Pope Benedict is considering whether to allow Catholics to wear a condom to protect themselves from AIDS, Vatican experts said yesterday.

At the request of the Pope, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has submitted a 200-page study on Pastoral Aspects of the Treatment of Infectious Diseases.

"In keeping with the Holy Father's wish, we have carried out a careful study on the use of condoms, both from the scientific as well as the moral point of view, and we have submitted it to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith," the cardinal told a press conference.