Francis on Condoms and AIDS

Yesterday I had a short-lived post up about Pope Francis in which I took issue with his word-salad response to a loaded question about condom usage on his airplane presser on his way back from Africa.  I subsequently deleted the post because in retrospect it was in poor taste.  I say that on the off chance that someone actually saw that before it came down (which I doubt given the light traffic on this blog). It was fortuitous that I did because today I came to a possible insight.

Here's the relevant portion of the interview.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-of-popes-in-flight-interview-from-africa-to-rome-48855/

Juergen Baetz, DPA (Germany): Your Holiness, HIV is ravaging Africa. Medication means more people now live longer, but the epidemic continues. In Uganda alone there were 135,000 new infections of HIV, in Kenya it’s worse. It’s the greatest cause of death in Africa. Your Holiness, you have met with HIV positive children, you heard a moving testimony in Uganda. Yet you have said very little on the issue. We know that prevention is key. We know that condoms are not the only method of solving the epidemic, but it’s an important part of the answer. Is it not time for the Church to change it’s position on the matter? To allow the use of condoms to prevent more infections?

Pope Francis: The question seems too small to me, it also seems like a partial question. Yes, it’s one of the methods. The moral of the Church on this point is found here faced with a perplexity: the fifth or sixth commandment? Defend life, or that sexual relations are open to life? But this isn’t the problem. The problem is bigger...this question makes me think of one they once asked Jesus: “Tell me, teacher, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Is it obligatory to heal?” This question, “is doing this lawful,” … but malnutrition, the development of the person, slave labor, the lack of drinking water, these are the problems. Let’s not talk about if one can use this type of patch or that for a small wound, the serious wound is social injustice, environmental injustice, injustice that...I don’t like to go down to reflections on such case studies when people die due to a lack of water, hunger, environment...when all are cured, when there aren’t these illnesses, tragedies, that man makes, whether for social injustice or to earn more money, I think of the trafficking of arms, when these problems are no longer there, I think we can ask the question “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Because, if the trafficking of arms continues, wars are the biggest cause of mortality...I would say not to think about whether it’s lawful or not to heal on the Sabbath, I would say to humanity: “make justice,” and when all are cured, when there is no more injustice, we can talk about the Sabbath.

 This is simply terrible.  It wanders all over the place touching on every subject except that which the reporter asked about. It's like a politician speaking.  It has been interpreted as Francis downplaying the Church's teaching on condoms.

However, I think the key to understanding this is the first line.  I think that Francis here is saying that there are a lot of problems in Africa and condoms aren't going to solve them.  One of those problems is AIDS but there are many more.  I believe that Francis is saying "With all the problems in Africa, why are you so focused on condoms?  Is sex all that you can think about?"  Note the questioner was from Germany, the land that is trying to normalize all sorts of sexual behavior.

As far as all the other stuff about arms trafficking and environmentalism and pharisees, I think that's Francis just filling the air with his own hobby horses because he finds the question irrelevant.

I don't know if it's correct, but it's a possible interpretation. I'm trying to give Francis the benefit of the doubt (which I wasn't last night). I'm more willing to be wrong in giving him the benefit of the doubt than I am in accusing him of saying something he didn't mean to say.