But the Pope is Wrong About Condoms

by Michael Jones · 2010-02-04 17:44:00 UTC
Topics:

CondomsHarry Knox is the Director of the Human Rights Campaign's Religion and Faith Program, and a member of President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Knox once said that Pope Benedict XVI was wrong to say that using condoms helps spread HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Knox is right. The Pope is wrong.

But that's not stopping one conservative Catholic group from trying to go after Knox. The St. Michael's Society (blast them for tarnishing the name Michael!) wants President Obama to remove Knox from his advisory council, because they don't like what Knox had to say about the Pope. Apparently, for the St. Michael's Society, the Pope is the third rail of American politics.

Which is just silly, because the Pope knows about as much on condoms and public health as Mel Gibson knows about tact.

What the Pope said about condom use defies science. On his way to Angola and Cameroon last year, the Pope made the case that condoms increase the risk of sexually-transmitted diseases.

"[HIV/AIDS] is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," Benedict XVI said. Because an 82-year-old man who has never had sex knows how condoms work?

Please. The Pope's comments drew a stinging rebuke from The Lancet at the time, which called on the Pontiff to apologize for grossly misinforming people about the way condoms work. "When any influential person, be it a religious or political leader, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record," The Lancet wrote. The Pope never apologized. And almost a year later, it's impossible to know how many people might have listened to Benedict's advice and stopped using condoms when they had sex.

And that's where Harry Knox comes in to play. Knox was asked this week during a press conference if, nearly one year later, the Pope was wrong to tell the world that condoms aren't effective. Knox replied with a pretty simple but emphatic, yes.

That may drive groups like the St. Michael's Society nuts. But for the rest of us? We should be celebrating the fact that someone sits on a presidential advisory council who fully understands responsible HIV/AIDS policy. Condoms help prevent HIV/AIDS transmission. Are they the end-all-be-all of global HIV/AIDS work? No, of course not. But to deny their effectiveness, and to make up misinformation that they actually contribute to the spread of disease?

That's not pastoral. That's downright deadly.

Photo credit: Meddygarnet

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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