Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI said condoms can help male prostitutes avoid AIDS and also help those gay hookers learn a little responsibility, which seemed to be a major a turn-around from the time Benedict XVI said condoms actually “aggravate” the problem of AIDS. Benedict’s flack, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, however, issued a statement today claiming the pope’s comment neither “reforms or changes” church teaching, which forbids use of condoms and other contraceptives. Neither was Benedict “morally justifying the unbridled exercise of sexuality,” Lombardi added, as if anyone were looking to the pope to encourage their “unbridled exercise.” Still, “The pope maintains that condom use to lessen the danger of infection is a first assumption of responsibility,” Lombardi said. “But of course the Church does not regard condom use as a real or moral solution.” Only if you’re in a real pinch.
