Priest appeals at U.N. ceremony for efforts to combat stigma of AIDS

Published: 2003-12-02

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- A priest opening a poster exhibit on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, at U.N. headquarters in New York appealed for efforts to combat the "stigma and discrimination" suffered by people living with HIV and AIDS. Father Robert J. Vitillo, director of the U.S. bishops' Catholic Campaign for Human Development, said the struggle against such stigma and discrimination "should be considered an essential part of the mission of churches and other faith-based organizations." He said many people maintain "distorted beliefs" about the "guilt or innocence of HIV-positive people" and subject them to unjustified rejection. "As a Roman Catholic priest, I must say that I am particularly shocked and scandalized when such discrimination is falsely promoted in the name of faith or religion," he said. A former staff member of Caritas Internationalis who was responsible for its AIDS program and still a Caritas adviser on AIDS, Father Vitillo is president of the National Catholic AIDS Network.

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