| In Called To Unconditional Love, Archbishop Marino Writes of the
response of the Church in North Georgia to the tragic reality of AIDS. This is
his second pastoral letter since his installation in 1988. The first, issued
Jan. 4, 1990, was on the gifts and challenge of the Hispanic community.
The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ commands us to love one another
selflessly as Jesus loved us. Because it is at the heart of the Church’s
mission in the world, this commandment is universal, admitting of no exception.
We who constitute the Church of North Georgia are challenged each day in many
ways to translate this call from Jesus into generous and compassionate service.
With full confidence in your desire to respond wholeheartedly to the great
command of the Lord, I write to focus attention on a grim and troubling human
reality that requires an immediate and comprehensive response from the Church,
and from all men and women of good will.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and its acquired syndrome (AIDS)
continues to spread throughout the world. By far it is the most dramatic of
diseases to beset the human community in modern history. Compared with other
infectious illnesses, HIV/AIDS “has by far many more profound
repercussions of a moral, social, economic, juridical, and structural nature,
not only on individual families and in neighborhood communities, but also on
nations and on the entire community of peoples.” (Pope John Paul II)
Alerted by the concern expressed by Pope John Paul II, and compelled by the
growing evidence of the effects of this insidious disease in our local
community, I address this urgent appeal to all members of the local Catholic
community, and to all people of good will. The time for specific instruction
and decisive action is upon us. Persons with HIV/AIDS cry out for relief and
the right to personal dignity. Also, their families, friends, health care
professionals and the community at large are seeking guidance, support, and
reassurance for their efforts.
Let us first consider our responsibility to those not yet touched by this
disease for which there is presently no cure. We must continue, and indeed
increase our efforts to educate persons of all ages especially our young people
on the nature of this disease, how it is contracted, and the appropriate means
for its prevention. For those who are not married, chastity has always been and
remains the Church’s norm. For married persons, sexual activity is
governed by the promises made at the marriage ceremony, in the sacramental
presence of God and the Church, promises of exclusive and mutual fidelity. I
call upon all involved parties - parents, educators, community leaders - to
understand and to proclaim faithful adherence to the Church’s teaching as
the most effective means of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Abuse of addictive substances must also be mentioned as a prime means by
which HIV/AIDS is contracted. Although the reasons for pervasive drug
dependence in our society may be argued and addressed, the solution to the
problem first emerges from the individuals’ decision to reach out for
help. Only then, aided by faith and by the support of the community, can a
person being the campaign of being free from any dependency. We have a special
duty to encourage and support individuals and groups engaged in the treatment
and rehabilitation of substance abusers. The secondary effort of this curative
work will be to reduce the incidence of drug-related HIV/AIDS.
Our immediate concern must be for those members of the human family who are
infected with this incurable syndrome and who must look to the approach of
death. Some are innocent newborn infants and others have been accidentally
infected by this dread virus. All persons with HIV/AIDS deserve love,
compassion, and the opportunity to put their human condition into the larger
Christian context of meaning. For men and women of faith, death is not the end
but the beginning of a new and beautiful life. Even great pain and suffering
can have meaning when accepted in the spirit of Jesus and with hope based on
His promise. To live the experience of the suffering of Christ with Christian
hope can be a true sharing in Christ’s redemptive mission. The Holy
Father, on behalf of the whole Christian world, recognizes this special place
of the person with HIV/AIDS when he proclaims: “The Church is with you as
a sacrament of salvation to sustain you in your difficult path. She receives
much when you live your suffering with faith; she is beside you with the
comfort of active solidarity in her members so that young lose hope. Remember
how Jesus invites you: ‘Come to me all of you who are weary and tired, and
I will give you complete rest.’”
Having expressed our loving concern for all who are beaten by HIV/AIDS, call
on the members of the Church to turn their hearts and hands to concrete and
positive action. The aim of this action should be to calm the fears and
prejudices of society at large, and bring immediate relief and solace to those
suffering members of the community, without discrimination and without
hesitation. Our only concern should be to aid the one who suffers. Our duty as
confirmed Christians is to heal others, not to sit in judgment of them.
In order that the response of the Catholic community be clear and effective,
it is my wish that every pastor in the archdiocese designate a person who will
serve as an AIDS ministry coordinator for that parish. The Archdiocesan AIDS
Task Force will be the resource for those individual parish coordinators
assisting them to implement the following actions: 1. Visibly identify each
parish community as a source of compassionate care for Persons with AIDS, along
with their families and loved ones 2. Function as a parish resource for needed
services for Persons with AIDS, their families and concerned parishioners
regarding health related services, support groups, meals-on-wheels, hospice
care, etc.; 3. Coordinate ongoing parish education (schools, religious
education programs, etc.) regarding Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) so that
all, and in particular our young people, may understand how to stop the spread
of this disease; 4. Originate parish-based programs as needed, or assist
existing programs in providing direct aid, for example, “Tuesdays at the
Shrine” dinners for Persons with AIDS held each week at the Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception; 5. Provide support for existing outreach efforts or
residences, such as Jerusalem House, and similar domestic foundations,
established to provide decent living conditions for indigent persons with AIDS.
I appeal to every individual Catholic in the Archdiocese of Atlanta to
contribute in some manner to the corporal works of mercy demanded by the
present situation. Christ’s example in the Gospel is one of direct action
to bring healing and peace. The power of the Holy Spirit urges us to be
directly involved in combating this modern health disaster and its devastating
effects on the individual, the family, and the community at large. Salvation
rests in our prayers to a compassionate God, and in our response to the trials
of the helpless. May God enlighten our minds, inflame our hearts, and
strengthen our hands, so that we may be messengers of hope and agents of
healing in a world where sickness and pain abound. May Mary the Mother of
Jesus, and our Mother, sustain us in this compassionate cause.
Eugene A. Marino
Archbishop of Atlanta
(The U.S. bishops’ statement of November 1989, “Called To
Compassion and Responsibility: A Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis” further
expands aspects of the Church’s guidance and response.)
|
