22 March 2009 - 17H18
Youths clash in Notre-Dame condom protest
Far-right youths carrying placards reading "leave my Pope alone" clashed with left-wing activists outside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris after the latter had thrown condoms on the square as worshippers were leaving Sunday mass.
AFP - Far-right youths clashed with left-wing activists who had gathered outside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Sunday to protest against Pope Benedict's opposition to condoms, a police source said.
About 30 ecologists and Communists threw condoms on the ground outside the cathedral, where worshippers were leaving Sunday mass.
One person was injured and three were arrested after clashes between the protesters and about 20 youths who the police source said were associated with the far-right and who were carrying placards saying "Leave my Pope alone".
Benedict said in Africa on Tuesday that the use of condoms was complicating the fight against AIDS, reaffirming the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to condoms.
The comments were criticised by French politicians from all parties.
Two surveys at the weekend showed the German-born pontiff's popularity in France has fallen sharply.
A CSA poll for Le Parisien said 57 percent had a bad opinion of Benedict compared to only 32 percent in September 2008. A separate IFOP poll for the Journal du Dimanche newspaper found 43 percent of French Catholics want him to leave.
The pope's comments came ahead of an AIDS action weekend in France. AIDS-awareness activists Act Up-Paris also organised a "die-in" outside Notre-Dame on Sunday. They carried portraits of the pontiff accompanied by the slogan "Benoit XVI Assasin."
"By refusing to allow the promotion of condoms, the Catholic Church has millions of deaths on its conscience," Act Up-Paris said in a statement.
Human Rights Minister Rama Yade said she was "dumbfounded" by the pope's comments. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called them "the opposite of tolerance and understanding".
France is traditionally a Catholic country, although less than 10 percent of the population attend Sunday mass. But about 200,000 people turned out for an open-air service in Paris last year when the pope visited the country.
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Comments
Pope is right
No condom saves you against AIDS if you have frequent sexual relations with persons you don't know well enough.
Chastity and sex within a marriage is the only answer.
I pray for the Pope and this French youths who defened Church from Communist insults.
Pope is lose
Condoms makes AIDS worse? NO WAY! Pope said without thinking. OR Did he want to be in the news?
pope
The point the pope is missing is that many cannot read or write.Many women live in illiteracy and their husbands come home after spending time with prostitutes. There is no morality in condemning people to die - it is easy fro those in wealthy countries to have choice but many inAfrica do n ot have a choice.
Further sex is not just about procreation it is also about pair bonding and love
hmm...
So let me see if I understand this - people are having sex with strangers, knowing there is an AIDS epidemic, and Catholic church should have "millions of deaths on its conscience"?? How about personal responsibility? How about the affected countries doing some education about AIDS?
re
to anonyme " to protect from disease like pregnancy" ?! that's a sad formulation...
More seriously, this "action" from the left activists is pure provocation... what need did they have to come after church and attack the believers as if they all agreed with the Pope and were all irresponsible or uneducated ? they clearly targeted the wrong persons. I'm catholic, I listen to the Pope but it doesn't mean I can't think on my own.
We still have our own opinion, the Pope is here for guidance and advice but he is no God... But if some do consider that condoms are not the solution to fight Aids, it doesn't mean they go reckless, being from the "far-right" or "conservatives", then they probably follow abstinence.
What I want to say is that we are one church yes but we are individuals first and to blame catholics for the Pope's words is pointless. Thanks for your help but we can think on our own and we do not need you to "open our eyes".
pope is not GOD
The Pope is not GOD. Who does he think he is?
He has no right to preach on issues of abortion and condoms.
Every woman has the right to make her own decision on abortion.
The Pope is against abortion even if the woman has been raped
or any factors that has affected her personal decision to abort.
The use of condoms is to prevent AIDS,unwanted births, disease and so forth.
The world should not view the Pope's every words as if he is the voice of "God"
Because he is not God. Is he gay?
Im-pope-r
The pope has demonstrated massive irresponsibility with his words. Not only do condoms protect against diseases like pregnancy, AIDS, and countless others, they help protect those that matter most to our society - our future. Abstinence does NOTHING but cloud the true issue: Education.
Don't hide under the sand.
ha
Its funny that the pope said that specifically "condoms wont solve aids in africa"
What is the funniest part of it is that its true.....ONLY abstinence can...
Church's teaching
The catholic church doesn't force anyone to use or not to use condoms. People are free to do whatever they want. The church only teaches that using condoms and other contraceptives violates human dignity. Agree or not we cannot demand that the catholic pope will promote using of condoms. If he did so he would encourage people to activities which break church's teaching. I agree with Benedict XVI when he says that condoms do not solve the problem of AIDS - they temporarily prevent the disease form spreading, but in longer perspective they strengthen a way of life which is not only immoral from catholic point of view but also carries a risk of getting the virus.
Media Intoxication
According to this report, when somebody is catholic, he/she votes far-right. How could the journalist know that? Did they show them their Front National membership card?
Seriously, journalists have to stop stereotypes such as, catholic = Front National (far-right party) or muslim = islamist.