Pope Benedict has, for the first time,
endorsed the use of condoms to prevent the spread of infection, the
Boston Herald reported.
In comments published in a book by a
German journalist, Benedict said that condoms could be justified for
male prostitutes for whom contraception isn't an issue.
While the pope added that condoms –
even in the case of gay HIV+ prostitutes – are not a moral
solution, Catholic activists worry that he has put the church's
long-standing opposition to condom use – and contraception – in
peril.
“The pope has suddenly created an
exception,” Peter Borre told the paper. “So the question is
going to come up: What about an exception for abortion, an exception
on homosexuality.”
“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 moralization, a
first assumption of responsibility,” Benedict said.
It's a “first step in a movement
toward a different way, a more human way of living sexuality,” he
added.
The Holly Father drew loud protests
last year when he said that Africa's HIV epidemic could not be
resolved with condoms.
“On the contrary, it increases the
problem,” he said.