Searching for papal scapegoats is pointless

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7511.294

BMJ 2005;331:294 (30 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7511.294

Letter

Searching for papal scapegoats is pointless

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Scalise and Bognolo ask whether the new pope willchange Vatican policy on HIV.¹ On the basis of statistical evidenceit would seem detrimental to the HIV situation in Africa ifhe did authorise such a change.

A regression analysis done on the HIV situation in Africa indicatesthat the greater the percentage of Catholics in any country,the lower the level of HIV. If the Catholic Church is promotinga message about HIV in those countries it seems to be working.

On the basis of data from the World Health Organization,² inSwaziland where 42.6% have HIV, only 5% of the population isCatholic. In Botswana, where 37% of the adult population isHIV infected, only 4% of the population is Catholic. In SouthAfrica, 22% of the population is HIV infected, and only 6% isCatholic. In Uganda, with 43% of the population Catholic, theproportion . . . [Full text of this article]

Amin Abboud, bioethicist

Australasian Bioethics Information, Chatswood, NSW 2069, Australia a.abboud@unsw.edu.au

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