thousands of people who turned out on the streets upon his arrival from Rome, Lombardi said.
\nAssociated Press – March 18, 2009
\nCopyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – The Vatican defended Pope Benedict XVI’s rejection of condoms as a way to stop HIV after international criticism Wednesday that he was weakening the fight against the disease. France and Germany sharply critiqued Benedict’s declaration that distributing condoms “increases” the AIDS problem. The French foreign ministry said the statement could “endanger public…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nVatican Defends Pope on Condom Rejection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2009\/03\/vatican-defends-pope-on-condom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vatican Defends Pope on Condom Rejection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"YAOUNDE, Cameroon – The Vatican defended Pope Benedict XVI’s rejection of condoms as a way to stop HIV after international criticism Wednesday that he was weakening the fight against the disease. 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France and Germany sharply critiqued Benedict’s declaration that distributing condoms “increases” the AIDS problem. 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A New Yorker by birth but a Floridian by tenure, Nicole graduated from Florida A&M University with a B.S. in Public Relations and a minor in Sociology. She moved to NY to pursue a career in journalism which started at In Style magazine. There she learned the ropes of magazine reporting, researching, and writing\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand became exponentially more stylish. But what seemed like a deep interest in fashion and entertainment would soon be revealed as merely the vehicle that moved her closer to discovering her purpose, writing and covering matters of the Christian faith. While in her purpose-driven vehicle she can be found traveling between Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens for life, work and worship, respectively. 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