Doctors, nurses, social workers and volunteers who have spent so many yrs. in Africa, promoting the use of condoms, family planning and the prevention of disease,(gonorrhea,syphillis, HIV-AIDS)have every right to be stunned and angry about the current Pope’s message to NOT use condoms and that condoms are part of the problem. One very good reason for Africans to use birth control is that there is famine, and out of control genocide. There isn’t enough food for the people who inhabit Africa, without adding more babies. Huge numbers of children in their first decade of life are severely malnourished. Since the R.C. church doesn’t want to be part of the solution, the Pope should refrain from making his ignorant statements which will jeopardize gains of all the hard working relief workers. There isn’t even clean water for many Africans. It has embarassed me that the R.C. Church has not sold a few of their gold altar acoutrements for the purpose of donating to this continent of awesome poverty and disease. I recently viewed a museum exhibition called Vatican Splendors. There were 8th. century mosaics, gold chalices encrusted with jewels as well as vestments encrusted with jewels and embroidered with gold thread. The monetary value of this small exhibit was unfathomable. I was embarassed. Know what..only nuns take a vow of poverty! Not priests!

Today, I have read two articles in the Jesuit magazine publication “America”. In an article by Howard J. Hubbard called “Fighting Poverty to Build Peace.” “Our nation’s (USA) internal economic struggles threaten to turn our focus inward rather than internationally. Pope Benedict’s focus on poverty around the world proposes a much more global vision. He points out a different way forward, a way inspired by the Prince of Peace. Humanity, Pope Benedict reminds us, is one family in God. Pope Benedict lives on a different planet than we do. What is HE and what is the CATHOLIC CHURCH going to do to fight poverty and starvation in Africa? He can start selling some of the loot!! What good is it doing sitting in the Vatican and in museums? He also needs to keep his personal opinions about condoms and other birth control to himself. Decades have been spent educating people in these practices to limit family size and disease.

In the second article that has my blood pressure rising, it is stated “On pro-life issues, Vatican officials said they hoped Obama, who is seen as a deft politician, would not pick unnecessary fights with the church. ” Well, I’m certain it isn’t President Obama who will be picking the fights” Whatever happened to the separation of church and state? Do we hear from other religious groups pressuring the US government to carry out the ideology of their churches religions? If the Catholic church sticks their nose in the politics of a country, shouldn’t they be taxed? The article further states that the Vatican is closely watching Obama’s choice of a new US ambassador to the Vatican. A Vatican official dismissed a report that the Vatican in a nod toward conservative Catholics, will veto the appointment of any high profile Catholic supporter of Obama. Once again, I point out..separation of church and state. I hope Barack Obama appoints no one. I think an appointment is inappropriate. How can we go about taxing the meddling churches?

A very huge embarrasment created by this Pope was the reinstating of a handful of priests who had been put on some kind of inactive status. One of these priests, monsignor or whatever his higher status was, firmly believes and comments that Jews were never killed in gas chambers by the Nazis!!! I forget what the others did. Well, Pope Benedict XVI reinstated these men to their previous liturgical status!! EMBARASSING, uninformed, very questionable judgement. Weeks later…after much ado, the Pope recinded his decision about these priests. Is the Pope impaired cerebrally? The debacle over condom use in Africa came shortly after that. This Pope is not representative of my feelings or the feelings of many Catholics and one wonders if he is out of touch with reality.