CNA<\/a>).- The alarming spread of HIV in the Philippines must be addressed with an approach that puts human dignity and responsibility first, a top Church adviser on the AIDS epidemic told CNA.<\/p>\n\t\u201cIn the Philippines, as in all countries of the world, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has focused on the dignity of the human person and on the responsibility that such dignity entails in caring for oneself and all other persons,\u201d Monsignor Robert Vitillo said in a July 27 interview.<\/p>\n
\tPortrayed by critics as a set of \u201cconservative\u201d taboos, the Church's ethical teachings actually offer the only authentic solution to the epidemic in a country where infection rates have dramatically risen, Caritas Internationalis' special adviser on HIV and AIDS said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to sexual activity is relevant and valid for all persons,\u201d he said. \u201cThis teaching should be received and understood in the context of responsible personal relationships and not simply as a public health instruction for one or other population group.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI have no doubt about the wisdom of Catholic Church teaching in this regard,\u201d the monsignor stressed, noting that these principles \u201chave been confirmed by public health evidence\u201d in several countries.<\/p>\n
\tMsgr. Vitillo's comments came on the last day of the July 22-27 XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., during which he spoke July 25 about progress on a global effort to stop mother-to-child HIV transmission during the next three years.<\/p>\n
\tDuring the global conference, the Church came under fire from critics for its approach to AIDS in the heavily Catholic Philippines, where the United Nations Development Program says HIV infections have increased by 25 percent since 2001.<\/p>\n
\tAccording to the UN, 87 percent of these new infections are due to homosexual activity. Critics want the Church to help make this behavior \u201csafer,\u201d and to do the same for activities such as drug use and prostitution.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cCatholics For Choice\u201d adviser Magdalena Lopez, who also spoke at the International AIDS Conference, alleged in a July 24 editorial that the Church \u201cinhibits AIDS work\u201d in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
\tThe country, she said, is \u201cin desperate need\u201d of a law to promote condoms and \u201creproductive health,\u201d while the Church opposes such a bill.<\/p>\n
\tIn her column for the Silicon Valley Mercury News, Lopez said the Philippines bishops should support the \u201cunique needs\u201d of groups such as \u201cmen who have sex with men, intravenous drug users, sex workers, (and) sailors,\u201d rather than discouraging their behaviors and rejecting efforts to facilitate them. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\tIn his July 26 article \u201cGay sex fuels HIV rise in Catholic Philippines,\u201d AFP reporter Jason Gutierrez cited activist Ana Santos' belief that \u201creligious edicts\u201d were influencing society \u201cso that sexually active people often did not buy condoms or contraceptives because of shame.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMsgr. Vitillo told CNA\/EWTN News that this kind of \u201cfalse allegation\u201d against the Church's AIDS strategy stemmed from a \u201cmechanistic\u201d focus on managing inherently harmful behaviors, to the neglect of human dignity and true responsibility.<\/p>\n
\tIn countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Thailand, there is \u201cstrong evidence\u201d that infection levels dropped \u201cdue to adoption of more responsible behavior\u201d including sexual abstinence outside marriage, fidelity within marriage, and avoidance of drug use.<\/p>\n
\tThe Church's approach, the priest said, is not sectarian or judgmental, but realistic in the highest sense. By contrast, supposedly \u201cvalue neutral\u201d prevention strategies are often driven by highly questionable assumptions about human nature and morality.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cFew approaches can be seen as 'value neutral,'\u201d Caritas' adviser observed, pointing out that many approaches presented as such are really based on notions of \u201cseeking pleasure without accepting any responsibility for one\u2019s actions,\u201d or making \u201cconsent\u201d into society's only moral standard.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe Church promotes risk avoidance, rather than mere risk reduction,\u201d Msgr. Vitillo said. \u201cIt calls for responsibility in interpersonal relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhile such responsibility often calls for sacrifice, it also opens up those called to marriage to much deeper and comprehensive fulfillment rather then restricting them to momentary physical pleasures that often result in the manipulation or 'use' of one or other sexual partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSince the early 1990s, Caritas Internationalis' special adviser has facilitated several training workshops on HIV and AIDS prevention and care in the Philippines. He will return to the country later this year to hold additional training sessions at the request of the country's bishops.<\/p>\n
\tCaritas designated the AIDS epidemic as a \u201cpriority area\u201d for its work in 1987. Since then, it has worked to stay on the cutting edge of scientific and medical research, while bringing a faith-based perspective to bear in preventing discrimination against those infected with HIV.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIn most parts of the world,\u201d Msgr. Vitillo recalled, \u201cthe Church was among the first organizations to promote a compassionate and non-discriminatory response to HIV,\u201d taking in many seriously ill patients who \u201cwere rejected even by their own families.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMore recently, the Church has responded with vigilance to the spread of AIDS in Eastern Europe, with Caritas and other Catholic groups providing counseling, HIV testing, medications, home care, and social support.<\/p>\n
\tThis approach, the Caritas adviser said, is accompanied by spiritual support as well as \u201cassistance to change the drug-taking and sexual behaviors that put people at risk of HIV infection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThere, as in the Philippines and around the world, the Church works \u201cin keeping with the age-old values that date back to the teaching handed on by Jesus Christ Himself,\u201d centering its AIDS prevention message \u201cwithin the gift and vocation of marriage to which many people are called.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThis approach, Msgr. Vitillo said, is rooted in true compassion and realism, based on \u201ca sense of the dignity that God grants to each one of us and of the responsibility He expects from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Washington D.C., Jul 29, 2012 \/ 03:02 pm (CNA).- The alarming spread of HIV in the Philippines must be addressed with an approach that puts human dignity and responsibility first, a top Church adviser on the AIDS epidemic told CNA.<\/p>\n
\t“In the Phi…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
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