The Pope says it would be acceptable for a male prostitute to use a
condom, but African Catholics do not necessarily agree
David Smith in Johannesburg
Monday November 22 2010
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/21/african-catholics-fear-of-aids-second-fear-of-god
Before evening mass at downtown Johannesburg's Holy Trinity Catholic
church, a group of Congolese students were today trying to decode and
digest the pope's apparent break from traditional doctrine on the use
of condoms.
Africa is the global centre of HIV/Aids infections. It is also home to
an estimated 158 million Catholics. By 2025, it is predicted, one-
sixth of the world's Catholics ? about 230 million ? will be African.
The church's sphere of influence includes Angola, Cameroon, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda
and Zimbabwe.
Condoms were acceptable "in certain cases" such as male prostitution,
Benedict XVI had said. What did the people gathered at the Holy
Trinity, which sits above an HIV clinic, make of that?
Djoscky Bindusa Mongenda Tapo, 38, was wrestling with contradictions
between religion and science. "The pope, as the leader of the church
and as a Christian, is wrong to say this," he said. "But
scientifically he is also the leader of many people, and he is right
to protect them.
"As a Christian, as a spiritual fact, we cannot accept the use of
condoms because to us marriage is between one man and one woman. The
church has forbidden the use of condoms even if you are officially
married because, if it allowed them, it also allows people to go
around with prostitutes. Scientifically, the condoms are helping to
protect people from the spread of many sicknesses and prevent
premature pregnancies. Sex without condoms is a risk to people's
health and their families."
He concluded: "Both sides are good but, as Christians, we are not
afraid of sickness or to die, but we are afraid of the law of God. As
God said one man is for one woman, we cannot go against God for other
reasons. But if you are not Christian, you can use condoms if you have
partners outside marriage."
Aids activists have condemned the Vatican's stance for legitimising
ignorance about safe sex, resulting in countless needless deaths.
The Pope fanned the flames last year when, on his first visit to
Africa, he asserted that condoms were not the solution to HIV [http://
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/17/pope-africa-condoms-aids"
title="] and could in fact make the problem worse.
South Africa has the world's biggest HIV caseload and a death toll of
nearly 1,000 people a day [http://www.mg.co.za/tag/hivaids" title="].
But Catholics gathering at the 72-year-old Holy Trinity ? a
traditional church of pink stone, stained glass, arched doorway and
antique bell ? had mixed views on the pope's apparent U-turn and its
implications for the continent.
Frank Lessaka, a student from the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
where about half the population is Catholic, said the pope had a duty
to put doctrine first: "The medical side is right, but he is
contradicting the religious side. Legally he must emphasise the
religious side. The danger is that people will misunderstand what the
pope is saying. He is trying to explain the use of condoms to stop
HIV, but in a religious way he's wrong."
Lessaka, 23, added: "Ask first of all why use a condom, who with,
which moment? In a marriage, it is advisable if you are sick. But if
the pope is urging people to use condoms outside a marriage, the pope
is wrong. Abstinence and fidelity are the most advisable. Even a
doctor in a hospital will tell you that."
But Alain Mupundu, 30, another Congolese Catholic, strongly disagreed.
"In 1998, the prevalence of HIV in my country was 0.8%. Now it is 8% ?
10 times greater. We are not all doing abstinence and fidelity. We
want to be safe now. It is time to change.
"The pope has talked to the cardinals and I think this was the result
of that consultation. After saying we can't use condoms, we lost too
many friends, but now we can change and save some of them. The pope
has said the right thing at the right time."
Elsewhere at the church, bathed in spring sunshine near the Nelson
Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein, a group of gay and lesbians were also
meeting. "For the sake of reducing HIV, it's the right thing to use
protection, especially in Africa," said Tendai Maposa, 30, who has
Catholic friends who are HIV-positive. "The Catholic church's
ignorance has been damaging. It must now educate people about HIV so
they practise safe sex. I'd like to see the pope go further."
Bongani Mtlhavani, 21, a PR and media consultant, agreed: "This
statement has been long overdue ? it's about time. The Catholic church
has got a huge following in Africa. Its ignorant position has caused
followers to be infected with HIV. It contributed to the infections
big time."
Another member of the group, Dutchman Peter van den Akker, cautioned
that while papal teachings doubtless influenced hearts and minds in
Africa, not every Catholic blindly obeyed the Vatican's strictures.
He outlined a more fluid situation: "My experience of working in
Africa is that although the Catholic church has been negative about
condoms, I meet priests and nurses in Uganda who have a typical
Catholic attitude: the pope says this, but I do that because my
conscience tells me to.
"On the other hand, the black clergy I know in west Africa, for
example in Ghana, are even more Roman than the pope himself. They
refused to participate in an educational programme because they did
not want to discuss this as even a problem."
Van den Akker, 64, a freelance journalist, expressed frustration that
the pope, who cited the example of male prostitution for acceptable
condom use, had left his overall position vague. "I would like to see
the pope say more," he said. "From a man of his status and influence
this statement is quite remarkable, but it's one small step. The
longer he waits, the bigger the problem will be."
The sentiment was echoed today by Aids activists in South Africa.
Caroline Nenguke, a spokeswoman for the Treatment Action Campaign
[http://www.tac.org.za" title="], said: "Historically the Catholic
church has been in denial with regard to condom use. For the pope to
say they can be used in certain circumstances is a step in the right
direction.
"But we still have thousands of steps before he stands on a proper
platform and says condom use is an effective way of preventing HIV."
guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2010
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