Pope says condoms acceptable 'in certain cases': book

Pope Benedict XVI says that condom use is acceptable "in certain cases", notably "to reduce the risk of infection" with HIV, in a book due out on Tuesday, apparently softening his once hardline stance.

Pope Benedict XVI says that condom use is acceptable "in certain cases", notably "to reduce the risk of infection" with HIV, in a book due out on Tuesday, apparently softening his once hardline stance.

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In a series of interviews published in his native German, the 83-year-old Benedict is asked whether "the Catholic Church is not fundamentally against the use of condoms."

"It of course does not see it as a real and moral solution," the pope replies.

"In certain cases, where the intention is to reduce the risk of infection, it can nevertheless be a first step on the way to another, more humane sexuality," said the head of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

The new volume, entitled Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times, is based on 20 hours of interviews conducted by German journalist Peter Seewald.