I realize coming from a person who followed a legend, people shouldn’t compare people to their predecessors. Heck, I had to follow Chuck Buerger as Publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times. He was seen as the finest in his field. I know how Doug DeCinces – who replaced Brooks Robinson at third base for the Orioles—felt.

But, I can’t help but see the let down with Pope Benedict XVI following Pope John Paul II, who made enormous strides in some many areas. Obviously I care mostly about the healing of the Catholic-Jewish relations.  Pope Benedict XVI made a mistake concerning Bishop Richard Williamson’s Holocaust denial.

Now, Benedict XVI goes to Africa to tell Africans that condoms aren’t enough to prevent AIDS. Perhaps, he didn’t ask Bristol Palin’s views on the issue, but she’s proof that “abstinence only” education is not working. The result can be unwanted children for kids. But in Africa it results in death from AIDS, an epidemic that is destroying the continent.

I realize that John Paul II also was against birth control, which violates Church doctrines. However, I could overlook some of his issues, given how much he accomplished. (Besides, he wasn’t my spiritual leader.) It doesn’t help that Benedict seems so out of touch with our world.

According to the USA TODAY, the Pope told reporters, “’You can’t resolve [pregnancy] with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem.”

What would work? According to the article, “The pope said that a responsible and moral attitude toward sex would help fight the disease.”

In the meantime, millions more will die if they follow the dictates of this life-long papal appointment.