.- In a message for World AIDS Day, the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health workers and the Sick, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, revealed that the Church operates 26.7% of the centers dedicated to caring for victims of AIDS in the world.According to the Cardinal, “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 centers dedicated to treating HIV/AIDS in the world are Catholic centers. The projects and programs involving education and prevention in relation to AIDS, and the care, treatment and pastoral accompanying of HIV/AIDS victims, that local Churches, religious institutes and lay associations promote with love, a sense of responsibility and a spirit of charity, are great in number,” he pointed out.
In the message, Cardinal Lozano echoed the call of Pope John Paul II to the bishops of America, Europe and Australia to work together with the bishops of Africa to effectively address the AIDS emergency.
