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Vatican calls for AIDS medicine to be free
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At the 8th International AIDS Conference in Rome, the Vatican urged that medicines used to treat afflicted patients in Africa be provided free of charge.
“Let us ensure that AIDS sufferers are given prompt, free and effective treatment. Access to treatment should be universal. Let us do this beginning with mothers and children,” Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said June 22.
“Here, in the name of the Holy Father, I speak for so many suffering voices, for so many sick people who have no voice: let us not waste time, but invest in the necessary resources.”
The conference, organized by the Sant’Egidio Community, was attended by officials from around 20 governments under the slogan of “Long live mothers and children.”
“We can no longer tolerate the death of so many mothers,” said the Cardinal to delegates, “we cannot think of thousands of children as a lost generation. Nothing is lost; Africa has sufficient resources; it is the continent of hope.”
Friday’s gathering marked the 10th anniversary of the Sant’Egidio Community’s DREAM program – Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition – which now operates in 10 African countries.
It aims to provide retroviral drugs to mothers who are pregnant or breast-feeding. Results seem to suggest that such treatment reduces the HIV/AIDS infection rate among their babies to 3 percent. Meanwhile over 90 percent of adults treated by DREAM are able to resume working and thus support their families.
“The more the infection spreads among women, who are the mainstay of families and communities, the greater the risk of social breakdown in many countries,” explained Cardinal Bertone, “The sickness of women, of children, of men, becomes the sickness of a whole society.”
He concluded by assuring delegates that “Pope Benedict XVI with the Church loves all of Africa” and that “we are committed with you in this fight for life.”
“We know that AIDS is not a fatal destiny for humanity. Altogether, with the help of God, we have the ability and strength to fight it. We have the duty to promote with renewed enthusiasm the gift of life. Thank you.”
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CNA
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25 Comments
Can someone explain all the wealth in the Vatican…all the gold, paintings, etc.
Could no some of that be sold to buy meds or whatever to distribute to the sick and poor?
I have heard of the poverty of Africa, but I do not understand why there is still such an epidemic of the AID virus in this country. What steps are being taken by THEIR medical staff to help fight this disease? How is this disease spreading to these rural areas? This sounds suspicious.
It seems that the church does not want to pay for aids prevention anymore than for birth control. Is it always money that determines doctrine or the health of it’s people. What’s that you say, “We are the Church” hardly my friend, we are just the fodder for their crowns.
His Emenence Cardinal Bertone has called on all of us to for universal health care in response to the Gospel Call to care for the sick and one another. It is my prayer that Obama Care maintain its promise and flurishes.
Christians are compelled as Christians to help others in need. However, this helping needs to be voluntary. When it is forced by the government, it does not represent love at all. Love, by definition, must be freely given. Also, for all those advocating free health care or anything else free: by all means, I encourage you to give your own money away to accmplish your goal. But you have no right to force others to give their money away. That is fascist — but, unfortunately, we have arrived there.
Obama Care is the way to go. It assures the rich and poor alike of the closest thing we can get to universal heathe care as advocated by the Holy Father and His Emenence the Cardinal.
Surely these Holy annointed men, called by God to their exhaulted positions know what is best for all mankind.
You are a fascist and in favor of totalitarian government, Tony. You insist on forcing your liberal views on me and others. If you are so sold on the idea of “free” (remember, it isn’t free — other Americans are compelled to pay for it) health care, then I certainly hope you are giving a lot of your money to charities that provide health care, and / or that you volunteer many hours of your time in health care facilities.
It is the Holy Father and His Emenence the Cardinal who remind all of us to provide free health care access to all.
Surely you would not advocate going against the Holy Father and His Emenence?
They rule by Divine Right, they have been appointed by God. God speaks through them.
Outch!!!!!! That’s what it’s called a taste of its own medicine! Nailed it!!!
Easy response; it’s like Tony put me in handcuffs that open up when you bang them against a table — not very impressive for a person who has a master’s degree in theology. My response: the Church is infallible in its proclamation of dogma, but it is not infallible on matters such as this. No where has the Church proclaimed that supplying free AIDS medication is a dogma.
Sounds like a cafeteria catholic to me who picks and chooses when and what to believe.
Not at all, Tony — if you can’t distinguish between dogma and political opinion, you should see if you can get at least a partial refund of your tuition for your master’s degree.
Sometimes people will get all excited about Fatima, or Lourdes and say the Chruch approves it.
It is the same “church” that approves those apparitions that asks for universal health care. The conservatives only want to hear what they want from the Pope and Cardinals.
Humane Vitae was not declared infallible and look at how the conservatives treat that Papal letter.
Humanae Vitae was not just a letter; it was an encyclical. The predictions Paul VI made in that letter have, unfortunately, come to pass. Also, while the encyclical might not have been formally declared infallible, if you look in the Catechism, the Church’s Magisterial teachings in this regard are clear and definitive. Talk about cafeteria Catholicism — you pick and choose the parts of the Catechism you want to believe. One last point: those who accept papal encyclicals are not “conservative;” rather, we are faithful Catholics. The rest of you who pick and choose what you want to believe have left the Church to the degree that you reject its teachings. You are not fully Catholic, even if you think you are.
Pope Paul VI, who wrote the encycle went against the commision he established. IT IS NOT INFALLIBLE TEACHING.
But the Church’s Magisterial teachings are infallible. And, in the Catechism, paragraph 2363 reads as follows: “These two meanings or values of marriage (unity and procreation) cannot be separated without altering the couple’s spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family.” So, Tony, you are not just disagreeing with an encyclical; you are disagreeing with the Catechism of my Church, which calls contraception “intrinsically evil.” So, I have a real dilemma here: should I believe the Magisterial teachings of the Church established by the God-Man, or should I believe the rantings of the church of Tony. Mmmmmmmmm, let’s see — I think I’ll go with the teachings of the Catholic Church, and let Tony defend his teachings when he meets Jesus for his personal judgment.
Humane Vitae is not an infallible teaching.unless the Pope in union with the bishops of the whole church teaches something as infallible it is not infallible.people could and do differ with the understanding of contraception.
Well again, Tony, I’m going to follow the teachings in the Catechism insted of some guy from Boston who fancies himelf to be able to proclaim dogma that differs from the Catechism.
If the AIDS epidemic had begun because of the behavior of “women” instead of by the behavior of the “perverted men” who originated and spread this disease throughout the world, I’m sure the Vatican would have a different take on this matter. They’d have their priests up there preaching chastising and condemning them instead of paying for their medicine.
Then Dear Jim, please leave and arrive at some place that is not fascist. And do not let the door hit you in the rear!
Well, almondwood, you may get your wish sooner than you think. Romans 1;21-25: “For although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes. Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” I’m not quite sure why those verses popped in my head when I was reading your post, almondwood.
Remember that Paul wrote these words to the community at Rome, at a specific time and for a specific purpose. The person truly interested in how these words may apply today should visit a Biblical Commentary.
So, Tony, given your advanced degree, you should appreciate that a piece of Scripture can apply both to current circumtances as well as future circumstances. For example, the book of Revelations was written for first century Christians to give them hope to endure the persecution they were undergoing — but obviously many believe it is applicable to the end of time, as well as other times in history. Those verses apply to you and other posters, Tony: your “senseless mind has been darkened” because you have become “vain in your reasoning”; you “claim to be wise”, but in fact you are a “fool who has exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image”; that is, in exchange for the dogma in the church of Tony.
Free and universal healthcare is something that all of us should have a right to.
Remember that there is no such thing as free anything. The government has no money of its own. All services or benefits provided by the government are funded by other Americans who had to work to earn the money to pay for those benefits. Thus, when the “government” provides a benefit, they actually do so by forcing other Americans to work to pay for it.