The Catholic Church's Dangerous Comments about HIV/AIDS
Officials with the Catholic Church have long found themselves in hot water when it comes to the subject of HIV/AIDS. A few years back, Pope Benedict XVI made the audacious claim that safe-sex doesn't help stop the spread of HIV, and urged people to give up condoms. For that position, Pope Benedict XVI was termed a global health nightmare, and drew a heaping pile of rebukes, including a scathing editorial in The Lancet.Several years later, a senior Catholic official again finds himself in a firestorm of criticism over comments related to HIV/AIDS. This time it's the Archbishop of Brussels, André-Joseph Léonard, who was appointed to his position by Pope Benedict XVI. What does Archbishop Léonard think about HIV?
He thinks that people who contract HIV deserve it for their immoral actions. For Archbishop LĂ©onard, HIV is "a sort of inherent justice" for people because of their sexuality. And he's completely serious.
"Maybe human love also responds when she is treated badly, without the need of a transcendent source," LĂ©onard said, according to several journalists who have just released a book detailing several interviews with the Archbishop. "Badly handling physical nature causes it to treat us badly in turn, and badly dealing with the deeper nature of human love will ultimately always lead to catastrophes on all levels."
Same-sex love? That's a catastrophe according to the Archbishop. And HIV/AIDS? Just the Earth's way of taking vengeance out on gay people.
Somewhere, Pat "Gay people caused 9/11" Robertson and John "Gay people caused Hurricane Katrina" must be smiling, because they've got a new, fringe clergyman to join their ranks.
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