Madrid, Spain, Aug 11, 2008 / 15:05 pm
In his recent pastoral letter entitled, “The fight against AIDS and the Catholic Church,” Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Tarazona in Spain said that while the condom is only a “cork,” the Church proposes a comprehensive and more effective approach to confronting the AIDS pandemic.
On the occasion of the 17th International AIDS Conference that just concluded in Mexico, Bishop Fernandez recalled that the disease “has reached alarming numbers—more than 33 million infected—and more than 2 million have died from the disease in 2007, and during that same year 2.5 million new individuals have contracted it. There has never been such an extreme epidemic that has threatened the entire world.”
Bishop Fernandez proposed that the Church’s response to the epidemic be “first of all, caring for the sick.” “It cannot be said,” he noted, “that the Catholic Church neglects this issue. As with other infirmities, even contagious ones, the love of Christ has led those who care for those affected to even risk their own lives.” “The Church loves AIDS patients too, and cares for them with love,” he said.
However, the bishop stressed, “the battle lies in preventing infection.”