On the eve of the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna, the bishop of St. Pölten, Klaus Küng, who has been associated with the ultra-conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei, acknowledged the importance of condom use in the ongoing battle against the spread of HIV and AIDS. Writing for the Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost, Bishop Küng noted that the church was reluctant to be involved with “health programs that have seen widespread distribution of condoms.” However, even though the attitude of the Vatican to the condom question remains unchanged he admitted that “some change was possible, perhaps even necessary.” In certain circumstances, he said, it was permissible to allow the use of condoms. The example he specifically noted was in a marriage where one partner is infected with HIV or AIDS. In such cases, he said, condoms may be allowed or even required in order to protect your partner’s health. In such cases, the goal was not contraceptive but protective. Other examples he gave included drug addicts or those who “are in no way prepared to practice sexual abstinence.”