"a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems"

Sounds like he's claiming that the distribution of condoms aggravates the problems to me.. Any other possible interpretations, anyone?

The quote supplied by Peter and supported by Smokey..... "A prestigious medical journal on Friday accused Pope Benedict of distorting scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine by saying that condoms increase the spread of AIDS."

That is the news report's description of the quote, not the actual quote.

Even the dimmest anti-religious bigot should be able to understand that the "problems" referred to by Pope Benedict, are the contradictions between facilitating promiscuity and promoting the idea that we should limit the number of sexual partners we have.

Dim though I may be, I can see that while that may be your interpretation, it may not be everyone else's. You have also neglected to quote the exact question he was replying to, making any interpretation rather groundless.

Seems to me that most on this thread are out to take a kick at "religion" rather than try to understand the complexity of the issue.

It doesn't really matter that it was the Pope that did this - it would have been wrong whoever had said it. This is not a religious issue, it is a medical one.