VATICAN CITY, March 20 (UPI) -- Sources near the top of the Vatican hierarchy tell a British newspaper that Pope Benedict XVI is "out of touch with the real world."
The pope is on his first trip to Africa this week. He caused an uproar by telling reporters as he traveled to Cameroon that condoms might aggravate the AIDS crisis.
In recent weeks, Benedict has also lifted the excommunication of a traditionalist English bishop who had made statements denying the Holocaust. The pope later said he was unaware of Richard Williamson's views and has ordered him to make a public retraction.
"He's out of touch with the real world," an unidentified Vatican insider told The Telegraph in an article published Friday. "On the condom issue, for example, there are priests and bishops in Africa who accept that condoms are a key part of the fight against AIDS and yet the pope adheres to this very conservative line that they encourage promiscuity. The Vatican is far removed from the reality on the ground."
The insider called Benedict's papacy "a disaster."
