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Catholic Leader: Condoms in Africa Carry HIV

Mozambican archbishop charges plot to kill Africans

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 27, 2007 12:19 PM CDT

(Newser) – Catholic opposition to condom use as an AIDS preventive in Africa took a bizarre turn yesterday when a respected archbishop in Mozambique charged that condoms imported from Europe had been deliberately infected with HIV. Maputo Archbishop Francisco Chimoio made his comments at an Independence Day celebration and reiterated them to the BBC.

Condom companies, he said, "want to finish with the African people" and "want to colonize" the continent. He refused to name the countries he suspected of the plot to kill Africans, and reiterated the church's position that the best way to fight the spread of AIDS is by encouraging fidelity and abstinence. Chimono's remarks infuriated anti-AIDS campaigners.  One in six Mozambicans is HIV-positive.

Church of Our Lady of Good Health, rebuilt in the early 19th century, Mozambique.
Church of Our Lady of Good Health, rebuilt in the early 19th century, Mozambique.   (AISA)
HIV-positive women march in Johannesburg.
HIV-positive women march in Johannesburg.   (AISA)
An anti-AIDS campaigner in Johannesburg.
An anti-AIDS campaigner in Johannesburg.   (News24)
We've been using condoms for years now, and we still find them safe, prominent Mozambican Aids activist Marcella Mahanjane told the BBC, in response to the volatile claim.
"We've been using condoms for years now, and we still find them safe," prominent Mozambican Aids activist Marcella Mahanjane told the BBC, in response to the volatile claim.   (Shutterstock.com)
They are making condoms with the virus on purpose, alleged the Archbishop Francisco Chimoio, adding They want to finish with the African people.
"They are making condoms with the virus on purpose," alleged the Archbishop Francisco Chimoio, adding "They want to finish with the African people."   (Shutterstock.com)
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