The secret history of Catholic caregivers and the AIDS epidemic

[AtheistCrusader]

90. So, some individuals defied their official church position on an issue and did some nice work

while the church itself went on to MAKE SURE AIDS spread far and wide in Africa for decades and killed millions.

Pope John Paul II[edit]
John Paul II's position against artificial birth control, including the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV,[23] was harshly criticised by doctors and AIDS activists, who said that it led to countless deaths and millions of AIDS orphans.[24] Critics have also claimed that large families are caused by lack of contraception and exacerbate Third World poverty and problems such as street children in South America.
On 15 November 1989, John Paul II addressed the 4th International Conference of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers[25] in the following terms: "It seems profoundly damaging to the dignity of the human being, and for this reason morally illicit, to support a prevention of AIDS that is based on a recourse to means and remedies that violate an authentically human sense of sexuality, and which are a palliative to the deeper suffering which involve the responsibility of individuals and of society."[26] This was interpreted in May 1990 by the Roman Catholic bishops of Madagascar as a "solemn reminder" giving ground for their view that in the context of positions such as that of Cardinal Lustiger who stated that it was a "lesser evil", "the condom remains a 'moral evil'".[26]
In September 1990, John Paul II visited the small town of Mwanza, in northern Tanzania, and gave a speech that many believe set the tone for the AIDS crisis in Africa. Being unequivocal, he told his audience that condoms were a sin in any circumstances. He lauded family values and praised fidelity and abstinence as the only true ways to combat the disease.[27]
In December 1995, the Pontifical Council for the Family issued guidelines saying that "parents must also reject the promotion of so-called "safe sex" or "safer sex", a dangerous and immoral policy based on the deluded theory that the condom can provide adequate protection against AIDS."[28]

Yay. They are working hard (your article) to mitigate a small amount of the damage the Roman Catholic Church has directly caused.

The headline of the article you posted is a lie. It is not a 'secret history', it's simply over-shadowed by the Church's normal daylight activities.