| Vatican City (Fides Service) - December 1 is World AIDS day. A recent study showed that women are physically more liable to become infected than men. This year the United Nations Organisation programme for AIDS UNAIDS decided to dedicate the Day to women and girls and HIV/AIDS.
In view of World AIDS Day Cardinal Lozano Barragan, President of the Pontifical Council for pastoral care of healthcare workers and the sick issued a message in which he recalled: “The Church has always defended women and their very great dignity with especial vigour and is struggling to fight those examples of discrimination which still today in a great deal of our society require greater efforts to secure the elimination of disparities in relation to women in such sectors as education, the defence of health, and work.”
He also referred to the recent UN report The impact of AIDS 2004 which reveals that since the epidemic first appeared more than 22 million people have died of AIDS and at present 42 million are infected with HIV/AID .
The Cardinal underlined “Responding to the sorrowful appeal of the Holy Father, the Catholic Church, ever since the appearance of this terrible scourge, has always made her contribution both to preventing the transmission of the HIV virus and to looking after AIDS victims and their families at the medical/assistance, social, spiritual and pastoral levels. At the present time, 26.7% of the centres dedicated to treating HIV/AIDS in the world are Catholic centres..”
At the end of his message Cardinal Barragan listed lines of action to effectively fight and prevent HIV/AIDS. (AP) (24/11/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:29; Parole:335)
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