WORLD : Pope Pledges Support to AIDS Patients, Warns of Life Styles

VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II today pledged the church’s support for AIDS patients, but he said people must change high-risk life styles and not resort to “morally illicit” means of prevention.

“In its heart the church not only pronounces a series of ‘noes’ to certain types of behavior but especially proposes a life style that is wholly signifcant for the person,” the Pope said in the closing address of a three-day Vatican conference on AIDS.

While he did not mention the word “condoms,” church officials said it was clear that John Paul was ruling out their use as a means of checking the spread of AIDS.

John Paul noted that AIDS can often be attributed to the “phenomena of drug addiction and abuse of sexuality.”

“The necessary prevention against the threat of AIDS is not inspired by fear, but instead by the choice of a healthy, free and responsible life style,” he said.