The Pope takes Journalists' Questions

The Pope took some time on his airplane trip to Africa to answer journalists' questions. From Pope Replies to Question from Journalists from EWTN Just so you know where he coming from on the condom issue, here is a tidbit:

"It is my belief believe that the most effective presence on the front in the battle against HIV/AIDS is in fact the Catholic Church and her institutions. ... The problem of HIV/AIDS cannot be overcome with mere slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem. The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanisation of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly, true friendship, above all with the suffering, a readiness - even through personal sacrifice - to stand by those who suffer".

For all the concern secular humanists talk about in their concern for the sufferings of their fellow men, their concern to care for the whole person does not come through. Suffering people seem to be left without hope to be cared for spiritually as well as physically. Many times they are approached with ideas of the culture of death including abortion, euthanasia and no hope that destructive behaviors can not be turned away from. There is no real answer to the subject of death. The message of the Church is the culture of life.