Following reports that Pope Benedict XVI stated that condoms increase the problem of HIV/AIDS, many government and public health officials condemned the Pope’s comments. The Development Minister in the Netherlands, for one, called them “extremely harmful”. In Paris, the Pope’s comments spurred a clash between those who agree with and those who oppose his view on condoms. And yesterday, about a dozen different pro-condom groups waited in St. Peter’s square for the Pope’s return to the Vatican.

While the responses to the Pope’s comment covered by the mainstream media were overwhelmingly negative, some government officials, including two deputies from France, defended the Pope. According to Jacques Remiller, deputy-mayor of Vienne, France, the media only partially reported the Pope’s words, which made the words lose their meaning. Remiller argued that while condoms are effective when used properly, they will not solve behavioral problems such as rape that can lead to the spread of HIV.

So what did the Pope really mean?

We might not find out, as it seems as though the Vatican might have retroactively softened the Pope’s words. News sources such as the Catholic News Service had reported the quote as follows: “One cannot overcome the problem with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, they increase the problem.” However, according to the Catholic News Service, the version of the sentence published later by the Vatican translated as follows: “One cannot resolve the problem with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, there is a risk of increasing the problem.”

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