MANILA, Philippines?A staunch advocate of the reproductive health (RH) bill Sunday welcomed Pope Benedict XVI?s pronouncement that HIV-infected male prostitutes could use condom, saying this would undermine the Church?s hardline stand against the measure.

House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman, the author of House Bill No. 96, observed that this was a ?departure from the strictly very conservative approach of the papacy and the Catholic Church? on contraception.

?That is a welcome development because the papacy is opening up to the eventual contraceptive use,? Lagman said in an interview by phone.

?Once you have opened up and made an exception, the liberalization of the Church outlook has started. And we?d expect further liberalization. He has made an exception, then more exception would be forthcoming,? he added.

But Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, the author of House Bill No. 13 seeking to protect the rights of the unborn child, said that the Pope?s pronouncement was irrelevant to the RH measure.

?The Pope?s comment is more of a health matter because it?s talking about preventing infection. Whereas the RH bill is about population,? Golez said by phone.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III also said that the Pope?s stand would not affect the RH bill. He said he was against the ?myths? being peddled by population control groups.

?I still believe we have no problem on population and that our statistics are bloated,? Sotto said.

Church adamant

Bishop Deogracias Yñiguez of the Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines said that the rare cases where condoms could be used should be spelled out by Church leaders.

?If a condom is used as a contraceptive, certainly it will be condemned by the Church,? Yñiguez told The Associated Press. ?But to use it to avoid a disease in specific circumstances, the church can take another mind-set.?

Fr. Shay Cullen, a Columban missionary who has helped sexually abused children in the Philippines, praised what he said was a crucial change in the Pope?s stand.

?We welcome the Pope?s change of opinion because it is meant to save life and to protect people,? Cullen said. ?We see here an enlightened Pope putting his concern over human life as a priority first.?

Businessman George Gueco said the Pope?s remarks did not amount to any change in the Catholic Church?s long-standing stance against contraceptives, a position he strongly backed.

?There may be extreme, extreme exemptions for the church to allow its use,? Gueco said. ?I?m thinking hard, but I can?t think of any right now.?

More practical

Housewife Benita Vitualla, 72, said: ?The Pope has become more practical; he knows what?s happening to the world,? said Vitualla, who wore rosaries around her neck.

?There are contagious diseases and very high population growth that need to be controlled,? she added.

Public debate over condom use has simmered in the predominantly Catholic Philippines since President Benigno Aquino III recently expressed support for the right to contraception. A Church official has threatened to launch civil disobedience protests.

Aiming to avoid a head-on collision with the Roman Catholic Church, Mr. Aquino met Catholic bishops last month and explained that he was leaving it to Filipino couples to choose family planning options, including artificial birth control.

Positive step

In Geneva, the UN agency leading the international campaign against HIV/AIDS on Sunday welcomed Benedict?s statement.

?This is a significant and positive step forward taken by the Vatican today,? UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe said in a statement.

?This move recognizes that responsible sexual behavior and the use of condoms have important roles in HIV prevention,? he added.

Sidibe said he had held far reaching discussions with the Vatican on HIV prevention issues in 2009.

?Together we can build a world with zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths,? he said. With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Associated Press and Agence France-Presse