News | Sunday, 29 March 2009

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Condoms also a solution, says ministry on Pope’s AIDS claim

Condoms also a solution, says ministry on Pope’s AIDS claim
David Darmanin
The health ministry has not taken a stand on divisive claims by Pope Benedict on condoms “aggravating” the AIDS problem.
The Pontiff’s claim was made to journalists before his visit to Africa which attracted severe criticism from health officials abroad. Pope Benedict told journalists that AIDS was a “tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problem.”
A government health official told MaltaToday that “condoning or not what His Holiness says does not fall within the remit of the Health Secretariat.”
Reiterating that the only foolproof system of preventing HIV transmission was abstinence, the ministry however said its experts maintained that it was “a scientific fact that if condoms are used correctly, they protect against STDs (sexually transmitted diseases).”
The director of the genitourinary clinic, Dr Philip Carabot, was more critical of Pope Benedict’s statement.
“Unfortunately there is nothing new about the Church’s intransigence and stubbornness regarding the use of condoms, in spite of the wealth of scientific evidence which proves its efficacy,” he said.
“I hasten to add the condom by itself is not the answer to all our problems; abstinence and fidelity too have a very important role to play.”
But Carabot said abstinence by itself “simply does not work and is actually counterproductive… So why keep flogging a dead horse?”
Referring to the similar position embraced by Gozo Bishop Mario Grech, who said doctors promoting condoms were deceiving people, Carabot said: “I did very respectfully ask the Church authorities to substantiate these claims. Some two years later I am still waiting for a reply.”
Pope Benedict’s claims came under fire by Rebecca Hodes, of the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, who said that if the Pope was serious about preventing new HIV infections he would focus on promoting wider access to condoms and spreading information about how best to use them.
The French government also expressed its concern, warning this “could well have dramatic consequences on public health… Condoms are a part of the solution and any argument to the contrary, especially when made by a person with such vast influence, goes against the best interest of public health.”

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