AIDS in Africa

Thanks to Christopher Stefanick for his informative article about the pope, AIDS, and his critics (“The pope is right about AIDS in Africa,” April 15 Denver Catholic Register). This was the best article I have read as it provided discussion of actual and factual information on countries (mostly Catholic) that have emphasized abstinence and had good results, and compares them with countries that have relied on condom use with tragic results. One statistic stood out: “Condoms reduce the risk of contacting HIV by 85 percent.” It is not a gamble worth taking. It means that with a sufficient number of encounters using a condom you will contract HIV.
 
Paul J. Cella
Denver