In the late 20th century, the Church has responded to gay rights movements by reiterating its condemnation of homosexuality while acknowledging the existence of gay people. In January 1976, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Paul VI published "Persona Humana", which codified the teaching against all extra-marital sex, including gay sex. Homosexuality was named as such for the first time in a papal encyclical in Pope John Paul II's "Veritatis Splendor" of 1993, which "specifically proclaims the intrinsic evil of the homosexual condition". There he declared that homosexual intercourse is performed by a choice of the will, unlike homosexual orientation which he acknowledged is not a matter of free choice. The church has also been politically active to oppose gay rights movements in the civil sphere.