"...let me stick up for Benedict"

“ The usual howls of derision and contempt have greeted Pope Benedict XVI’s comments, as he arrived for his first visit to Africa, that the HIV/ AIDS holocaust there ‘ is a tragedy that cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem.' "

“ The thrust of his outraged detractors is that he is a cruel and vindictive old man, out of touch with the real world and condemning millions in the undeveloped world to unspeakable suffering and premature death. So let me stick up for Benedict. He declares that the Church’s historic teaching that chastity outside marriage and fidelity within it would prevent the spread of killer diseases such as AIDS. Whatever your views on the subject, that simple statement is undoubtedly true. And Benedict is in the truth business."

--Rev George Pitcher, Anglican