But the Vatican's refusal to let Catholics use condoms remains controversial on a continent where AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since the early 1980s.While medical workers advocate the use of condoms to help prevent the spread of AIDS, the Church insists on fidelity within heterosexual marriage, chastity and abstinence.
"The problem cannot be overcome by distributing condoms. It only increases the problem," the pontiff said on Tuesday.