Bishops won't wed Burundian couples without proof of HIV test

Published: 2006-03-30

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (CNS) -- Burundi's Catholic bishops said priests will not bless any marriages unless the couple produces proof they have taken HIV tests. "The church will not bless the engaged couple if they do not present this document," Gelase Mugerowimana, a spokesman for the Burundian bishops' conference, told local radio March 24. "We ask the (engaged couple) to tell the truth to each other, which is the only basis of their statement of union." Mugerowimana added that a couple's HIV status does not matter. Both HIV-positive and HIV-negative people will be able to receive the church's blessings. The church's decision did not meet with universal approval in the country. "Our position is clear. We are against a forced HIV test. The test must be voluntary and anonymous," Jeanne Gapiya, head of Burundi's National Association of people with HIV/AIDS, told Reuters, the British news agency. "People must be psychologically prepared to welcome results of their test. Here, it is an obligation, and people will fear to do the test."

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