Pope Benedict XVI recently stirred up controversy in Cameroon during a Papal visit when fielding questions concerning the HIV/AIDS program and the Church’s prohibition on condoms and contraceptives. This is what he had to say:
“The problem of HIV/AIDS cannot be overcome with mere slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem. The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanisation of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly, true friendship, above all with the suffering, a readiness – even through personal sacrifice – to stand by those who suffer.”

While some may disagree with the Catholic Church’s stance on condoms, at least we can all agree that their solution is sound, especially seeing the effects of promiscuity all around us on campus. Sexuality must again be viewed as an act with depth than a mere moment of enjoyment. Two doctors, Joe McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush recently published their findings on the effects of promiscuity on teenage minds, and concluded that promiscuity can damage the brain’s emotional bonding mechanism, making it difficult for a teenager to form healthy, long-term relationships in the future. This bodes ill for the current generation determined to find pleasure in their sexual encounters, thinking these experiences have the depth of a relationship, only to discover they have never truly understood the meaning of a relationship, which is now, for them, forever lost.