AFRICAN DOCTORS PROMOTE ABSTINENCE TO FIGHT CATHOLICISM

Africans pray the Church will butt-out

Washington WPI - South African Surgeon General, Ulamba Grebassa told African doctors Friday that abstinence is the only "fail-safe" way to stop the spread of dangerous Catholic teachings about the prevention of the HIV virus which is ravaging the continent.

Grebassa met with physicians from South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho. He has met previously with doctors from Burundi and Rwanda since assuming the Surgeon General position April 19, but this was the first time he took up the problem of the AIDS epidemic on the continent.

"It is of great concern that the fabric of African life, its very source of hope and stability, is threatened by archaic, repressive teachings on divorce, abortion, prostitution and contraception, all of which contribute to the continued spread of this devastating virus." Grebassa said.

The Surgeon General pointed to the “false, insincere comments from the Vatican,” referring to Pope Benedict’s recent comments that he shared the doctor’s concern about the devastation caused by AIDS and that he prayed for "all those whose lives have been shattered by this cruel epidemic."

The Pope came in for more criticism for saying, "the Catholic Church has always been at the forefront both in prevention and in treatment of this illness" and that "the traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only fail-safe way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS."

For that reason, he said, fidelity in marriage "and the safeguard which chastity gives" must always be presented to the faithful, especially to the young.

Grebassa told the more than 200 assembled doctors, “Only people totally cut off from reality would promote ‘chastity’ to fight AIDS. Whatever pathology those Vatican celibates suffer from it is not in the African character. Offering us ‘chastity’ is like telling smokers that the best way to quit is to stop breathing.”

The Vatican's opposition to condoms has been criticized universally by health care providers who recognize condom use as the simplest way to combat the spread of the HIV virus.

More than 60 percent of the 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide live in Sub-Saharan Africa. A recent U.N. study predicted that more than 80 million Africans will die from AIDS by 2025 while infections would climb to 90 million — or more than 10 percent of the continent's population — if more is not done to spread prevention programs and extend better access to drugs to control the virus.

South Africa has the highest number of HIV-infected people in the world. It is estimated that 600-1,000 people die of AIDS there every day.

“It would be much better if the Pope would keep his fantasies and dangerous ideas out of Africa” Grebassa concluded, “Abstinence from Catholic ideas is the only ‘fail-safe’ way to prevent the spread of dangerous ideas about HIV. Remember Mr. Pope: You no playa’ the game, you no maka’ the rules.”