Catholics allow condoms

Spain's Catholic Church acknowledged yesterday that condoms had a place in a broader strategy to halt the spread of Aids, based primarily on sexual abstinence and fidelity.

In an apparent shift from traditional Church teachings, the spokesman for Spain's Bishops' Conference, Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, said there was scientific evidence that condoms could protect against the disease.

After meeting Health Minister Elena Salgado, the cleric said a recent study in the medical journal the Lancet had supported an integrated approach to tackling Aids, including the use of condoms and the practice of sexual restraint.

"The Church is very worried and interested by this problem, and its position is backed by scientific proposals such as the one published in the prestigious magazine the Lancet, " Martinez Camino said.

Official Roman Catholic teaching bans the use of condoms because they are a form of contraception.