The Calgary Catholic Teachers' Association will not be raising money for Steven Lewis' AIDS charity this year because the foundation supports condom for preventing HIV/AIDS.
The decision came after Pope Benedict XVI's said that condom use was actually exacerbating the problems of AIDS in Africa.
"The traditional teaching of the Church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids," the Pope said.
"AIDS/HIV cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem".
The Pope's comments, which came on his first official trip to Africa, sparked a flurry of criticism from scientists, AIDS workers, and the general public.
"It's been a difficult issue for us to deal with because it's been very divisive," said David Cracknell, president of the Calgary Catholic Teachers Association, referring to the Church's stance on birth control.
Calgary Bishop Frederick Henry spoke to the teachers and he suggested that they rethink their charity of choice considering the Pope's comments.
For the past four years, the teacher's orgnaization has raised money during Lent for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and its charity work in Africa.
"Teachers tend to go about their work very quietly and it was only because we were starting to become more and more successful that people were aware of it," Cracknell said.
The Lewis foundation has always supported the use of condoms and that does not seem to have been an issue for the teacher's association until this year.
"The main concern with the Stephen Lewis Foundation has been Stephen Lewis' position on birth control, which is contrary to what the Pope and the bishop have been teaching," Cracknell said.
Lewis spoke to CTV and was angry -- but at the bishop, not the teachers.
"This edict from the bishop really seems difficult to comprehend, that he has allowed doctrinal dogma to overshadow humanitarian efforts," Lewis said.
"He's harming orphans, he's harming grandmothers, he's harming women living with AIDS."
The foundation says it hopes that Calgary Catholic teachers continue to donate privately.
Bishop Henry was unavailable for comment Friday.
On Friday, one of the world's most presitiogus medical journals, the Lancet, said the Pope was distorting science with his remarks on condoms.
With a report from CTV's Janet Dirks
