What does Benedict XVI propose to combat AIDS in Africa?

On March 17, 2009, during a press conference on his flight from Rome to Yaoundé, Cameroon, to present the working document for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, Benedict XVI responded to a question about condoms and AIDS prevention. His answer caused a media uproar in the Western world.

The Pope affirmed that the solution to AIDS does not consist in the distribution of condoms, but rather in the "humanization" of sexuality.

He said, "the problem [of AIDS] cannot be overcome by the distribution of prophylactics: on the contrary, they increase it. The solution must have two elements: firstly, bringing out the human dimension of sexuality, that is to say a spiritual and human renewal that would bring with it a new way of behaving towards others, and secondly, true friendship offered above all to those who are suffering, a willingness to make sacrifices and to practice self-denial, to be alongside the suffering."

The role of condoms in the battle against AIDS is a recurring theme for critics of the Church, particularly critics of the most recent two Pontiffs, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. But in this polemic, the underlying issue is left aside: For the Church, the key in the fight against AIDS is sexuality lived in a dignified and responsible way.

Two years later, from Nov. 18 to 20, 2011, the Pope again traveled to Africa, this time to present the results of the 2009 synod, compiled in the apostolic exhortation "Africae Munus." In this document, the Pope explicitly took up the issue of AIDS in two articles, Nos. 72 and 73. There, he reiterated the position of the Church on the need for a change of sexual conduct as the best prevention for AIDS. He also emphasized the importance of research and medical treatments made accessible to all.

“The problem of AIDS, in particular, clearly calls for a medical and pharmaceutical response. This is not enough, however: the problem goes deeper. Above all, it is an ethical problem. The change of behavior that it requires -- for example, sexual abstinence, rejection of sexual promiscuity, fidelity within marriage -- ultimately involves the question of integral development, which demands a global approach and a global response from the Church” (“Africae Munus,” No. 72).

It is noteworthy that the postsynodal apostolic exhortation does not have a specific section on the issue of AIDS, but rather included it implicitly in the whole of Chapter 2, which is about the person, the family and the society. The Pope emphasized the role of the family and marriage (Nos. 42-68), and warned against the “distortion of the very notion of marriage and family, devaluation of maternity and trivialization of abortion, easy divorce and the relativism of a 'new ethics'" (“Africae Munus,” No. 43).

The Pope insisted particularly on two elements: the defense of life and the education of children. Both themes are found under the same section, which is titled “The Protection of Life.” In fact, it is quite significant that the sections in which the Pope discussed AIDS (Nos. 72-73) are preceded by two points (70-71) in which he spoke clearly of the Church's stand against contraception and abortion. Nos. 74-78 are dedicated to the importance of education.

Later, within the section on the Church's apostolate, Benedict XVI said, “As far as pandemics are concerned, while financial and material resources remain indispensable, seek also constantly to form and inform people, especially the young” (“Africae Munus,” No. 140).

As mentioned, "Africae Munus" is the exhortation that was written after the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, held in October 2009. The synod's final message dealt with these issues in Articles 30-31. The bishops made reference to “surreptitious attempts” from international aid agencies “to destroy and undermine the precious African values of family and human life.” Above all, they noted the “obnoxious Art. 14 of the Maputo Protocol,” regarding sexual and reproductive rights “and other similar proposals.”

The bishops warned that the problem of AIDS “cannot be overcome by the distribution of prophylactics,” and they emphasized the “success already obtained by programs that propose abstinence among those not yet married, and fidelity among the married. Such a course of action not only offers the best protection against the spread of this disease but is also in harmony with Christian morality.”

The principles of "Africae Munus" follow the same guidelines for the fight against AIDS that has always been proposed by the Church's magisterium. The Holy See reaffirmed these teachings in various statements and meetings between May and June of 2011, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the first diagnosis of AIDS. Among these interventions, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt's June 10, 2011, address at the U.N. High Level meeting on HIV/AIDS is noteworthy. The Holy See's permanent observer at the U.N. spoke of the importance of promoting “the inherent dignity of the human person,” especially in the sexual realm.

In "Africae Munus," the Pope gave great importance to the family and family ethics as the center of integral development. When he was still the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI) published a document, “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World” (May 2004), in which he spoke about the relationship between spouses as the foundation for a family morality.

In "Africae Munus," the Pope addressed African men and women specifically and separately. To women, he directed five points (Nos. 55-59), and to men, four (51-54).

Regarding women, the Pope affirmed, “The Church and society need women to take their full place in the world.” And he deplores that “overall, women’s dignity and rights as well as their essential contribution to the family and to society have not been fully acknowledged or appreciated.”

The Pope lamented that women “are often afforded fewer opportunities than men and boys. [...] There are still too many practices that debase and degrade women in the name of ancestral tradition.” And he adds that the Church “has the duty to contribute to the recognition and liberation of women, following the example of Christ’s own esteem for them.”

He asked women to “continue to defend life,” and he tells them that it is necessary to “create a ‘human ecology’ through your sympathetic love, your friendly and thoughtful demeanor, and finally through mercy.” With these reflections and exhortations, the Pope placed himself in continuation with John Paul II's “Mulieris Dignitatem,” which spoke of the “feminine genius” in the humanization of society (“Mulieris Dignitatem,” Nos. 30, 31).

In “Africae Munus,” the Pope underlined for men the importance of their role as husbands and educators of their children: He invited Catholic men “to make a real contribution to the human and Christian upbringing of their children, and to the welcoming and protection of life from the moment of conception,” as well as “to adopt a Christian style of life, rooted and grounded in love.” He urged them to be not afraid “to demonstrate tangibly that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for those one loves,” and to “serve as an effective antidote to traditional practices which are contrary to the Gospel and oppressive to women in particular.”

In addressing men and women separately, the Pope modeled "Africae Munus" on the outline of the Message to the People of God of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, dated Oct. 23, 2009, which also addressed a special, separate message to men and then to women. In Article 25 of that document, the bishops spoke of the need for a greater promotion of women's equality, one that ensures “that the good ideas are not high jacked by the peddlers of foreign and morally poisonous ideologies about gender and human sexuality.” In Article 26, the bishops asked men to fulfill their “important roles as responsible fathers and good and faithful husbands.”

It is also helpful to recall the message Benedict XVI directed to Catholic movements for the promotion of women during his trip to Cameroon and Angola in 2009. He spoke of man and woman, “both called to live in profound communion through a reciprocal recognition of one another and the mutual gift of themselves, working together for the common good through the complementary aspects of masculinity and femininity. Who today can fail to recognize the need to make more room for the 'reasons of the heart'? In a world like ours, dominated by technology, we feel the need for this feminine complementarity, so that the human race can live in the world without completely losing its humanity.”

The Church affirms that the battle against AIDS in Africa requires high-quality medical treatment at a price accessible to all those affected. Solidarity among the international community is indispensable in reaching the goals in this fight. Monsignor Jean-Marie Mupendawatu, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, enumerated some of these goals in a July 16, 2011, interview with L'Osservatore Romano. He mentioned free distribution of antiretroviral medication to all those infected, the promotion of training for medical personnel, and teaching and training for the people, an increase in laboratories equipped for analysis, diagnosis and treatment, the establishment of an efficient network to facilitate transport, and the improvement of prevention methods in a framework of adequate education.

In "Africae Munus," Benedict XVI strongly encouraged institutes and programs dedicated to therapeutic and pharmaceutical research, which are working to eradicate pandemics. He told them to “spare no effort to arrive at results as swiftly as possible, out of love for the precious gift of life,” and he expressed his hope that “you discover solutions and provide everyone with access to treatments and medicines, taking account of uncertain situations” (No. 73).

The Pope added: “The Church is eager to see the globalization of solidarity progress to the point where it inscribes ‘in commercial relationships the principle of gratuitousness and the logic of gift as an expression of fraternity,’ while avoiding the temptation to regard globalization as the only lens through which to view life, culture, politics and the economy, and fostering an ongoing ethical respect for the variety of human situations in the interests of effective solidarity” (No. 86).

The Church's call to solidarity is constant. It is a call sounded at various levels, from specific statements made by priests and bishops, to discourses delivered by Vatican representatives at the United Nations, to magisterial documents.

Blessed John Paul II, for example, spoke to participants in a 1999 conference on the Church and AIDS, noting the “fraternal generosity of very many men and women of good will who are moved by the example of the Good Samaritan to come to the help, with suitable instruments, of these sick people, being responsible for them until their complete cure or a serene death.”

Regarding the specific ways in which this solidarity should be manifested, the Church calls international bodies and nongovernmental organizations to complete transparency. For example, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the Holy See's permanent observer at the United Nations affirmed that access to financing should not be limited by “ideologically preconceived notions.” In his intervention before the High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in June 2011, he said financing should be based on the “ability of organizations to provide safe, affordable and effective care to those who are in need."

Benedict XVI highlighted in “Africae Munus” (as he did in “Light of the World” and on many other occasions, especially during his two trips to Africa)  the “wonderful and important work” of Church institutions in service of those affected by AIDS. According to some estimates, the Church is the provider of more than 25% of all services that support the prevention of HIV/AIDS and treat the some 33 million already infected. The Holy Father noted the difficulties the Church organizations face in their work, citing the increasing number of sick people, the lack of material and financial resources, and the withdrawal of organizations that previously had supported them. But the Pope encouraged the Church in Africa to “strive to see in each sick person a suffering member of Christ’s Body,” and to work “in compliance with the Church’s ethical norms.”