The church first delivered its ‘harsh judgment’ on people living with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, when it declared the growing epidemic was a punishment from God for what it saw as sins of promiscuity. While it quickly became apparent that HIV affected everyone, regardless of marital status, sexuality or religious belief, the church in some countries has been slow to change its attitudes and to acknowledge that those infected include its own people and leaders.

Yet in many of the worst affected countries, the church has also been busy in its traditional role of pastoral care and practical help. It is caring for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families, and looking after orphaned children and people who have been bereaved. And increasingly the church is working with local and international agencies to raise awareness about the virus, showing people, especially young people, how they can avoid becoming infected, and helping those already infected to live positive lives.

In place of a message of punishment, churches face the ongoing challenge of preaching a message of love, reflecting God’s eternal love for his people. There is no place in such a message for blame, stigma or discrimination. And above all, there is no place for silence and denial, which cause the virus to spread ever more quickly.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 30th, 2008 at 4:43 am and is filed under General News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.