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Pope’s comment on condom use will help HIV prevention, say activists

BMJ 2010; 341 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c6734 (Published 23 November 2010) Cite this as: BMJ 2010;341:c6734
  1. Bob Roehr
  1. 1Washington, DC

Condom use can be justified in some situations to help stop the spread of HIV, said Pope Benedict XVI in a comment that seemed more off the cuff than a formal change in policy. It came in a book published this week in Germany, excerpts of which appeared in a newspaper in Rome on 20 November.

The example cited by the 83 year old pontiff—a male prostitute using a condom “where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralisation, a first assumption of responsibility”—was both curious and limiting.

The pope also said that condoms were not “a real or moral solution” to the HIV epidemic.

The Vatican was …

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