Shut up already, Benedict

Why does the pope continue to spout asinine shit everytime he opens his mouth?

In reference to the AIDS pandemic in Africa, "'You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms,' the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde. 'On the contrary, it increases the problem.'"

C'mon now...that's just ignorant. I know the Roman Catholic Church is against the use of contraception, and they have a number of biblical passages to support that claim, but he is essentially saying that "religious dogma is more important than African lives," as Rebecca Hodes with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa says.

After doing some research (and a whole bunch of writing), I don't know nearly enough about the problem to express an opinion without putting my foot in my mouth, but I do know that the pope's remarks aren't helping. AIDS is a HUGE issue in Africa and Latin America where Catholicism has a strong hold, so it is easy to put the blame on the Church. The U.N. has even gone as far as to say that the Catholic Church's anti-condom stance is fueling the HIV epidemic (back in 2007). While I agree that it is fueling the problem, it isn't the root. Education and treatment is key. A culture where male promiscuity is rampant also doesn't help. I understand where the Catholic Church is coming from, and as Pope John Paul II said, abstinence is the best way to prevent the spread, but that just isn't feasible. At least not on the scale that it would have to be. And to expect that of people that don't follow your religion is even more preposterous.

The AIDS pandemic in Africa is apalling, and it hurts to think that such a high ranking person in the Church wouldn't be on board to help in a realistic manner. He talks about the current economic crisis and says that change needs to come from the top (today's leaders), yet he is in a prime position to help out with another major global crisis and he chooses not to. That is not living like Jesus. It is times like this that papal infallibility needs to be called into question (though it shouldn't exist in the first place).