Pope says condom use by male prostitutes morally responsible

Pope said male prostitutes who use condoms may be beginning to act responsibly.

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. Its 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 entitled Light of the World: The Pope,the Church and the Signs of the Times,which is being released Tuesday. The Vaticans LOsservatore Romano ran excerpts Saturday.

Church teaching has opposed condoms because they provide artificial contraception. Benedict said 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.

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He used as a specific example male prostitutes,for whom contraception is not usually an issue,but did not mention married couples where one spouse is infected. Benedict drew the wrath of the UN,European governments and AIDS activists when,en route to Africa in 2009,he told reporters that the AIDS problem on the continent couldnt be resolved by distributing condoms. On the contrary,it increases the problem, he said then.

Peter Seewald,who interviewed Benedict,raised the Africa condom comments,asking him if it wasnt madness for the Vatican to forbid a high-risk population from using condoms. There may be a basis in the case of some individuals,as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom,where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralisation, Benedict said. The Vaticans spokesman,however,said that the comments were not revolutionary and the Church continues to forbid condom use.