Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Observations Yankee Doodling

The papal position on condoms and HIV

BMJ 2009; 338 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b1217 (Published 25 March 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1217

Rapid Response:

Re: Re: Evidence for Abstinence

This is a very late apology to Anne Williams.

I am sorry if I was rather caustic about her opinions on condoms and
Catholicism.

The Third World could not cope without the assistance of Catholic
medical workers such as herself.

The problem is that the Pope and the Vatican come across as too
repressive on sexual issues. There is no attempt at a middle way.
Catholicism pits itself against condoms, and so denies doctors a method of
defusing HIV. Religiosity without common sense is the enemy of compassion.

Malthus might have, quite cynically, defined HIV as one of nature's
cruel reactions to excess population. HIV is the number one enemy of the
modern world. HIV is an epidemiological bomb that may yet overwhelm the
planet. Without condoms, we cannot prevent it- or crippling
overpopulation.

Competing interests:
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

24 May 2009
Zekria Ibrahimi
psychiatric patient
Coombs Library