According to the Huffington Post, Pope Benedict XVI didn’t exactly say, “Okay, everybody can use condoms now!”
Image from Wikipedia
But what are the implications of his statement? Says Rev. James Martin, S.J.Catholic priest and author, ‘The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything,’
“… [T]he Catholic Church has not changed its teaching on the use of condoms as a means of birth control. Nor has the church “officially” changed its teaching on the use of condoms: an interview is not the same as an encyclical or a document from a Vatican congregation. But the previously out-of-bounds discussion about whether condoms can be used as a means to prevent the spread of disease is now in-bounds. That is change, by any definition. And that change is a good one, for if it moves the conversation ahead, it may mean a further lessening of the spread of HIV/AIDS and the prevention of death. As such, it may be seen as a new kind of pro-life initiative on the part of the Holy Father.”