Pope Benedict (Photo by Sergey Gabdurakhmanov via Flickr)

However, Vatican officials say the pope's comments do not mean that the church is changing its position on contraceptive teaching.

Late last week, the pope said that in some cases the use of condoms is acceptable, citing male prostitutes as an example.

His comments come amid allegations of child abuse from priests in Ireland, Germany and Belgium.

Michel Sidibé, the director of the United Nations's AIDS program, described what the pope said as a “significant and positive step forward.”

"It is an evolution, not a revolution,” said Xavier Lacroix, a theologian at Catholic University in France. "I observe a change of vocabulary."

Read more about Europe's reactions here.