Ban on Contraceptives Questioned : Norway’s Premier Takes on the Pope

Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland took on the Pope today over the Roman Catholic Church’s ban on contraception, questioning its wisdom in view of the spread of AIDS.

Brundtland, known for her plain speaking, told Pope John Paul II of her concern during a half-hour meeting at the start of his first tour of Scandinavia, which is about 1% Catholic.

“I asked him a question which I think he will consider,” she told Norwegian state radio after the talks.

She said it concerned “the problems linked to the spread of AIDS . . . where religious attitudes to the use of contraceptives make it difficult to prevent the spread of the disease in countries where there are many Catholics.”

Asked how the Pope had responded, she replied: “I think he thought it was an interesting and difficult moral question. He said he would gladly study it more closely.”

Condoms have been widely recommended as helping to prevent infection by the AIDS virus, which kills by stripping the body of its natural defenses. The Pope has often spoken out against contraception and abortion.

After the talks with Brundtland, the pontiff celebrated open-air Mass before a crowd of 10,000 in the grounds of Oslo’s Akershus fortress. Organizers had expected double that number but rain apparently kept many away.