Pope says Church not a string of 'nos'

Pope Benedict said in an interview aired yesterday that Catholicism should not be seen as a "collection of prohibitions" because of bans on gay marriage, abortion and contraception but as a Church with positive values.

In the long and rare interview with German television and Vatican Radio, he also offered some personal insights, saying he was not lonely in his job but did not feel strong enough to plan many long overseas trips like his predecessor Pope John Paul II.

He also said he was happy that the world was now noticing other aspects of his personality to correct the stern image many people had of him while, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was the Church's chief doctrinal enforcer before his 2005 election.

The interview, which will be posted on the Vatican website www.vatican.va, was recorded last week at his summer retreat south of Rome and broadcast ahead of a trip to his native Germany next month.

Pope Benedict said while he would not be travelling as much as John Paul, he yearned to visit the Holy Land, but only "in time of peace".

"Christianity, Catholicism, isn't a collection of prohibitions," the 79-year-old Pope said. "It's a positive option... We've heard so much about what is not allowed that now it's time to say: we have a positive idea to offer..."

Pope Benedict, responding to a question about the Church's positions against abortion, contraception and homosexual marriage, said:

"So, firstly it's important to stress what we want. Secondly, we can also see why we don't want something. I believe we need to see and reflect on the fact that it's not a Catholic invention that man and woman are made for each other, so that humanity can go on living: all cultures know this," he said.

Asked if the Church should not come out of some of its defensive positions, the Pope acknowledged it had to learn better how to stress the positive.

"We need to do this, above all, in dialogue with cultures and religions," he said, adding that some Africans and Asians were "horrified by the coldness of our (Western) rationality".

Pope Benedict also said the Church was reflecting much about the role of women but repeated that they could not become priests because Christ chose only men as his apostles.

He suggested, however, that canon (Church) law, which currently restricts high-level decision-making roles to ordained males, might someday be changed to give women more power in the Church short of the priesthood.

"We will have to try and listen to God so as not to stand in their (women's) way," he said.

He said he would call more meetings of cardinals from around the world to consult and hear their opinion on Church issues.

Asked about AIDS, the Pope said he believed public opinion had treated the Church unfairly because of its position against condoms to stop the spread of the disease, mainly in Africa.