Originally Posted by SecretMethod70

That's not to say that it's considered acceptable to ignore the pope's teachings - he's still the leader of the church after all - but it's important to understand when the pope is and is not considered infallible, especially since the Catholic church also holds personal conscience in high regard.
Very many I can agree with, but I don't think it's most by any means. Again, the fastest growing regions for Catholicism are Africa and then South America. Granted there is the whole issue of liberation theology in South America (thanks for pointing that out roachboy - it's a big part of that "potential" I spoke about in my first post), but for the most part Catholics in those regions take church leadership rather seriously. And then there are still plenty of people in America and Europe who take it seriously. I've always found it interesting, as someone who was raised Catholic, but rather liberally, how often I have come across conservative Catholics, or people who have experienced more conservative Catholicism and have formed their opinions of the church based on that. And I think it's a big reason why, while I no longer consider myself a believer of any sort, I still see positive social potential within the Catholic church, even with the Vatican present. I don't think it's moving in that direction at all, and so I agree that the Vatican is outdated, but it is not even close to being irrelevant. There are still a LOT of Catholics who listen to it.

That's about all I have to add at this point, because I agree pretty much 100% with roachboy here. There's no doubt that less sex would also help the AIDS issue, but that's no reason to oppose distribution of condoms, and the proper context is necessary for the pope's statements, which includes why he reaches such a conclusion.