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On a flight to Cameroon this week, Pope Benedict gave an interview where he linked condom use to HIV/AIDS, sparking international outrage. Not surprisingly, Pope Benedict reiterated the Vatican’s anti birth-control beliefs. But what is surprising, is that he went even further in his comments saying that the distribution of condoms “can even increase the problem”. Some European countries with significant catholic populations have expressed outrage, including France. According to French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier, “we consider [those] comments…a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect human life.” Belgian health minister Larette Onkelinx said of the Pope’s words, “these statements could put us years behind on work to prevent the disease and could put a large number of people’s lives at risk.” Medical experts agree that the condom is a life saving device and that any denial by the Vatican is extremely dangerous. The United Nations estimates that worldwide there are 33 million people living with the HIV virus, two thirds of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. While some countries, such as Malawi are stabilizing their infection rates, others report an increase in new infections. In South Africa, where scientific research on HIV/AIDS was rejected by former president Thabo Mbeki, almost 20% of the population has HIV. Since the disease was first identified in the early 1980s 22 million people have died. Today more than 28% of African children have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

GUESTS: John O’ Brien, President of Catholics for Choice, Serra Sippel, Executive Director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity