Queue on 18/3/2009 at 21:43

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Okay, so this begs the question: If you had the chance to do (or be done by) the Pope, would you? I mean, you sorta have to, right? After all, it is the Pope. We are talking eternal damnation here.

Besides, it'd certainly be one to tell the grandkids about.

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round, I really love to watch them roll.

Scots Taffer on 19/3/2009 at 00:12

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Loathe as I am to represent the Catholic Church anymore, I do have to speak up for the deliberate and wilful misrepresentation of everything the Church says, even if the reality of its sentiment is fucking retarded.

I refer to Matthew's link above as source:

Misrepresentation



Later it quotes him directly:



Where did he say that condoms do aggravate the problem?
Where did he say that condoms cannot help contain the virus?

I agree that you can infer it from what he says, call me a pedantic semantic, but I then refer you to the following:

Accurate reporting



And that's right; as stupid and unrealistic as that sentiment is in a country continent such as Africa, it's absolutely correct - with marital fidelity and abstinence there would be less AIDS than there would be in an environment of infidelity and promiscuity but with the added caveat of condoms.

What's worse, for all the Catholic Church gets lambasted for giving dangerous views with regards to the prevention of AIDS, the other side of the story is often ignored.

What story? That condoms are a saving grace. Wear one and do as you usually do and you'll be fine.

Don't think this happens? Think again.

I have family who work in the health care environment, especially in the sexual health area, and the number of anecdotes I've been related that people are consistently told the message: use condoms and you won't get aids or stds, use condoms and you won't get pregnant. It's wilful and deliberately misrepresentation on the other end of the scale.

I can say with some degree of confidence that based on prevailing attitudes this will be happening in Africa as well.

Yes, condoms can prevent the spread of AIDS.

However, it's unlikely to contain it to any meaningful degree if promiscuity and infidelity remain the dominant social factors.

The Church addresses the social factors while ill-advisedly extrapolating on a statistical factor, which is true but unfortunately terribly unrealistic and just hurts their message by its inclusion.

Turtle on 19/3/2009 at 02:14

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They encourage ass-to-mouth.

Gambit on 19/3/2009 at 02:53

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Condoms, if we make sure they are made of good quality (not some cheap rubber), and we know how to use them properly, can be helpful for safe sex.

But condoms alone isn´t the solution to AIDS.

Sexual education is. Learning all the options for safe sex: abstinence, male condoms, female condoms.

Abstinence can be a pragmatic solution if condoms are expensive and rare in Africa. But I´m really sceptic about it...

Renzatic on 19/3/2009 at 03:57

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Female condoms? You mean those thin sheets of plastic that turn gluey when they get wet? Those things aren't at all decent. Unless you're talking about some other greatly more effective form of female birth control. I certainly hope you are, cuz then when she's all like "did you bring the condom", I can be all like "Did you bring yours? I didn't think so you damn hypocrite. Why you always gotta put that particular yoke on me? You're just as capable of going to the store and picking up a vag bad as I can an olol jimmy hat. The responsibility here should be 50/50". Then of course I go home alone AGAIN because she's all religious and I end up crying myself to sleep after playing a couple hours of Vampire. Man, life sucks sometimes.