Abstinence ‘best way’ to fight AIDS

POPE Benedict XVI told African bishops yesterday that abstinence is the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV, reiterating the Catholic Church’s teaching to the prelates from a continent ravaged by the virus.

“It is of great concern that the fabric of African life, its very source of hope and stability, is threatened by divorce, abortion, prostitution, human trafficking and a contraceptive mentality, all of which contribute to a breakdown in sexual morality,” Pope Benedict said.

The Pope met bishops from South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho. He has met previously with bishops from Burundi and Rwanda since assuming the papacy on April 19, but it was the first time he took up the problem of the AIDS epidemic on the continent.