Sunday, November 21, 2010
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY
Pope Benedict XVI has opened the door on the previously taboo subject of condoms as a way to fight HIV, saying male prostitutes who use condoms may be beginning to act responsibly. It’s a stunning comment for a pontiff who has blamed condoms for making the AIDS crisis worse.
The pope made the comments in an interview with a German journalist published as a book titled “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times,” which is being released Tuesday. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano ran excerpts Saturday.
Church teaching long has opposed condoms because they are a form of artificial contraception, although the Vatican never has released an explicit policy about condoms and HIV. The Vatican has been harshly criticized for its position.
Benedict said that condoms are not a moral solution to stopping AIDS. But he said in some cases, such as for male prostitutes, their use could represent a first step in assuming moral responsibility “in the intention of reducing the risk of infection.”
Benedict made the comment in response to a general question about Africa, where the heterosexual spread of HIV is rampant.
He used as a specific example male prostitutes, for whom contraception is not usually an issue, but did not mention married couples in which one spouse is infected. The Vatican has come under pressure from even church officials to condone condom use for such monogamous married couples to protect the uninfected spouse from transmission.
Elsewhere in the book, he reaffirmed church teaching opposing artificial contraception.
He reiterated the church’s position that abstinence and marital fidelity are the only sure way to prevent HIV.