Condoms only in 'exceptional' cases: Vatican

The Vatican emphasised Sunday that the use of condoms was acceptable only in 'exceptional' cases, after an apparent U-turn by Pope Benedict XVI on a blanket ban on their use.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the 83-year-old pope was speaking about "an exceptional situation" when he said in an interview that condom use was acceptable to the Roman Catholic Church in "certain cases".

"The pope considered an exceptional situation in which the exercise of sexuality is a real danger to the life of another," said Lombardi.

In a book of interviews with Benedict due out on Tuesday, he says that condom use is acceptable "in certain cases", notably to reduce the risk of HIV infection, apparently softening his once hardline stance.