The Lancet, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals, calls for Pope Benedict XVI to retract his science-distorting statement that condoms may "increase" the HIV/AIDS problem.
Concluding, it said [registration required]:
Whether the Pope's error was due to ignorance or a deliberate attempt to manipulate science to support Catholic ideology is unclear. But the comment still stands and the Vatican's attempts to tweak the Pope's words, further tampering with the truth, is not the way forward. When any influential person, be it a religious or political leader, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record. Anything less from Pope Benedict would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates, including many thousands of Catholics, who work tirelessly to try and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide.
The unusually strong position indicates how badly the post-facto attempt to rewrite the Pope's statement backfired, and how attempts to generate a scientific argument in his favor have failed.
Addendum
Dr. Kalpana Sabapathy, HIV advisor for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) explains the medical value of condoms.
Pharyngula applauds, of course.
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