Caritas point man on AIDS links fighting disease to peace, justice

Published: 2005-11-01

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- World peace, security and justice are key elements in the battle against AIDS, said Father Robert J. Vitillo, Caritas Internationalis special adviser on HIV and AIDS. AIDS itself poses a significant threat to world security if the pandemic remains unchecked, the Geneva-based priest said in a lecture at Georgetown University. In 2000 the U.N. Security Council warned that if HIV and AIDS continued to grow unchecked, the disease "can have a uniquely devastating impact on all sectors and levels of society" and "may pose a risk to stability and security," he said. He said the Catholic Church plays a significant role in combating HIV around the world, working for its prevention, caring for those with the disease and working as an advocate on their behalf. "The Catholic Church has assumed a forceful role in advocating for a just solution to the inequities in treatment access," he said. In the Oct. 24 lecture and an Oct. 27 interview with Catholic News Service, he described signs of real progress against AIDS in some countries, such as Uganda, Thailand and Brazil. But the disease is wreaking havoc in southern Africa, he said, and its spread in the populous nations of India and China could mean serious increases in global figures in coming years.

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