Singapore archbishop slams Madonna concert as 'pseudo-art'

By Antonio Anup Gonsalves

Singapore, Feb 25, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Singapore's music fans can do better than Madonna, the local Catholic archbishop has said.

The American pop star will stop in Singapore on Sunday Feb. 28 as part of her “Rebel Heart” tour – and Archbishop William Goh says the concert is “causing a stir” among Catholics and other Christians.
In response, he urged the faithful to reflect on how Christianity offers a contrasting vision of the arts and the world.
“As the people of God, we should subscribe to authentic arts that lead us to God through the appreciation of beauty, harmony, goodness, truth and love, respect, unity and the transcendent,” he said Feb. 20.
He encouraged Christians and others not to support “the 'pseudo arts' that promote sensuality, rebellion, disrespect, pornography, contamination of the minds of the young, abusive freedom, individualism at the expense of the common good, vulgarity, lies and half-truths.”
The music star Madonna is notorious for her exploitation of Christian symbols and iconography, as well as her provocative performances. On her current tour, scantily-clad dancers wear nuns' habits while dancing on cross-shaped stripper poles.
Madonna was barred from performing in Singapore in 1993 after local authorities classified her performance as obscene and "objectionable to many on moral and religious grounds."
Archbishop Goh encouraged the faithful not to support people whose art denigrates and insults religions, while “including anti-Christian and immoral values promoted by the secular world.”
André Ahchak head of communications for the Singapore archdiocese, discussed the archbishop’s stand.
“Archbishop William Goh has pointed out that Catholics should know that they must not do, say, support or promote anything contrary to their faith or the gospel in every aspect of moral life, lest they betray Christ their Lord,” Ahchak told CNA Feb. 24.
Ahchak said that the Catholic Church urges respect for all religions, respects freedom of speech and does not favor prejudice or discrimination against any artist.
He explained that the Church instead favors holistic human development. He pointed to the Church’s role as a patron of the arts. He also said several other Christian groups have welcomed Archbishop Goh’s stand against the Madonna concert.
“Many Catholics and non-Catholics have written privately to thank and support (the archbishop) for addressing tenets and issues of faith,” Ahchak said. “To those who disagree with the Church's moral stand, we respect their views since they do not share our faith in Christ and His gospel.”
Archbishop Goh’s statement said attendance at Madonna concerts would show a misunderstanding of the faith.
“There is no neutrality in faith: one is either for it or against it,” he said. “Being present (at these events) in itself is a counter witness. Obedience to God and His commandments must come before the arts.”
The archbishop has made presentations to various ministries and statutory boards of Singapore. He said that given the multi-racial and multi-religious nature of Singapore, “we cannot afford to be overly permissive in favor of artistic expression at the expense of respect for one’s religion, especially in these times of heightened religious sensitivities.”
The authorities have assured the archbishop that there are restrictions in place to ensure that content deemed offensive to religious beliefs would not be allowed on stage. Because of the show’s sexual references, the show is restricted to those aged 18 and older.
Ahchak said that Archbishop Goh’s preaching and pastoral letters have been consistent in promoting faith formation.
In his homily for the 50th anniversary of Singapore independence in 2015, the archbishop emphasized four pillars that have helped Singapore become an advanced country: self-sacrifice; justice and equality; economic development; and moral and spiritual development.
That homily pledged the Church’s cooperation with the government “to prevent moral decadence, to strengthen the institution of marriage and to promote justice, peace and harmony.”


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Taken from: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/singapore-archbishop-slams-madonna-concert-as-pseudo-art-24454/

John Haldane Acclaimed Catholic Philosopher to Teach Semester at Notre Dame

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese, 
29 Oct 2015

Professor John Haldane and Archbishop Fisher OP were among the 17 speakers at Sydney's Tradition Conference in 2013

Professor John Haldane, Papal adviser to the Vatican is regarded as one of the world's foremost Catholic philosophers and leading public intellectuals. Now in a remarkable coup for the University of Notre Dame Sydney, he has been appointed to a Visiting Professorship with the School of Philosophy and Theology, and will teach a unit entitled "The Good Society its Nature and Foundations" throughout the 13-weeks of Semester One in 2016.

In a series of two hour lectures each week, Professor Haldane will explore the relatively recent movement away from the common philosophical and religious consensus inherited from the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian traditions to examine the different responses to the challenges of modern contemporary societies.

"This is an amazing opportunity for our students as well as Sydney academics, seminarians, religious and the general public," says Dr Angus Brook, Associate Dean of UNDA's School of Philosophy and Theology, adding that he is also hoping Catholic professionals in law, politics and business will also consider enrolling in the course.

"To hear and engage with Professor Haldane is a wonderful opportunity for anyone interested in the ideas of ancient, modern and contemporary thinkers and to join in discussions of what we might reasonably hope for in the way of substantial philosophy of personal and social morality," he says.

For students and academics the unit will be credited  towards their degree, but for others keen to hear Professor Haldane and attend his lectures, the University offers "audit enrolment" or as it is also known: "not for credit enrolment." In other words for a small fee, interested individuals can enrol and attend each of the 13-week lecture series, participate in discussions and have access to all resources and materials associated with the course, without having to undertake examinations or assessments.

Professor John Haldane, papal adviser to the Vatican and one of the world's foremost Catholic philosophers

Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, Professor Haldane has held fellowships at St John's College, Oxford, the University of Pittsburgh and earlier this year was appointed J. Newton Rayzor Distinguished Chair in Philosophy at Waco, Texas' Baylor University. In addition he has lectured widely throughout the US and Britain and in the 1990s pioneered the Analytical Thomism movement which explores the thought of St Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and Patron of all Universities, and the relevance of his thought to modern philosophical ideas.

"He is without doubt one of the most outstanding and most recognised philosophers in the world," says Dr Brook.
In June 2008, Professor Haldane made his first trip to Australia as one of the leading speakers at the Truth and Faith in Ethics Conference hosted by the University of Notre Dame and the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney where he spoke on "Moral Reason and Faith."

Dr Angus Brook Associate Dean of UNDA's School of Philosophy and Theology

His association with the Archdiocese continued in March 2011 when he was appointed to the Board of Solidarity, Australia's first online journal established in a joint venture between the Archdiocese of Sydney's Justice and Peace Office and the UNDA's Centre for Faith, Ethics and Society to provide a forum for leading thinkers, academics and intellectuals to discuss Catholic social thought, doctrine, moral traditions and secular ethics.

Four months later in July 2013, Professor Haldane made his second visit to Australia as one of an impressive line up of more than 16 international and national presenters and keynote speakers at Notre Dame's historic four-day Traditions Conference where he discussed "What philosophical sense can we make of the concept of Sacred Tradition."

The then Bishop of Parramatta and now Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP was also a leading speaker at the Traditions Conference.  Recognised as an international scholar on bioethics, he delivered an address on "Catholic Moral Tradition."

Archbishop Fisher OP with Deputy Vice Chancellor of UNDA at the four day Traditions Conference in July 2013

Now thanks to the efforts of UNDA's Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Hayden Ramsay, Associate Professor Sandra Lynch, Director of the University's Centre for Faith Ethics and Society and the School of Philosophy and Theology, Professor Haldane is coming to Australia and starting on 23 February next year will teach a full unit at the University throughout Semester One.

In addition to lectures, teaching, professorial fellowships and his role as Papal advisor to the Vatican, Professor Haldane is well known to many Catholics and non Catholics from his radio broadcasts on the BBC World Service, his BBC television series "The Big Questions" on nuclear disarmament, his contributions to other TV series such as "The Heart of the Matter: God Under the Microscrope."

A prolific author, his books are internationally acclaimed. He also regularly contributes columns to British and international newspapers and has frequently been interviewed by ABC's Lateline and 7.30 Report.

To find out more about enrolling in the 13-week unit presented by the acclaimed Scottish-born philosopher, contact Dr Angus Brook at the UNDA School of Philosophy and Theology either by emailing angus.brook@nd.edu.au or calling him on +61 2 8204 4182

....

Taken from: https://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2015/20151029_1481.shtml

Who Let the Witches Out?

 

WITCHES FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD (and Satanists)

 

Jesi Smith

 

Don’t waste your time going on a witch hunt-- I found the witches and Satanists in front of Planned Parenthood in Ferndale, Michigan supporting the abortion mill this past Saturday with signs that read, “Witches for Planned Parenthood.”  My husband Brad and I were there speaking with our fellow ‘Save The 1’ speaker Travon Clifton (http://www.savethe1.com/) at the nationwide protest against Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of human organs, when my nine year old asked me, “Mom, why are those men pouring milk on those ladies?”

 

The Satanic Temple of Detroit members were right in front of Planned Parenthood in support of abortion and performed a strange act that included two men dressed in black and wearing priest collars pouring milk all over and in the mouths of two women kneeling in front of them. One of the woman actually went down to her hands and knees as she choked on the milk and spat some of the milk back out of her mouth. In the appalling demonstration the women in their subservient positions on the sidewalk looked like they were being water-boarded with gallons of milk by the Satanic priests all in the name of women’s ‘rights’. (Watch video of the FOX 2 Detroit report http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/10793008-story)  On the other side of the road that same morning, a mature black Ypsilanti pastor, Dr. Levon Yuille of Joshua’s Trail radio (http://www.joshuastrail.org/), joined hundreds protesting Planned Parenthood’s selling of the organs of the children they aborted to offer his support of life and prayed for women and their babies -- the perfect antithesis to the young white Satanic priests who shamefully had women kneeling in front of them in support of the literal death and dismemberment of children. The contrast of each movement was never more visually stark.

 

Satanic support of abortion has been popping up all over the country. In Missouri, Satanic worshipper “Mary Doe” is suing Governor Jay Nixon claiming the state law requiring a 72 hour waiting period before an abortion violates her religious beliefs. The Satanic Temple even raised money on GoFundMe to pay for the Missouri woman to travel to St. Louis for her child’s abortion. (See story at www.lifenews.com.) A particularly disturbing look into the Satanism’s intrinsic involvement in abortion has recently been reported through an interview with a former Satanist Zachary King. In King’s 26 years within the Satanic occult he was a part of 141 ritual abortions and described doing ritual satanic abortions at the abortion clinics and other locations. “In Satanism, killing something or the death of something is the most effective way of getting your spell accomplished. As far as trying to get Satan’s approval, to give you something that you want, killing something is the best way to go. Killing something is the ultimate offering to Satan, and if you can kill an unborn, that is his ultimate goal,” King explained as to why abortion is so important to Satanists.

 

Why should anyone be surprised that Satan worshippers walk lock step with the abortionist?  Rebellion against God is at the very heart of the most appalling Satanic ritual of all -- child sacrifice. What could be more rebellious against the Creator than to dismember, throw away, or sell off His best creations…our children? A merciless and Godless society is created when people sacrifice their own sons and daughters and practice divination, sorcery, and engage in witchcraft. That is why God calls on His people to “rescue those being led to death and hold back those staggering toward slaughter,” so that we would live in stark contrast to other brutal peoples who murder with sadistic rituals. Certainly, when our country systematically dismembers and either throws away like trash or sell organs from our children to the highest bidders, we blunt any edge that we have to condemn beheadings and brutality abroad.

 

My friend Travon had the same impression of protesting Planned Parenthood in Ferndale last Saturday, “bizarre”.  There we were taking our place so near to where innocent children were condemned to death, speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, and watching witches and Satanists yelling only to find out later they were chanting, “Hail Satan”. My husband Brad’s reaction was as undaunted as ever, after he saw the sign “Witches for Planned Parenthood” and the Satanists dousing women with milk he leaned over to me with a smirk and said, “My mom always said, ‘You are the company you keep.’”  

….

http://www.keepingourfaith.net/#!WITCHES-FOR-PLANNED-PARENTHOOD-and-Satanists/c1a1n/55d9c4000cf21fd94cc2ebd4

A Dark Feminism Objectifying Women

 

Monica Doumit, writing for The Catholic Weekly, tells of the change of heart of radical Brazilian feminist, Sara Fernanda Giromin (“Cherchez la Femen’s humanity …”, 10 January, 2016). We take here the excerpt that features what Doumit calls “the most interesting part”, Giromin’s reflections on the kind of feminism that was demanded:  

…. While her turnaround in itself is positive news, as is the warm reception from Christians who are obviously practising what they preach, what I found much more interesting were her comments about the Femen-brand of feminism more generally.

In a subsequent interview, Sara said that “the feminist movement can harm women in an irreversible way”.

In a forthcoming book, she speaks of the pressure to take drugs, abort babies, be sexually promiscuous with strangers, and engage in bisexual acts.

She says that lesbian and bisexual women have more respect within this brand of “feminism”, leading her to substitute her heterosexuality with “an artificial bisexuality”.

She also writes of the tendency for sexual abuse to occur as part of the increasing sexual licence expected of members.
Sara argues that Femen-styled feminism actually results in the objectification of women, using them as “convenient objects” to inflame hatred.

It’s a serious accusation, but one which seems to have some merit if her stories of sexual coercion, abuse and abortion are true. It’s also somewhat apparent when you consider that the presence of bare-breasted women is the only reason that Femen gets any attention at all, and that women are often arrested and sometimes injured during these protests.

It seems that women are being used as a means, and not an end.

If one of Femen’s stated goals is the advancement of women, then it should be concerned at the way they are being used in pursuit of this goal.

It should be alarmed that in an attempt to fight for the liberation of women, it has ended up enslaving them in a way where they are not free to be themselves, but rather must perform to meet the standard of some idealised feminist who rejects all notions of femininity.

Even though there seems to be no public response from Femen to Sara’s story, I wonder if its members are considering privately whether they have strayed too far off the course, and are in danger of destroying the very thing for which they purport to fight.

I think the story of Sara and Femen is also educative of how easily the pursuit of an ideology can end up damaging those on whose behalf it presumes to advocate.

Think about campaigners for assisted suicide and euthanasia. Their oft-cited line about “death with dignity” seems to be betrayed by the undignified way in which they identify sufferers of chronic or terminal illness by the condition with which they are afflicted, rather than as an individual person worthy of love and respect. Their call for humane treatment is juxtaposed with an increasing dehumanisation (and, thus, objectification) of the dying person.

There are other examples too. But more important than identifying these is ensuring that we never do the same. As Catholics, we are often involved in the numerous and varied culture wars of our time, with our underlying message being the dignity of the human person made in the image and likeness of God. May our efforts in advocacy always keep the human person as the end, and never as a means, of our efforts. ....

[End of quote]

 

'I made a huge mistake' - Why one radical feminist changed her mind on abortion



Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan 6, 2016 / 04:58 pm (CNA).- Brazilian feminist Sara Winter used to work to legalize abortion. She was one of the founders of a radical group that carries out offensive topless protests at churches.
Now, she says people should learn from religious women who put their faith into action – and reject the powerful forces promoting abortion in her country.
What changed her mind? The birth of her child.
“I understand I made a huge mistake, and I ask forgiveness from the bottom of my heart. The way to achieve public policy changes for women has nothing to do with mocking people’s religions,” she said in a Dec. 15 Facebook post.
“What I was missing was love (which changed when I became a mother), love that came to me after having reflected a lot on today’s militant feminism,” she said.
Sara Winter is the pseudonym of Sara Fernanda Giromin. Three years ago she was one of the founders of the Brazilian branch of Femen, a radical feminist organization of sometimes violent, often offensive activists who protest topless in favor of abortion and LGBT activism.
Winter asked for forgiveness “from all those people, whether religious or not, that I offended during a feminist protest last year involving a same-sex kiss in front of a church in Rio de Janeiro.”
Last month she denounced international funding to promote abortion in Brazil. She asked forgiveness for having been “part of that scheme to get abortion legalized.”
“But I never knew that all that talk about legalizing abortion in Brazil had been the work of organizations controlled by tycoons, rich men interested in reducing my country’s population.”
Sara confessed that she had always thought that an abortion was “something every woman should be able to get.”
“I’m not waving that flag any more. I don’t agree with women being jailed for having an abortion, I think they should always be treated with compassion, but I’m against the promotion of abortion being carried out by the feminist NGOs.”
The young woman also encouraged feminists “to learn from women who are religious.” While feminists are “putting on ridiculous protests (I myself used to be one of them) which are embarrassing to women, there are women of faith with homes protecting rape victims, and other women giving life by providing housing, taking in women in dangerous situations, and providing all kinds of assistance.”
“There are a lot of NGOs and institutions that need a helping hand and volunteers to care for the victims of violence, so let’s get going, help them, do your part. Take care of, assist and love other women,” she encouraged her readers.
Sara first began to speak about this radical turnabout in her life in October 2015.
“I regret having an abortion and today I’m asking for forgiveness,” she wrote on Facebook Oct. 14, almost one month after the birth of her second child. Since her baby was born, she said, “my life has taken on new meaning.”
“I don’t want you to go through the same thing I did,” she told her readers.
Years before, she underwent an abortion using a drug provided by a feminist.
“I almost bled to death and had very serious complications,” she recalled, adding that the person who came to her aid in those circumstances was a man who had “no connection to radical feminism.”
On abortion, she urged, “feminism should be focusing more on taking care of women instead of putting their lives at risk.” She said her prior abortion had caused difficulties early into her second pregnancy.
Sara has also become a critic of transgender ideology. She explained that she has no animus against people who say they are transgender, but she added, “I don’t think that changing your clothes, getting silicone breast implants and making the transition with hormones and surgery can change anybody’s sex.”
By mid-November, Sara was urging Brazilian feminists to “respect women who are religious believers.” Although she has no religious affiliation, she said that “one of the things I regret in my life is pulling away from God and devoting all my time to militant feminism.”
“Having faith is not a retrogression and other people’s religion needs to be respected,” she urged.
Sara said that she has faced a hostile reaction from the feminist faction she has abandoned.
“You have no idea of the reprisals I’ve been a victim of coming from the feminists,” she wrote. “I’m afraid of even stepping out on to the street with my baby, but I have faith that all this is going to go away.”
In early December, Sara published a short digital book about “seven times I was betrayed by the feminist movement.” The book is a compilation of the bizarre experiences she says she had as part of the Brazilian feminist movement, involved orgies, alcohol, drugs and misuse of funds.
For every book sold, she has offered to donate a Brazilian Real (about 25 cents) to “initiatives helping women in violent situations and against abortion.”
Sara stated that “feminism has a cure and I’m the greatest proof of that.”
She said the main reason Brazilian people do not like the feminists is because most of them act hysterically and use social media “to mock and humiliate religious people, preach hatred against men, besides being extremists and disrespectful of other people’s religious heritage.”
“I’m just as guilty. I used to be like that too, but thanks be to God I’ve been healed,” she said.


....


Taken from: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/i-made-a-huge-mistake---why-one-radical-feminist-changed-her-mind-on-abortion-92648/

Canadian pro-life activist Mary Wagner arrested



 

On December 12, police once again arrested well-known Canadian pro-life activist Mary Wagner as she attempted to plead with women at an abortion clinic to keep their babies.

If you are receiving this email, you may be from Canada, or from another Commonwealth country -- or even beyond. That's perfect.

We want to send a message of support and hope - not just to Mary - but to the whole world (especially Commonwealth countries), saying human life is sacred and precious, no matter where in the world its dignity is defended.

So, as we celebrate Advent, please remember Mary Wagner and sign our letter of encouragement to her in prison:

http://www.citizengo.org/en/lf/31829-send-note-mary-wagner-pro-life-prisoner-conscience

Mary Wagner went to the abortion clinic with pro-life literature and a bag full of red roses to give to women comtemplating abortion. She voluntarily submitted to arrest after choosing to continue counseling women at the clinic after being asked to leave. We don't know for sure, but Mary's actions may have convinced some women, who were scheduled to abort their children that morning, to change their minds.

When asked in the past why she has risked arrest to protect babies, Mary has answered: “People have often asked me if I could not simply stay outside the area I am forbidden to enter, and in that way, avoid arrest. But this question forgets something: the children scheduled to be killed will have no one to stand up for them. We will stop being present to them and to their mothers out of obedience to an immorally imposed restriction by those entrusted with authority.”

Sign our letter of encouragement to Mary Wagner:

http://www.citizengo.org/en/lf/31829-send-note-mary-wagner-pro-life-prisoner-conscience
 

Thank you for taking time to write a letter to a peaceful pro-life activist who will spend the night in jail tonight. After signing the petition, please say a prayer for Mary Wagner and for the end of abortion in Canada and around the world!

....

Pope Francis was right about condoms and HIV

By Mary Rezac

Vatican City, Dec 13, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On his return flight from Africa, as Pope Francis fielded the customary questions from the press, he challenged a journalist on a question about condom use in the fight to prevent HIV.
“We know that prevention is key. We know that condoms are not the only method of solving the epidemic, but it’s an important part of the answer,” the journalist said. “Is it not time for the Church to change its position on the matter? To allow the use of condoms to prevent more infections?”
The question, Pope Francis said, seemed too narrow to address such a widespread and complex issue. Condom use in and of itself could never solve the HIV crisis or other problems facing many African nations.
“The problem is bigger,” the Pope said.
“This question makes me think of one they once asked Jesus: ‘Tell me, teacher, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Is it obligatory to heal?’ This question, ‘Is doing this lawful,’…but malnutrition, the development of the person, slave labor, the lack of drinking water, these are the problems.”
The Catholic Church has always held that artificial contraception use is immoral. In a 2010 book interview that made waves, Pope Benedict XVI said that while using a condom can represent a step in the right direction as far as showing concern for the other person, it is still an immoral solution to the HIV crisis.
But was Pope Francis right to be so dismissive of condom usage? Do condoms actually play a practical and important role in the fight against HIV?
An increasing amount of evidence says no.

Abstinence and fidelity in Uganda

At the peak of the HIV crisis in the 1980s, the country of Uganda had one of the highest infection rates – almost 25 percent of the population were HIV positive by 1991, according to the Washington Post.With the help of the country’s religious leaders, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni adopted the simplest and least expensive intervention possible in the poor and war-torn country – a public education program stressing abstinence before marriage and faithfulness afterward, largely de-emphasizing condom use except for those most at risk.
In just eight years, the country saw the most significant decline in HIV infection rates in the world.
According to a 2004 article in the “Journal of International Development”, it was “the lack of condom promotion during the 1980s and early 1990s (that) contributed to the relative success of behavior change strategies in Uganda.”
But just as Uganda was seeing a significant decline, the United States intervened, restructuring the country’s approach and focusing more on condoms and less on abstinence and monogamy. In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Harvard’s leading HIV researcher Dr. Edward Green and Wilfred Mlay, then-vice president for World Vision Africa, wrote that while the United States was generous in offering their help, the Western ideologies and approaches may have actually undermined the success previously seen in Uganda.
“The Ugandan turnaround was well underway by the time foreign AIDS experts began to arrive in the early 1990s, bringing with them the Western public health approaches—and values. They began to retool Uganda’s AIDS prevention efforts away from abstinence and fidelity—goals that many Westerners felt were unrealistic. As condom use increased, the percentage of young singles having sex rose from 27 percent to 37 percent between 1995 and 2000. Health officials worry that infection rates may increase as well,” they wrote.

The problem with condoms

Regardless of religious belief, condom use to curb HIV infection proves problematic for several reasons.
One of the biggest issues with the promotion of condoms as a solution to HIV is that most people do not consistently or correctly use condoms, even after going through sex education.
A study published by “The Annals of Pharmacotherapy” found that out of 500 couples who were repeatedly told by their doctors to use condoms, only eight percent did so consistently, despite knowledge that one partner had herpes. A different study found that only 50 percent of couples in which one partner had HIV used condoms consistently over time.
Another part of the problem is something called risk compensation. In an interview with the BBC, Dr. Green said that risk compensation happens when people use risk-reducing technology in a way that assumes the technology cancels out all risk.
As an example, in an interview with BBC, Dr. Green compared condom use to sunblock. He said the protection offered by sunblock is cancelled out when the person using sunblock assumes they are completely protected and therefore spends even more time in the sun.
Similarly, people using condoms are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior because of the assumed protection, when in fact repeated exposure to infected persons decreases the protection that condoms offer.
The phenomenon of risk compensation also means people using condoms are more likely to have a greater number of sexual partners, increasing their risk for certain STDs which in turn increases the likelihood of the transmission of HIV. Many STDs create open sores, which act as portals of entry for HIV infection.
Another reason condoms alone fail at protecting people against HIV is because of the likelihood of disease transmission over time. According to a 2001 article in The Lancet, the more frequently one changes sexual partners, the more likely it is that they will spread HIV.
This is because HIV is highly contagious when it is first contracted, but it is often not detectable until later. Therefore, an infected person could think they are HIV-free and go on to infect more people before they realize they have HIV. The study found that if there were at least six months in between sexual partners, the rate of HIV infections would significantly decrease.

A tale of two countries: Philippines vs. Thailand

Two different countries in Asia help further illustrate the effectiveness of abstinence and fidelity programs over condom promotion.In 1984, both countries reported their first case of HIV infection. But the two governments had radically different responses.
Thailand’s response was to promote condom use across the board, while the largely Catholic country of the Philippines focused their response on promoting abstinence before marriage and fidelity afterwards.
By 2005, the HIV rate in Thailand was 50 times higher than that of the Philippines.
And while some experts hail Thailand as a success story rather than the Philippines, since Thailand’s rate of infection eventually decreased from previous levels, other experts say it is no coincidence that the Catholicism which permeates Filipino culture has led to a small rate of HIV infection.

Catholicism and HIV infection rates

Although some experts are hesitant to recognize the effectiveness of abstinence and fidelity programs promoted by the Catholic Church, a 2005 article in British Medical Journal hailed their success.
“The greater the percentage of Catholics in any country, the lower the level of HIV. If the Catholic Church is promoting a message about HIV in those countries, it seems to be working,” the article states.
“On the basis of data from the World Health Organization, in Swaziland, where 42.6 percent have HIV, only 5 percent of the population is Catholic. In Botswana, where 37 percent of the adult population is HIV infected, only 4 percent of the population is Catholic. In South Africa, 22 percent of the population is HIV infected, and only 6 percent is Catholic. In Uganda, with 43 percent of the population Catholic, the proportion of HIV infected adults is 4 percent.”
Dr. Green, too, emphasized in a 2009 article that his support of abstinence and fidelity programs comes not from a conservative worldview but rather from his experiences in Africa and from looking at the results.
“I’m a flaming liberal, don’t go to church, never voted for a Republican in my life,” he said.
In his aforementioned op-ed, he also added that it would be a wrong to place politics and ideologies above the lives of people who are at risk.
“Billions of dollars and the lives of countless men, women, and children will be wasted if ideology trumps proven health policy.”
….

Taken from: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-pope-was-right-about-condoms-and-hiv-49253/

Tags: Contraception, HIV/AIDS, Pope Francis
 

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