Lombardi noted that the pope emphasized the church’s main advice in the fight against AIDS — sexual abstinence and fidelity among married couples. He cited Benedict’s words that the church “of course does not regard it (condom use) as a real or moral solution.”

“With this, the pope isn’t reforming or changing the teaching of the church, but reaffirming it, putting it in the context of the value and the dignity of human sexuality as expression of love and responsibility,” the spokesman said.