Religious Doctrine Trumping Science
According to this story on MSNBC.com, Archbishop Francisco Chimoio claims that two European nations are trying to kill off Africans by providing condoms that are already infected with the virus:
I know of two countries in Europe who are making condoms with (the) virus on purpose, they want to finish with African people as part of their program to colonize the continent, Archbishop Francisco Chimoio told Reuters.
He refuses to name the countries and he also provides no evidence, thus there is nothing here that can actually be investigated, but it is not hard to discover what’s going on. Catholics are opposed to condoms and would prefer abstinence as the means of combatting [tag]HIV/AIDS[/tag]. In fact I would prefer abstinence as a means of fighting the disease because it’s absolutely sure–if you practice it. But the fact is that the human factor cannot be ignored, and thus in practical terms, condoms must be part of any strategy to combat AIDS.
The sort of claims made by this Bishop Chimoio are extremely irresponsible, and I believe represent a case of religious doctrine trumping science.
Perhaps it’s an attempt to scare people into not sinning, rather like the stories around when I was young that certain other supposedly sinful activities would make you blind. Of course it won’t work. There are two ways which do work to stop people sinning: provide a non-sinful alternative which is really and genuinely advantageous; or change their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. On the latter, see here.