God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

11/11/2009 • 8:24 am Comments Off on 11.11.2009 Sniper John Allen Muhammad executed

11.11.2009 Sniper John Allen Muhammad executed

CNN and all US American news channels have brought it almost live and in colour: the story of the execution of John A Muhammad. And it amazes me and saddens me again and again how people can celebrate the killing of another person and call it justice. It is so stupid and insane. Killing a human being is simply wrong and no argument of this world can make it right. Those in politics who support the death penalty are as sick as those who go on a killing spree, maybe even more as they kill after a long process of consideration covering years. Revenge is no criteria for the procedure within the criminal code or the justice system of a country.

Humanity has a lot to learn.

Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized,

11/10/2009 • 11:19 pm Comments Off on 10.11.2009 A long day…

10.11.2009 A long day…

… draws to an end. And a day which was defined by meetings, two major meetings. The first with the group which calls itself “working group POZ” and is driving the process of the pastoral care for priests and religious living with the virus. I reported back from my meeting with the Papal Council for Health Care Workers and other meetings related to this work. And we discussed the way forward trying to involve the level of bishops into our work  as proposed by the councils representative. So we will approach some bishops in the next time to get their support – the first I will see tomorrow is Archbishop Lawrence P Henry, who gave with his blessings the starting point for this joined work between the “Justice & Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Cape Town” and HOPE Cape Town. It is a further step on a long way to bring the topic to the top of the church.

In the afternoon then first planing meeting and then management meeting of HOPE Cape Town. It is a productive time, a time to reflect and plan the necessary structures of HOPE Cape Town for the next time. What is running good, what has to be enhanced, what has to be corrected – how can we optimise the mechanism of work within HOPE Cape Town so that we deliver on our mission statement. But also the question where are our limits? What burden can we carry? Reports back, correspondence, requests – there is always so many things which waits for a decision or the next step ahead. At the end we all know that exciting times are lying ahead. Hopefully new and sufficient office space will be available still this year to accommodate the new working structures of HOPE Cape Town.  Kerstin, our future PA to chair and management has done her first 6 weeks and reports back. It is good to see how good she fits in and enjoys her work – and the HOPE Cape Town people enjoying working with her. It is always a blessing to see when people fit in nicely. Or our HOPE Cape Town doctor, who is with us already for 5 months, but it feels as she has been with us for some years.

I leave the meetings with the feeling that we are moving forward and that we are all willing to bring HOPE Cape Town to a new level of professionalism without losing the heart of the project. I feel encouraged that after months of soul-searching and pondering the right way we are now on this right way into a good future – for the sake of the people we try to assist. Thanks to everybody who contributed to todays productive meetings.

 

Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, , , , , , , , , , , ,

11/10/2009 • 8:33 am Comments Off on 10.09.2009 walls..

10.09.2009 walls..

Yesterday eve, after a day of deep tiredness and exhaustion I watched the ceremony in Berlin commemorating the 20th day of the fall of the Berlin wall. And looking at the pictures I asked myself how long it take for all the walls in our church to come down, the walls that people erect to protect their faith, not knowing what is still waiting for them if they would not see faith as something I can possess, but what I have to live and to develop every day.

I went to turbulent days the last days. Finding my feet again in Cape Town, starting the real process of farewell from “my” communities, sorting out all planing and prepare for the planing meeting today of HOPE Cape Town and HOPE Cape Town POZ,  and accompanying my colleague and successor in his quest to decide, whether he really wants to stay in Cape Town. Tough decisions to make and always to ask oneself, where God leads one and what is a blessing for oneself and for others. Life can appear to be very difficult at times. Well, we will see, what this day will bring…

Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

11/08/2009 • 2:17 am Comments Off on 08.11.2009 Peacekeeping yes – priest no

08.11.2009 Peacekeeping yes – priest no

The following story triggered in me a question:

A first for soldiers living with HIV By Latoya Newman IOL

A KwaZulu-Natal soldier has become the first known HIV-positive soldier to be deployed externally by the SA National Defence Force.  In a statement on Tuesday, the Aids Law Project said the sergeant, from 121 SAI Battalion, based in Mtubatuba, had made history on Friday when he was deployed on a peacekeeping mission to Sudan. This follows a May 2008 judgment declaring the SANDF’s HIV-testing policies – which were used to exclude people with HIV from recruitment, promotion or foreign deployment – unconstitutional.
The SA Security Forces Union welcomed the man’s deployment, but union president Bhekinkosi Mvovo said that the union could not celebrate until the SANDF had completely changed its policy in this regard. Mvovo said the SANDF was dragging its feet in instructing its commanders that HIV-positive soldiers could no longer be held back because of their status. Project spokesperson S’khumbuzo Maphumulo said: “The sergeant was originally excluded when his unit was scheduled for deployment to Sudan. “It was only after the project intervened that the chief of the army issued an instruction on September 28, authorising his deployment to Sudan. “The project has been informed that the sergeant departed for Sudan on Friday,” he added.

A soldier living with HIV can go and serve as a peacekeeper
A diplomat living with HIV can go and serve his country,
A priest living with HIV can serve his church and the faithful,

well only if he was lucky to be already ordained before the infection was detected. Which seminary takes a man with vocation in, when he is HIV positive in our days? Please tell me since when God has mad HIV a criteria for vocations?

Filed under: Politics and Society, Reflection, , , , , , , ,

11/07/2009 • 12:19 am Comments Off on 07.11.2009 First day in office and a final letter …

07.11.2009 First day in office and a final letter …

A first day in office after all my travel, and as it is almost every time the case, first one has to sort out all the papers brought with me from the trip – and just have a look through all mails, emails and requests waiting for my arrival.

It is a vast to-do-list I have made today – but I am sure when I work through Saturday and Sunday, I will be able to start fresh into the new week – at least almost fresh.. 🙂 There are so many encounters with people, I still have to work through, so many challenges and obviously a good time-table and organisation of work is a must.

Tuesday we will have HOPE Cape Town planing meeting – then I know better what kind of travel I will have next year – with the Okeumenischer Kirchentag in Munich, Vienna World AIDS Conference, Hope Gala Dresden and Berliner Aidsgala as well as the Bundespostivenkonferenz,  meetings regarding the Charite Exhibition and a further meeting in Rome with the papal council there seems to be lots of travel ahead. I hope that I am able to coop with all the demands. But the circle of friends of HOPE Cape Town is growing

Today, my previous headquarter of the Kath. Auslandssekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, the office dealing with the portfolio of German-speaking Catholic Communities, has given me notice, that they will cease taking donations for HOPE Cape Town. It seems that only the priest in the community counts – not the rest of the parish. The chairperson of the Pastoral Community Council is at the same time Chairperson of the HOPE Cape Town Association management – the project is not a “Stefan Hippler” initiative, but was an initiative out of the community – and HOPE Cape Town was until now a proud parent of HOPE Cape Town.

I will accept the ruling, why should I start arguing again – but I find it sad, that a clearly marked project which has identifiable links to the church and to the Cape Town German-speaking Catholic Community has now to rely on another way to channel the money and issue tax-deductible receipts. Thanks God I saw it come and the HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung can do all that in Germany. Nevertheless, I feel sad while another indication is sad, that personal dislikes of  one or two members of the Auslandssekretariats staff influence the donations stream for very needy people.

Evaluation of the higher legal interest would have done the trick.

But so, from February 2010 there will be no possiblity to send donation to HOPE Cape Town via the German Bishops Conference’s office of the Kath. Auslandssekretariat.

Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

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