God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

08.05.2010 Is it murder?

I just read: Since 500 years the people of the South, 4.9 billion people are dominated by the Caucasians of Europe and later North America, which are 24.6% of the world population. Those quarter defines our world trade system. The consequences: Every 5 seconds a child under the age of 10 is dying of hunger. Every day we can add 47 000 people dying of hunger in the world. More than 1 billion are suffering of malnutrition. And the numbers are rising.

According to the UNO, we can produce worldwide food for 12 billion people, far more than we have in the moment.. Lets face it: If we don’t do,what we can do, if we accept a world trade system and a finance system producing such numbers of dying and death people: this is murder, as we are all able to know the consequences of our system.The dignity of every human person is untouchable…  who is really believing in this statement?

Filed under: Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , ,

03.05.2010 Disclosure of the HIV status

It is again and again a debate, whether there is a need to disclose the own HIV status and if so, when and to whom. Every person has the right to privacy and it is his or her own decision which route to follow. In my opinion there is unfortunately still in our times such ignorance and discrimination to find in daily life which makes disclosure very difficulty. On the other hand every HIV positive person should have at least one friend or family member to know about it to make sure there is somebody to talk to…

The website aidsmeds.com has a very detailed write-up about the pros and cons of disclosure and it is worth reading it:

To Tell or Not To Tell

http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/Disclosure_7568.shtml

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, Society and living environment, , , ,

30.04.2010 Human mankind

Does human mankind ever learn? Most people will answer with a clear “no”… We see it already in our small little world how difficult it is to keep peace with the neighbours or to avoid prejudice. In the finance sector of our days we see that the circle of failures already and those who have spoken about changing the system to avoid another crash of the markets are continuing their same old path.. some minor corrections are allowed to please the public.

In Bangkok people take a whole city hostage – stand-offs, shootings, killings, endangering of innocent people seems to be “normal” – nobody wants violence but everybody is captured so much in his own world and thinking that without “wanting it” one just jumps on every opportunity to gain and to damage those considered to be “the others”.

In our church, the “hype” about sexual abuse creates interesting reactions: the right wingers within our church try to equalise sexual abuse = homosexuality, the left-wing in the church proclaims the conjunction between celibacy and abuse – and instead of investigating the real reasons behind all these, one uses the opportunity for each convictions own gain. This is an abuse in itself and insults the victims. This times can be times of an honest review how church performs – as HIV and AIDS can be a subject to trigger an honest review of parts of our moral theology. Are we able to stand the test of times – or do we fail – again, as many would say.

Difficult times… indeed..

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

22.04.2010 working group for HIV positive priests and religious

What has the working group for HIV positive priests and religious in mind?

We want to provide excellent and confidential service and pastoral care for Catholic priests, religious, deacons and seminarians, but open to other denominations – which includes:

    • Advice for priests, religious, deacons and seminarians regarding VCT for themselves and their communities
    • Confidential and non judgmental counseling (in person, by email, phone, letter)
    • General information about HIV and AIDS
    • Assistance in the work on AIDS policies in religious institutions, diocesan structures, church related business
    • Workshops for interested priests and religious
    • Networking for priests and religious infected or affected by the HI virus
    • Advocacy against stigma
    • Transforming the stigma of HIV into a meaningful tool of service to others in our churches
    • Working on a theology of HIV and AIDS
    • Cooperation with relevant authorities, especially with the papal council for health care workers

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, Networking, Society and living environment, , , , , , ,

POZ magazine: Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga: Celibacy Is OK, Free Condoms at Concerts

While in the United Kingdom to promote M·A·C Cosmetics’ latest Viva Glam campaign, which funds HIV/AIDS prevention and support programs for women and girls, pop superstar Lady Gaga said she is practicing celibacy at the moment, and she encouraged anyone not ready for sex to do the same, MTV News reports.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this—don’t have sex,” said Gaga, 24. “I’m single right now, and I’ve chosen to be single because I don’t have the time to get to know anybody. So it’s OK not to have sex, it’s OK to get to know people. I’m celibate, celibacy’s fine.”

The “Telephone” singer added, “You don’t have to have sex to feel good about yourself, and if you’re not ready, don’t do it. And if you are ready, there are free condoms given away at my concerts when you’re leaving!”

According to the article, Gaga was inspired to take this stance on celibacy in response to the rise in HIV infections among women worldwide. The World Health Organization reported last year that HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among women ages 15 to 44.

“This is a disease that affects everyone, not just the gay community,” said Gaga, who stressed that it’s a growing concern among women.

Original Post: http://www.poz.com/rssredir/articles/LadyGaga_celibacy_condoms_1_18277.shtml

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, Society and living environment, , , ,

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