Benedict XVI has said that if those with HIV use a condom with "the intention of reducing the risk of infection" it might be the "first step in the direction of a moralisation" of sexuality.
He made the comment in Light of the World, a book-length interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, which was published today.
Although Pope Benedict used the example of a male prostitute, the Vatican has clarified that his comments applied to both sexes.
In the book Mr Seewald asks the Pope about his statement on the way to Africa in March 2009 that condoms were not the solution to the Aids crisis.
