Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim B.
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His comments are a significant shift in what he said during a trip to Africa in March last year, when he caused international outcry by saying the disease was a tragedy ‘that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems’.
After the Pope first mentions that the use of condoms could be justified in limited cases, such as by prostitutes, Seewald asks: ‘Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?’
Benedict replies: ‘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.
Considering their previous position, which IIRC, is "NO", it is a breakthrough.