Asymmetric Religion and Philosophy

As it pertains to the use of condoms in combating AIDS in Africa, the Pope is correct dogmatically, of course, but also from a social scientific perspective.

In short, condoms are useful in individual contacts, but can't replace the Christian message of chastity at a societal level.

Critics on Facebook would point out that the pope has an ulterior motive (it can't be called a "hidden agenda" as the intent is clear). They'd be right. The Church might still be against condoms even if they were effective in preventing AIDS on a mass scale.

But the pope isn't the only one with an agenda and the Catholic Church isn't the only institution to prioritize dogma. The other popular Western religious movement, environmentalism, has placed bird eggs above African babies for close to forty years by discouraging the use of DDT. They're efforts, usually by tying money to the non-use of DDT, have constituted a de facto ban on DDT that has resulted in millions of deaths (there is a time when environmentalists care quite a bit about malaria: when it spoons with another agenda, global warming).

Victim of environmentalists

To summarize the environmentalist mindset:

Global warming: little evidence, ambiguous impact (it may be positive), efforts to control it will be super-expensive (trillions upon trillions) and may not even have any effect- "Let's go for it!"

Malaria reduction through DDT: Cheap, guaranteed to save millions of lives- "no way!"

Mainstream evidence here, here, here, here, here, and here.