With his striking comment on condoms and AIDS, Pope Benedict XVI has started a new chapter in the complex Church debate about morality, preventing the spread of HIV and the use of condoms.

The Roman Catholic prohibition against artificial contraception is not in question, but Pope Benedict could be carving out a very rare exception for the use of condoms to prevent the disease from spreading.

Benedict said that condoms are not a moral solution to stopping AIDS. But he said that in some cases, such as for male prostitutes, their use could represent a first step in assuming moral responsibility “in the intention of reducing the risk of infection”.

He made the remarks in an interview with a German journalist, Peter Seewald, and published as the book Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times. The Pope’s comments put a spotlight on a nuanced discussion within the Church about how best to address the scourge of AIDS.

The Pope had previously said that condom use exacerbates the AIDS crisis. Some Church officials echoed the sentiment, arguing that condoms are not foolproof and give people a false sense of protection. Abstinence and fidelity are the only way to stop HIV, they said.

Still, the Vatican never released an official, authoritative policy on condoms and AIDS, and cardinals from around the world often took positions which differed significantly on the issue.

The Pope’s circumspect remarks should also not be viewed as encouraging condom use.

However, they could be read as making a distinction between greater and lesser evils, or what moral theologians call double effect. An evil may be tolerated for an intended good – in this case, disease prevention.

It is far from the first time such an argument has been made within the Church.

Seewald’s book is being released at a time when the Pope and the Vatican have tried to overcome their widespread problems in communicating the Church’s message. Some analysts suggested that the Pope’s comment on condoms in the book could be just another in a series of public relations missteps.

In the book, the Pope also reaffirms Church teaching that sex should be between a married man and woman and that artificial contraception blocks God’s plan for bringing life into the world.

Yet, even with just the narrow example he gave in the interview, Benedict has created an opening for Catholic bishops in Africa and elsewhere to renew their argument that condoms must be part of the fight against the spread of HIV.