The Catholic Church is a major provider of medical care to HIV/AIDS patients. Much of its work takes place in developing countries, although it has also had a presence in the global north. Its opposition to condoms, despite their effectiveness in preventing the spread of HIV, has invited criticism from public health officials and anti-AIDS activists. Catholic views on condoms The Catholic Church's opposition to contraception includes a prohibition on condoms. It believes that chastity should be the primary means of preventing the transmission of AIDS. The Church's stance has been criticized as unrealistic, ineffective, irresponsible and immoral by some public health officials and AIDS activists, who note that condoms prevent the transmission of HIV. The use of condoms specifically to prevent the spread of AIDS has involved Catholic theologians arguing both sides. Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that when a male prostitute uses a condom "with the intention of reducing the risk of infection, can be a first step in a movement towards a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality." He said that the concern for others suggested by this action is laudable, but does not mean that either prostitution or condoms are in themselves good. 1980s In 1988, a debate within the Catholic Church over the use of condoms to prevent AIDS sparked an intervention from the Vatican. The Church in 1968 had already stated in Humanae Vitae that chemical and barrier methods of contraception went against Church teachings. The debate was over whether or not condoms could be used, not as contraceptives, but as a means of preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. In 1987, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a document suggesting that education on the use of condoms could be an acceptable part of an anti-AIDS program. In response, Joseph Ratzinger, then-prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated that such an approach "would result in at least the facilitation of evil", not merely its toleration. In the 1980s, Catholic hospitals received a waiver from the State of New York from the requirement to offer condoms and other services that conflicted with Church teaching in return for state funding. In the same decade, the Archdiocese of New York would not lease classroom space to the New York Board of Education to hold classes on AIDS education unless the board agreed to waive