Could we possibly be seeing a slight change of tack by the Catholic Church. Speaking over the weekend, the Pope allowed for the use of condoms in a case by case basis, especially when it comes to protection from AIDS.
The grounds being that although contraception prevents life from occuring, in cases where it can prevent death it can be a good thing. However, side-stepped the general opposition to contraception, by citing the case of a male prostitute in which case procreation is not generally an outcome.
Now, the Vatican is clarifying that these are his private thoughts and not those of the position, so as far as the teachings go, nothing has changed. But is this perhaps a first step towards a different outlook?