breaking the ice

Pope Benedict is considering whether to allow Catholics to wear a condom to protect themselves from AIDS. A study was carried out on the use of condoms, both from the scientific as well as the moral point of view. Vatican experts say the study is seen as a potential opening towards the use of condoms, which are strictly forbidden under current church rules.

The United Nations released its annual report on the spread of the disease on Tuesday. It said AIDS is spreading with worrisome signs of resurgence in some countries that were trumpeted as successes in combating it. But the prevalence of HIV among young people has declined in eight African countries, showing that prevention efforts can work.

An estimated 39.5 million people are now living with HIV, the report said. Of that total 4.3 million became infected this year. There have been 2.9 million AIDS deaths in 2006, the highest number reported in any year. The comparable figures in 2004 were 36.9 million living with HIV, 3.9 million new infections and 2.7 million deaths.

In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, infection rates have risen by more than 50 per cent since 2004. The number of new infections in the US has remained stable at 40,000. In China, official media reported that HIV/AIDS cases have grown by nearly 30 per cent this year.

Maybe it would indeed be time for the Catholic Church to get real.