Mexico City (Fides Service) - Besides being an illness AIDS is a social disease with moral, economic, juridical and organisational repercussions on the family, social and national level which affects every country in the world. With this in mind and in response to a call by the Holy See to offer assistance and solidarity to people with HIV/AIDS, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Mexico issued a press statement illustrating a series of initiatives as part of a plan to provide adequate pastoral care to persons suffering with HIV/AIDS called ‘Hope for Life’. Here is a list of the initiatives:
Nation wide special collection on 13 February in aid of persons with HIV/AIDS in the Central African Republic one of the most affected countries with more than 260,000 patients;
Nation wide HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign;
Elaboration of workshops and material to support HIV-AIDS patients;
Subsidies for purchase of therapy drugs;
Elaboration of material to eliminate discrimination of HIV-AIDS patients
In the statement the Catholic Bishops say people must realise that HIV/AIDS is not a punishment from God as some erroneously affirm. The Bishops said: “This is a call to work together to spread correct information about the virus and eliminate discrimination against HIV-AIDS patients. What is needed is adequate education on human sexuality emphasising real love which is more than mere physical pleasure and educating to the value of respect for the person in every dimension”. (RZ) (Agenzia Fides 21/1/2005; righe 23, parole 285)