Pope faces unprecedented backlash for his anti-condom remarks

The leading and most prestigious London based medical journal The Lancet accused Pope Benedict XVI of distorting the science and endangering lives of millions, BBC reports.

It said the Pope's recent comments that condoms exacerbated the problem of HIV/AIDS were wildly inaccurate and could have devastating consequences. [...]

The Pope said "the traditional teaching of the Church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids". [...]

"Whether the Pope's error was due to ignorance or a deliberate attempt to manipulate science to support Catholic ideology is unclear," said the journal.

But is said the comment still stood and urged the Vatican to issue a retraction.

"When any influential person, be it a religious or political figure, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record," it said.

"Anything less from Pope Benedict would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates, including many thousands of Catholics, who work tirelessly to try and prevent the spread of HIV/Aids worldwide."

BBC says that "the attack from the Lancet was unprecedentedly virulent", and "the article shows how far the Pope's attempts to clarify the Vatican's position on condoms has backfired".

Pope's deadly comments have caused a Europe-wide (and world-wide) outrage. "The Pope is a disaster" - The Daily Telegraph. "Impeach the Pope" - The Washington Post.

*photo - Getty Images, via BBC