Religion

By PATRICK BUTLER
Religion Editor

An East Texas Catholic priest defended a comment by Pope Benedict XVI that condoms could endanger public health and they are not the solution to the fight against AIDS. Promoter of Justice for the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Father Gavin Vavarek added that Benedict was correct when he said the Catholic Church is "on the forefront of the world battle against AIDS."

"On the contrary, it (condom distribution) increases the problem," the pope said. Benedict said in Cameroon on Tuesday during his first visit to Africa as pope.

"The spread of the disease can be slowed by condoms," Vavarek said to the

Tyler Morning Telegraph,

"but the only way to prevent getting the disease is to practice responsible sexual activity, that is largely not a value of many political agendas.

Reaction to the pope's comment was immediate. Leaders in France, Germany and the U.N. agency charged with fighting AIDS disagreed with Benedict saying Wednesday that condoms are a fundamental tool in preventing the spread of the HIV virus.

"While it is not up to us to pass judgment on the doctrine of the Church, we consider that these statements endanger public health policies and the imperative to protect human life," Chevallier said in an online briefing Wednesday.

"Along with information, education and testing, the condom is a fundamental element of action to prevent transmission of the AIDS virus," he said.

The Catholic Church looks at the big picture, said Vaverek.

"On the preventative side of the AIDS battle, the church is continually advocating the sacredness of human sexuality," said Vaverek, "and for programs that promote respect for human sexuality and don't reduce human beings to animals incapable of controlling urges. The (fight against AIDS) is sadly sometimes politicized or an issue of economics. The church advocates remembering the needs of the world's poorest countries, such as in Africa and other places that don't have a lot of oil. Despite horrific genocide in Africa, Western society is, by and large, more concerned with the Middle East. But the church is in Africa providing health care through its hospitals, charities, and more.

In Geneva, the U.N. AIDS fighting agency said that condoms are an important part of efforts against AIDS. It said prevention includes receiving information about the virus that causes AIDS, being faithful to one partner and other measures.

In a statement, UNAIDS said countries should use all available strategies to prevent the more than 7,400 new HIV infections every day worldwide. It made no mention of the pope, but the statement came the day after Benedict's comments.

The church stresses the nobility of the human character said Vaverek

"In a valueless society -- in the ideology of secularism -- self-sacrifice and self-denial have no real place. As a result, people become slaves to sexuality, alcohol and drugs. What is necessary to break the cycle of addiction is a message of hope. That's why Pope Benedict XVI said God is love -- not satisfying self-appetites and urges -- but (embracing) self-sacrifice, and self-giving and openness to the sacredness of life."

The Associated Press contributed to this report