HIV AIDS, The Church and Contraception

It was almost 12 years ago, back in school, when teachers first told us about HIV AIDS - and how it threatens to be a disease which will cause a great numbers of deaths in the coming years.

Africa was said to be the continent which had maximum numbers of people affected by AIDS. And even today, that is the case.

The chart below shows that more than 65% of people living with HIV AIDS stay in Africa.

What caused HIV AIDS to be prevalent in Africa? 

I vaguely remember reading an article somewhere, really long time back, which said that lack of usage of contraception was one of the major cause of AIDS in Africa.

And what caused this scarcity? As I recollect, the scarcity was artificial. The actual cause - the Church did not promote the usage of contraceptives.

Rather, "Did not promote" would be a wrong word - actually it was "Did not encourage"!!

For years, I wondered what made the Church not encourage a means which would prevent such a deadly disease.

Well, things became clear on Sunday 4th April 2010, when I read this news article.

The reasons stunned me!! They are quoted below

The Church opposes contraception, because it believes it interferes with the creation of life.

Any form of birth control that might interfere with conception, such as condoms or the Pill, is regarded as sinful by the Catholic Church. 

The Church also argues that, in any case, all children should be welcomed as a gift from God. 

Will it be too harsh for me to say that the Church believed in not interfering with the creation of life, thereby interfering in the prevention of a deadly disease?