Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - As one of the speakers at a Rome/Washington digital video conference to discuss “US support for Faith-based Involvement in HIV/AIDS Treatment and Prevention”, organised on July 27 in Rome at the US Embassy to the Holy See, Cardinal Lozano Barragan, President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral care of health workers and the sick, warned that “in the struggle against HIV/AIDS there are still too many words and too few facts. In fact the first thing to do is to monitor the real needs of people in countries all over Africa where antiretroviral are not available”.
In his address Cardinal Barragan mentioned a new Foundation approved by the Holy See on paper but yet to be instituted the Good Samaritan Foundation. Fides spoke to the Cardinal about this project.
“The Foundation will be part of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral care of health workers and the sick and its purpose will be to assist the sick all over the world, especially those with HIV/AIDS and those in Africa as well as to prevent the spread of the virus” the Cardinal said on the phone with Fides.
“Our aim is to identify the most urgent needs in the fight against AIDS in order to distribute resources where they are needed in Africa or elsewhere in the world. The Foundation will be open to anyone anxious to help people on the continent of Africa. Precise duties and detailed orders will be given to fulfil the mission to meet the necessities of the poorest, most affected and most needy countries and people suffering from HIV/AIDS. We want the institution to involve the whole of the Catholic Church. Besides caring for the sick, we also aim to prevent the disease by promoting Catholic ideals with regard the prevention of AIDS and accompaniment of the sick. Prevention and education to the Christian values of faithfulness in marriage, chastity and abstinence, special attention to prevent mother/child transmission of HIV/AIDS, will be the main fields of activity for The Good Samaritan Foundation”.
“We could almost say that the Good Samaritan is a Global Fund of the Catholic Church but without any counter-positions in fact” Cardinal Barragan said “to render the Global Fund operative in every country there is a Co-ordination Mechanism which receives requests from aid from the concerned entities. With our Papal Foundation we thought of making a Church Co-ordination Mechanism for the whole Church but without interfering with Country Co-ordination Mechanisms, simply as an alternative for more practical purposes”.
“Recently in Geneva I spoke of this project with Mr Thomson, the President del Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, who was very enthusiastic about this Church Co-ordination Mechanism which will be discussed at the next Global Fund meeting in November in Nairobi, Kenya. We hope the Global Fund will support and back this new church initiative. However with or without its support the endeavour will go ahead with promotion throughout the Church and we will be grateful to all those who will help us launch this important project by spreading information about it”, the Cardinal President of Pontifical Council for Pastoral care of health workers and the sick. (AP) (28/7/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:42; Parole:545)
