An Open Letter To Melinda Gates By Fr. Tom Euteneuer (HLI)

[PLAL]

An Open Letter To Melinda Gates

Dear Mrs. Gates:

For many years the world has paid close attention to the foundation that bears your name. No one faults you or your husband for funding excellent programs to keep kids in school and assisting with the advancement of healthcare for the Third World, but the real concern of people of faith has been how the Gateses will use their money when it comes to fighting AIDS, something your husband has called “Public Enemy #1.”

If there had been any doubt about it up to this point, your recent address to the 16th World Conference on AIDS in Toronto settled that question. You are using your high-profile position and extreme wealth to push condoms as a solution to this deadly disease, and that, quite frankly, is irresponsible.

For the moment, we’ll overlook the fact that your opinion is clearly at odds with the defined teaching of your own Church, and we’ll focus on the latex “solution” to AIDS from a purely pragmatic point of view. If you are so sure of your position then please show us any actual success of the condom as a solution to the AIDS pandemic in the last quarter century — any. The tidal wave of ideological rhetoric delivered at the World AIDS Conference does not constitute real proof that condoms have worked to stop the spread of AIDS. In fact, all the evidence is against you.

MUST READ ENTIRE LETTER: MORE…

catholicexchange.com/vm/index.asp?vm_id=1&art_id=34228

 

[estesbob]

Amen!

 

[bones_IV]

The thing that surprises me is that people can think that 1+1=2 is the same thing as 1+2=3. I get sick of hearing about how promoting abstinence will not stop the spread of AIDS. I guess the Vatican must have been on crack when they wrote Humanae Vitae. Melinda Gates and her husband, in my opinion, went on an acid trip when they decided to say that condoms will help stop the spread of AIDS. I’m like “Hello, anybody home?” Father John Corapi was right when he said, “Don’t be so open minded that your brains fall out.” St. Augustine said it best, “Sin blinds the conscience.”

 

[KathleenElsie]

I am confused.

It seems logical to me that when you stop doing something you stop the end results. Thus no SEX no spread of AIDS. Condoms only encourage the actions and thus allow the spread of the virus.

 

[blessedtoo]

I am confused.

It seems logical to me that when you stop doing something you stop the end results. Thus no SEX no spread of AIDS.

I don’t think you’re confused. I think you’ve got it!

 

[bones_IV]

I don’t think you’re confused. I think you’ve got it!

And if anyone tells you anything else they’re a liar!

 

[magicianXVI]

I am confused.

It seems logical to me that when you stop doing something you stop the end results. Thus no SEX no spread of AIDS. Condoms only encourage the actions and thus allow the spread of the virus.

This is a typical head in the sand answer which ignores African cultures and their way of living. A woman has no choice but to have sex with her husband. If he is infected, she will most likely become infected and so will any children conceived. If, however, he wears a condom, she and her fetus at least will be spared.
You have no right to impose a summary death sentence on people you don’t know, a culture you don’t understand, and a way of life that you have absolutely no connection to.
Arrogance at its height.

 

[CatholicCid]

This is a typical head in the sand answer which ignores African cultures and their way of living. A woman has no choice but to have sex with her husband. If he is infected, she will most likely become infected and so will any children conceived. If, however, he wears a condom, she and her fetus at least will be spared.
You have no right to impose a summary death sentence on people you don’t know, a culture you don’t understand, and a way of life that you have absolutely no connection to.
Arrogance at its height.

What would be the most likely way the husband got AIDS?

 

[blessedtoo]

This is a typical head in the sand answer which ignores African cultures and their way of living. ** A woman has no choice but to have sex with her husband. If he is infected, she will most likely become infected and so will any children conceived. If, however, he wears a condom, she and her fetus at least will be spared.**You have no right to impose a summary death sentence on people you don’t know, a culture you don’t understand, and a way of life that you have absolutely no connection to.
Arrogance at its height.

Abstinence and chastity education is not reserved for the women alone. The men particularly need to be enlightened about this issue. If a man, in any culture, is taught to respect and love his wife in the manner God intended, perhaps he would not insist on taking risks with her life. Are you implying that there are certain cultures who are incapable of comprehending such a concept?

 

[jediliz]

good letter. Is Melinda Gates “Catholic”? Or is she a “John Kerry” type Catholic (only agrees with what suits her).

Which African country is it that does the AbstinenceBeforeMarriageCondomsAsALastResort?

There’s nothing wrong with teaching chastity. But often people think of it as religiously based rather than common sense based. And that’s why secularized people hate Chastitiy, Abstience and Celibacy.

 

[magicianXVI]

The man could have acquired AIDS through multiple venues, including a blood transfusion, which is the most unlikely case.
However he contracted the disease, he has it, knows it and should not be required to sacrifice his and hers marital life when there is a safe method to avoid transmission.
And please don’t offer the “condoms don’t work” mantra. It’s a lot of bunk. If it was not, AIDS would not show decreased infection rates in places where condoms are widely used and statistics have been gathered.

You can preach abstinence; you can’t enforce it. And you can’t penalize people with death because they don’t agree with your method of “vaccine”.

 

[bones_IV]

The man could have acquired AIDS through multiple venues, including a blood transfusion, which is the most unlikely case.
However he contracted the disease, he has it, knows it and should not be required to sacrifice his and hers marital life when there is a safe method to avoid transmission.
And please don’t offer the “condoms don’t work” mantra. It’s a lot of bunk. If it was not, AIDS would not show decreased infection rates in places where condoms are widely used and statistics have been gathered.

You can preach abstinence; you can’t enforce it. And you can’t penalize people with death because they don’t agree with your method of “vaccine”.

My dear fellow, nobody is suggesting death for disagreeing with abstinence. Do you have evidence to back this claim up? We can preach abstinence and it depends how people respond to grace. That’s the critical thing here.

 

[KathleenElsie]

The man could have acquired AIDS through multiple venues, including a blood transfusion, which is the most unlikely case.
However he contracted the disease, he has it, knows it and should not be required to sacrifice his and hers marital life when there is a safe method to avoid transmission.
And please don’t offer the “condoms don’t work” mantra. It’s a lot of bunk. If it was not, AIDS would not show decreased infection rates in places where condoms are widely used and statistics have been gathered.

You can preach abstinence; you can’t enforce it. And you can’t penalize people with death because they don’t agree with your method of “vaccine”.

Bunk? Condoms don’t work in many cases. They break, are used incorrectly in some cases and if disposed of carelessly can be a danger to those that handle them. How many millions have to die for “African cultural” reasons. The “throw a condom at it” is the easy way to make some people feel like they are doing something. Education and medical care take commitment, understanding and time.

When did it become a sacrifice to care enough for another human to avoid making others ill?

 

[bones_IV]

Bunk? Condoms don’t work in many cases. They break, are used incorrectly in some cases and if disposed of carelessly can be a danger to those that handle them. How many millions have to die for “African cultural” reasons. The “throw a condom at it” is the easy way to make some people feel like they are doing something. Education and medical care take commitment, understanding and time.

When did it become a sacrifice to care enough for another human to avoid making others ill?

My point exactly.

 

[magicianXVI]

Bunk? Condoms don’t work in many cases. They break, are used incorrectly in some cases and if disposed of carelessly can be a danger to those that handle them. How many millions have to die for “African cultural” reasons. The “throw a condom at it” is the easy way to make some people feel like they are doing something. Education and medical care take commitment, understanding and time.

When did it become a sacrifice to care enough for another human to avoid making others ill?

Yes, well if that message worked, there wouldn’t be the AIDS epidemic that is currently ravaging Africa and other parts of the world. The facts on the ground are that the message falls on deaf ears and condoms have a statistically significant impact on the spread of AIDS - whether they break occasionally or not.

 

[estesbob]

This is a typical head in the sand answer which ignores African cultures and their way of living. A woman has no choice but to have sex with her husband. If he is infected, she will most likely become infected and so will any children conceived. If, however, he wears a condom, she and her fetus at least will be spared.
You have no right to impose a summary death sentence on people you don’t know, a culture you don’t understand, and a way of life that you have absolutely no connection to.
Arrogance at its height.

You are the one that is buying into stereotypes-that is that Africans can not control their sexual lusts , are brutal to their women and cant be trusted to be responsble. The AIDS prevention programs that have worked best in Africa ALWAYS stressed abstinence and monogamy.

 

[magicianXVI]

You are the one that is buying into stereotypes-that is that Africans can not control their sexual lusts , are brutal to their women and cant be trusted to be responsble. The AIDS prevention programs that have worked best in Africa ALWAYS stressed abstinence and monogamy.

Give that line of bs to the dead, infected and soon to be infected listed below. You’re washing your hands of a human epidemic using blinders.

According to estimates from UNAIDS, an umbrella group for five U.N. agencies, the World Bank and the World Health Organization, 34.3 million people in the world have AIDS – 24.5 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 19 million have died from AIDS, 3.8 million of them children under the age of 15.

Among the other statistics:

5.4 million new AIDS infections in 1999, 4 million of them in Africa.
2.8 million dead of AIDS in 1999, 85 percent of them in Africa.
13.2 million children orphaned by AIDS, 12.1 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
Reduced life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa from 59 years to 45 between 2005 and 2010, and in Zimbabwe from 61 to 33.
More than 500,000 babies infected in 1999 by their mothers – most of them in sub-Saharan Africa

 

[bones_IV]

This is a typical head in the sand answer which ignores African cultures and their way of living. A woman has no choice but to have sex with her husband. If he is infected, she will most likely become infected and so will any children conceived. If, however, he wears a condom, she and her fetus at least will be spared.
You have no right to impose a summary death sentence on people you don’t know, a culture you don’t understand, and a way of life that you have absolutely no connection to.
Arrogance at its height.

Let’s see. The term “safe sex” does not exist. How can condoms block sperm let alone viruses? It doesn’t work. MagicianXVI, have you ever considered that promoting the use of condoms is like lying under oath? It’s like lying to the public about the war on terror. People with AIDS are about to believe any foolish thing that comes out of other’s mouths when it comes to talking about “safe sex.” Condom usage doesn’t prevent the disease does it? It only makes sexual contact more and more frequent. A woman may well “have to” have have sex with her husband. A comdom won’t keep her from getting AIDS. Why not attack cultural things – like the macho idea that having lots of sex outside marriage is a manly thing, or that having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS? Castity is not just a Catholic thing, it’s an everybody thing.

 

[estesbob]

Give that line of bs to the dead, infected and soon to be infected listed below. You’re washing your hands of a human epidemic using blinders.

According to estimates from UNAIDS, an umbrella group for five U.N. agencies, the World Bank and the World Health Organization, 34.3 million people in the world have AIDS – 24.5 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 19 million have died from AIDS, 3.8 million of them children under the age of 15.

You don’t need to quote statistics to show us how bad the AIDS epidemic in Africa is. And quite frankly i find it insulting that you believe anyone who disagrees with your “rampant promiscuity as long as they use condoms” solution is complicit in their deaths. You failed to answer the numerous posts showing you that Abstinence and monogamy have the best success rates in preventing AIDS. What is interesting is you post these death figures and failed to note these occurred AFTER billions and billions of condoms were dumped on the African Continent.

 

[magicianXVI]

You don’t need to quote statistics to show us how bad the AIDS epidemic in Africa is. And quite frankly i find it insulting that you believe anyone who disagrees with your “rampant promiscuity as long as they use condoms” solution is complicit in their deaths. You failed to answer the numerous posts showing you that Abstinence and monogamy have the best success rates in preventing AIDS. What is interesting is you post these death figures and failed to note these occurred AFTER billions and billions of condoms were dumped on the African Continent.

And you and others have failed to substantiate your claim that condoms are useless.

That abstinence has the best success rate is a no-brainer. However, it is an impractical solution to a pervasive problem.
You’re citing a fantasy world which has no connection to the reality of the human condition.
That’s why abstinence fails.
You may ignore reality; but reality does not ignore the suffering.