Vatican City - The reaction of Belgium's parliament to Pope Benedict XVI's remarks against the use of condoms, is "astonishing" the Vatican's chief spokesman said Friday.

Father Federico Lombardi was commenting on a vote by Belgian lawmakers on Thursday in which they approved a motion which could lead their country's government to lodge an unprecedented, formal protest with the Vatican over the pontiff's remarks.

Benedict's assertion on a plane taking him to Cameroon last month that AIDS "cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problem," was described in the motion as "unacceptable."

Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy had indicated before Thursday's vote that he would act on the motion if an earlier draft which termed the pope's stance "dangerous and irresponsible" was changed to read "unacceptable".

But Lombardi rejected the criticism in a statement on Vatican Radio.

"In every democratic nation the freedom of the Holy Father and the Catholic Church to express its own position appears obvious," he said.

Lombardi also questioned whether the lawmakers had considered the pontiff's views "with sufficient attention and seriousness," or if they had been influenced by what he said were distorted reports in the "Western media."

Benedict's comments on condoms and AIDS have sparked international criticism from governments, UN agencies and health groups, and came to overshadow his first trip to Africa as pontiff. The trip included a stop in Angola.