WORLD BRIEFING / BRITAIN
The Lancet medical journal accused Pope Benedict XVI of distorting scientific evidence in his statement that condoms worsen the AIDS crisis. It said he should retract the comments.
During a trip to Africa last week, the pope told reporters, “You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms.†He then added, “On the contrary, it increases the problem.â€
In the latest issue of the prestigious British medical journal, the editors wrote that the pope “publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine on this issue.â€
The Vatican has said the pope was expressing a long-standing Vatican position and that he wanted to stress that a reliance on condoms distracted from the need for proper education in sexual conduct.
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