The Pope has said the use of condoms can be justified ‘in certain cases’. This statement is believed by many as breaking with years of Roman Catholic teaching.
Benedict XVI, in a book, signaled that contraceptives can be an acceptable mean for stopping the spread of AIDS.
From in.news.yahoo.com:
Extracts from the book, ‘Light of the world: The Pope, The Church, The Sign Of The Times,’ were published in the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, and were interpreted as a significant change in the Church’s teaching.
German journalist Peter Seewald has written the book.
In it the Pope cites the use of condoms by prostitutes as “a first step towards moralisation” even though condoms are “not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection”.
After the Pope first mentions that the use of condoms could be justified in limited cases, such as by prostitutes, Seewald asked in the book: “Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?” reports the Daily Mail.
Benedict replied: “She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality.”
The Pope goes as far as mentioning the ‘ABC principle’ (Abstinence-Be faithful-Condom) on stopping the spread of AIDS.
The Pope, however, made it clear that his comments were not meant to weaken the Church’s fundamental opposition to artificial birth control.
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Tags: AIDS, artificial birth control, condoms, contraceptives, Roman Catholic teaching, use of condoms
