Spain’s Catholic bishops on Wednesday moved to quell a controversy sparked when a prelate suggested his Church had relaxed its opposition to condoms to combat AIDS, saying there was no change in the ban.

The Church waited a full day after Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino appeared to acknowledge a place for condoms in fighting AIDS before making its statement.

The remarks by Martinez Camino, spokesman for the Bishop’s Conference, made the front page of some European newspapers.

“His statement must be understood in the context of Catholic doctrine which maintains the use of contraception is an immoral sexual conduct,” read a statement from the Bishops’ Conference drafted at a lengthy meeting on Wednesday.

“The only truly recommendable practice is the responsible use of sexuality, in accordance with moral norms,” the statement said, adding that scientific research supported the primary importance of sexual abstinence in fighting AIDS.

After meeting with Health Minister Elena Salgado on Tuesday, Martinez Camino had said the Church’s position on AIDS had been backed by an article in the November edition of medical journal The Lancet.

“The time has come, the Lancet magazine says, for a joint strategy in the prevention of such a tragic pandemic as AIDS, and contraception has a place in a global approach to tackling AIDS,” Martinez Camino had said.

Official Roman Catholic teaching bans the use of condoms because they are a form of contraception. It teaches that abstinence - even among married couples if necessary - is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.

The Church, which remains a powerful voice in Spain, has criticised the Socialist government for a new law allowing homosexual marriage as well as legislation to make divorce and abortion easier and permit stem cell research.

Polls suggest that less than a fifth of young Spaniards are practising Catholics, as the country’s liberal mores appear increasingly at contrast with the pronouncements of the Spanish Church, amongst the most conservative of the Catholic hierarchy.

The Vatican has not issued a definitive statement on the use of condoms in limited cases to stop AIDS, but most Vatican officials who have spoken out on the issue are against campaigns promoting their use.

In November, the Vatican blamed the spread of AIDS on an “immunodeficiency” of moral values, among other factors, and called for education, abstinence and great access to drugs to fight the disease.

Brussels Cardinal Godfried Danneels, touted as a possible successor to Pope John Paul, stirred surprise last week by saying he could reluctantly accept the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS.