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Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday that the distribution of condoms is not the answer in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Benedict XVI never before spoken explicitly about condom use, although he emphasized that the Catholic Church is at the forefront in the battle against AIDS. The Vatican maintains that abstinence is the way to fight the disease.


"You can not solve the distribution of condoms," the Pope said to reporters aboard the Alitalia plane while en route to Yaounde, Cameroon. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."

Some priests and nuns who work with victims of the AIDS pandemic plaguing Africa which have questioned the church's opposition to condom use.


The Pope also said it intends to make an appeal for "international solidarity" for Africa in times of global economic recession.

He said that although the Catholic Church does not propose specific solutions, it can give "moral and spiritual suggestions.


Describing the current crisis as a result of "a lack of ethics in economic structures," the Pope said: "This is where the church can make a contribution."

The pilgrimage of Benedict XVI will take seven days to Cameroon and Angola.


Africa is the region where the Catholic Church is growing fastest in the world.

Benedict XVI departed Tuesday for his first pastoral visit in Africa. The flight took off from Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome shortly after 10.00 am (0900 GMT) and is scheduled to arrive six hours later the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde.


The 81-year-old Pope said on Sunday the pilgrims in St. Peter's Square that will carry a message of hope to the African continent suffered poverty, disease and conflict.