During his time as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Benedict XVI made several efforts to tackle the issue of homosexuality within the Church and the wider world. In 1986 the CDF sent a letter to all bishops entitled: "On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons". The letter condemned a liberal interpretation of the earlier CDF document "Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics", which had led to a "benign" attitude "to the homosexual condition itself". "On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons" clarified that the Church's position on homosexuality was that "although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder." However the document also condemned homophobic attacks and violence, stating that "It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church's pastors wherever it occurs."