a leading provider of various low-profit health services such as breast cancer screenings, nutrition programs, trauma, and care of the elderly. catholic medical facilities in the united states have refused treatment which runs counter to their beliefs. contraception is a treatment that is not provided, and some catholic health care providers have refused to treat complications caused by contraceptives. those seeking treatment within a catholic facility may be unaware of these restrictions or unaware that their health provider is connected with the catholic church until seeking treatment for such an issue. asia salesian sister caring for sick and poor in former madras presidency, india. catholic women have been heavily involved as care givers. during the middle ages, arab medicine was influential on europe. during europe's age of discovery, catholic missionaries, notably the jesuits, introduced the modern sciences to india, china and japan. church is a major provider of health care services – especially in catholic nations like philippines. the famous mother teresa of calcutta established the missionaries of charity in the slums of calcutta in 1948 to work among "the poorest of the poor". initially founding a school, she then gathered other sisters who "rescued new-born babies abandoned on rubbish heaps; they sought out the sick; they took in lepers, the unemployed, and the mentally ill". teresa achieved fame in the 1960s and began to establish convents around the world. by the time of her death in 1997, the religious institute she founded had more than 450 centres in over 100 countries. oceania st vincent's hospital, sydney, australia, was established by the sisters of charity and became an early leader in aids treatment. it remains among many leading medical research centres established by the catholic church around the world. st damien of molokai famously established a mission among the lepers of molokai, hawaii. french, portuguese, british and irish missionaries brought catholicism to oceania and built hospitals and care centres across the region. the church remains not only a key provider of health care in predominantly catholic nations like east timor but also in predominantly protestant and secular nations like australia and new zealand. as restrictions were lifted by british authorities on the practice of catholicism in colonial australia, catholic religious institutes founded many of australia's hospitals. irish sisters of charity arrived in sydney in 1838 and established st vincent's hospital, sydney, in 1857 as a free hospital for the poor. the sisters went on to found hospitals, hospices, research institutes and aged care facilities in victoria, queensland and tasmania. at st vincent's they trained leading surgeon victor chang and opened australia's first aids clinic. in the 21st century, with more and more lay people involved in management, the sisters began collaborating with sisters of mercy hospitals in melbourne and sydney. jointly the group operates four public hospitals; seven private hospitals and 10 aged care facilities. the sisters of mercy arrived in auckland in 1850 and were the first order of religious sisters to come to new zealand; they began work in health care and education. the sisters of st joseph was founded in australia by australia's first saint, mary mackillop, and fr julian tenison woods in 1867. mackillop travelled throughout australasia and established schools, convents and charitable institutions. the english sisters of the little company of mary arrived in 1885 and have since established public and private hospitals, retirement living and residential aged care, community care and comprehensive palliative care in new south wales, the act, victoria, tasmania, south australia and the northern territory. the little sisters of the poor, who follow the charism of saint jeanne jugan to "offer hospitality to the needy aged" arrived in melbourne in 1884 and now operate four aged care homes in australia. catholic health australia is today the largest non-government provider grouping of health, community and aged care services in australia. these do not operate for profit and range across the full spectrum of health services, representing about 10% of the health sector and employing 35,000 people. catholic organisations in new zealand remain heavily involved in community activities including education, health services, chaplaincy to prisons, rest homes, and hospitals, social justice, and human rights advocacy. africa part of a series on thecatholic churchst. peter's basilica, vatican city overview pope: francis hierarchy history (timeline) theology liturgy sacraments mary background jesus crucifixion resurrection ascension early christianity peter paul fathers history of the catholic church history of the papacy ecumenical councils magisterium four marks of the church one true church apostolic succession organisation holy see roman curia college of cardinals ecumenical councils episcopal polity latin church eastern churches canon law theologiesdoctrine god trinity father son holy ghost consubstantialitas filioque divinum illud munus divine law decalogus ex cathedra deificatio realms beyond the states of the church heaven purgatory limbo hell paschal mystery passion of jesus crucifixion of jesus harrowing of hell resurrection ascension blessed virgin mary mariology veneration immaculate conception mater dei perpetual virginity assumption dormition titles queen apparition mediatrix salvation baptism of desire baptism of blood divine grace outside the church there is no salvation infused righteousness invincible ignorance justification means of grace merit mortal sin satisfaction moral influence sanctification synergism venial sin ecclesiology college of bishops deposit of faith infallibility of the church mystical body of christ papal primacy people of god perfect community subsistit in other teachings josephology morality body lectures sexuality apologetics amillennialism original sin hypostatic union predestination seven deadly sins beatific vision saints dogma texts bible old testament new testament official bible vulgate sixtine vulgate sixto-clementine vulgate nova vulgata peshitta apostles' creed nicene creed athanasian creed catechism of the catholic church papal bull apostolic exhortation epistula encyclica philosophy cardinal virtues just war natural law catholic ethics personalism probabilism social teaching philosophy of canon law philosophers virtue ethics schools augustinianism scholasticism thomism scotism occamism christian humanism molinism neo-scholasticism worship liturgy eastern catholic liturgy mass divine liturgy holy qurbana holy qurbono liturgy of the hours liturgical year sacraments baptism penance eucharist confirmation anointing of the sick matrimony holy orders prayer devotions bible biblical canon rites latin roman post-vatican ii tridentine use of sarum anglican use zaire use gallican ambrosian braga mozarabic eastern antiochene maronite west syriac syro-malankara chaldean east syriac syro-malabar byzantine armenian alexandrian ethiopic miscellaneous antipopes anti-catholicism criticism deism/pandeism ecumenism monasticism relations with: islam judaism protestantism societal issues art evolution health care hiv/aids homosexuality sexual abuse music nazi germany politics (in the united states) role in civilization science sex and gender roles slavery the age of discovery links and resources index outline glossary category media templates wikiproject vatican city portal catholic church portal catholicism has grown rapidly in africa over the last two centuries. as in all other continents, catholic missionaries established health care centres across the continent – though limitations on catholic institutions remain in place for much of muslim north africa. caritas internationalis is the church's main international aid and development body and operates in over 200 countries and territories and co-operates closely with the united nations. hiv/aids further information: catholic church and hiv/aids pope paul vi issued the humanae vitae encyclical letter on the regulation of birth in 1968, which outlined opposition to "artificial birth control" on the basis that it would open a "wide and easy road ... towards conjugal infidelity and the general lowering of morality". in response to the subsequent aids epidemic which emerged from the 1980s onward, the united nations population fund (unfpa) has argued that "comprehensive condom programming is a key institutional priority ... because condoms ... are recognized as the only currently available and effective way to prevent hiv – and other sexually transmitted infections – among sexually active people". a 2014 report by the u.n. committee on the rights of the child called on the church to "overcome all the barriers and taboos surrounding adolescent sexuality that hinder their access to sexual and reproductive information, including on family planning and contraceptives". in africa today, the church is heavily engaged in providing care to aids sufferers amidst the aids epidemic. following the election of pope francis in 2013, unaids wrote that the church "provides support to millions of people living with hiv around the world" and that "statistics from the vatican in 2012 indicate that catholic church-related organizations provide approximately a quarter of all hiv treatment, care, and support throughout the world and run more than 5,000 hospitals, 18,000 dispensaries and 9,000 orphanages, many involved in aids-related activities." unaids co-operates closely with the church on critical issues such as the elimination of new hiv infections in children and keeping their mothers alive, as well as increasing access to antiretroviral medication. covid-19 in april 2020, the vatican's congregation for the eastern churches set up a coronavirus fund to address the health crisis of the covid-19 pandemic. this was a response to pope francis’ invitation to “not abandon the suffering, especially the poorest, in facing the global crisis caused by the pandemic.” catholic church also supported the government vaccination program by transforming their churches into vaccination sites. health secretary francisco t. duque affirmed the church’s support by saying, ‘we are happy with the cbcp’s offer to have churches as vaccination hubs if needed. churches really can be alternative sites to areas that lack facility, especially those in hard-to-reach municipalities’. in early march 2020, in the united states, catholic churches practiced avoiding hugs and handshakes as a precautionary measure against spreading the virus. according to reverend jeffery ott of our lady of lourdes in atlanta, georgia, the church had to omit the sharing of wine in the chalice during holy communion. contemporary issues bioethics because the catholic church opposes abortion, euthanasia and contraception and other procedures, catholic health facilities will not provide most or all such services. in public debates, particularly among western nations like the united states, this has raised questions over insurance public/private financial co-operation and government interference and regulation of health facilities. writing in 2012, the australian human rights lawyer and jesuit frank brennan, in response to calls for public funding to catholic hospitals to be contingent on them offering the "full suites of services", said that: the nation is the better for policies and funding arrangements that encourage public and private providers of healthcare, including the churches. the public may need to be patient with church authorities as they discern appropriate moral responses to new technologies. this is a small price to pay for creative diversity which delivers healthcare of the highest standard with a special character cherished by many citizens, not just catholics. the catholic church's opposition to abortion has also restricted its hospitals' treatment of miscarriages. in cases where evacuation of the miscarriage from the uterus is medically indicated, doctors have been prohibited from carrying it out while a fetal heartbeat is still present, "in effect delaying care until fetal heart tones cease, the pregnant woman becomes ill, or the patient is transported to a non–catholic-owned facility for the procedure." a number of controversies have arisen over the application of these treatments in catholic hospitals, or the lack thereof; for instance, in the united states, a member of a hospital ethics committee was excommunicated when she approved a therapeutic, direct abortion to save a patient's life, and in germany a case of two hospitals turning away and refusing to examine or treat a rape victim led to new guidelines from the country's bishops stating that hospitals could provide emergency contraception to victims of rape. as regards ivf and surrogacy, the church's teaching, which states that every human life is sacred from conception until natural death, and that the vulnerable should be protected, therefore finds that this technology, which leads to the death of many embryos for each successful pregnancy, to be an abuse of power at the cost of the weakest. however, catholics have been active in developing alternative treatments for infertility and especially addressing its root causes, which, in addition to causing infertility or risk of miscarriage, are likely to have other consequences on health, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, thyroid conditions and endometriosis. in 2016, a woman was refused treatment according to the "ethical and religious directives for catholic health care services" for her dislodged iud, although she was bleeding, cramping and in pain. transgender further information: conscience clause in medicine in the united states § catholic doctrine in 2019, a catholic hospital in eureka, california was