In a lengthy interview with a European journalist, Pope Benedict XVI said that under some circumstances it might be acceptable for a prostitute — or, in some translations, a male prostitute — to use a condom. Portions of the controversial interview were released Saturday.
“There can be single justified cases,” the Pope said, “for example when a prostitute uses a condom, and this can be the first step toward a moralization, a first act of responsibility in developing anew an awareness of the fact that not everything is permissible and that we cannot do everything we want.”
“However,” he said, “this is not the best way to overcome the infection of HIV. It is really necessary to humanize sexuality.”
South African Bishop Kevin Dowling, whose diocese has been devastated by AIDS deaths, said recently that people at risk of spreading HIV “should use a condom in order to prevent the transmission of potential death to another.”
The bishop of the armed forces of Portugal, Januario Torgal Ferreira, was quoted as saying that “there are obviously circumstances where prohibiting condoms is to consent to the death of many people.”
“So there’s been a breaking of the ranks,” said Daniel Maguire, a professor of theology at Marquette University, whose books include “Sacred Rights: The Case for Contraception and Abortion in World Religions.”