'The Pope is either stupid, ignorant or wicked'

I know it's April Fools' Day, but this is serious. Richard Dawkins has described the Pope as "stupid" for claiming that the use of condoms could increase Africa's Aids problem. Professor Dawkins, the prominent biologist and atheist, has said that Pope Benedict XVI would have blood on his hands if his beliefs were followed by Catholics around the continent.

Speaking at a university in Spain, he said: "I wonder on what basis anyone can say condoms make Aids worse. The Pope is either stupid, ignorant or wicked. If people take his words seriously he will be responsible for the deaths of thousands, perhaps millions of people."

Last month Pope Benedict told reporters that condoms were not a solution and even "increase the problem" of Aids, as he arrived for a visit to Africa. In an editorial earlier this week, the Lancet, one of the world's best-known and most respected medical journals, called on the Pope to retract his statement and said his comments could be "devastating for the health of millions of people".

Meanwhile, playwright Hanif Kureishi, author of My Beautiful Laundrette, has told the BBC that 'most religious leaders are ignorant fools'.

Link: The Pope and Gays on Theology Now