Pope again stresses abstinence to fight HIV

On Wednesday in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II again stressed the Catholic Church's teaching that abstinence is the best way to stop the sexual spread of HIV. In a written message for the church's World Day of the Sick, the pope described AIDS as "a pathology of the spirit" as well as a disease. Sexually transmitted cases of AIDS "are best avoided above all through responsible conduct and the observance of the virtue of chastity," the pontiff said. The Vatican maintains that condoms, because they are an artificial form of birth control, cannot be used to fight the spread of HIV. Last year a Vatican cardinal made headlines with his assertion that condoms do not prevent the transmission of HIV and may give a false sense of security. But a few months later another leading cardinal declared that an HIV-positive person would be committing a sin if he has sex and does not use a condom. The pope also praised drug manufacturers who are holding down the price of anti-HIV medicines. "Heartfelt applause is due the pharmaceutical industries which have committed themselves to keeping at low costs medicines useful in AIDS therapy," John Paul said. "Certainly, you need economic resources for scientific research in the health field and other resources are also necessary to market the discovered drugs, but when faced with an emergency like AIDS, safeguarding of human life must come before any other form of consideration." (AP)