Bruni-Sarkozy thanks pope for change in condom stance

Dec 1, 2010, 10:50 GMT

Paris _ French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on Wednesday welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's recent remarks signalling a more tolerant stance by the catholic church on the use of condoms to prevent HIV infection.

'I was astonished, surprised and grateful,' she told France's RTL radio in an interview to mark World Aids Day.

'A number of African countries are christian and take great heed of what the pope says,' said Bruni-Sarkozy, who is an ambassador for the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

In remarks published in a book by German author Peter Seewald based on lengthy interviews with the pontiff, Benedict said condoms could be used in certain circumstances to protect against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

He cited the example of a male prostitute using a condom to prevent infecting his clients.

The Vatican later said the pope did not mean to be specific about the gender of the hypothetical prostitute and also denied his remarks represented a radical departure in church teachings.

Bruni-Sarkozy, whose brother died of an AIDS-related illness in 2006, had criticized the pope when he said during a visit to Africa last year that condoms were not the solution to HIV/AIDS.

His remarks to Seewald were 'quite an enormous step towards something very new,' she said.

The singer and former model also warned young people not to become complacent about HIV/AIDS, just because treatment is now more widely available.

'I would like to say to young people that they shouldn't think it's like an aspirin to be taken daily,' she said, warning of the many side-effects of anti-AIDS drugs.

She also pointed out that her brother had had access to the best treatment available in France.

'Many people do not have access to that...' she said, calling for increased efforts to extend the kind of care he received to HIV- positive people worldwide.

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