God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

09/03/2009 • 10:44 pm Comments Off on 03.09.2009 imposed conditions?

03.09.2009 imposed conditions?

Controversial Priest Continues Working

Even though he is known for disagreeing with Catholic Church policies on AIDS and condoms, a German priest has been cleared to continue fighting the disease in Cape Town, South Africa. A spokesperson for Stefan Hippler’s home diocese in Trier, Germany, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, “Despite his critical statements, Hippler has earned great achievements with his work.” (HIVPLUS Magazine)

Quite a lot of people asking me after reading such notices more or less frank whether the permission to stay and work in South Africa is connected to any conditions..   And here is the answer: No, there are no secretly imposed conditions.

There is only the agreement between me and the Bishop of Trier that we want to foster the cooperation between Europe and Africa, between Germany and South Africa, between the dioceses on both continents and the desire to develop a good pastoral care and a good theology regarding the topic HIV and AIDS. To bring Africa more in focus for the department of World Church Affairs in my home diocese of Trier and to work together with Justice & Peace as I do it already here in Cape Town – these should be fruits of my future work with HOPE Cape Town and the Catholic AIDS Network of the Archdiocese of Cape Town.

We both see the immense needs in the field of HIV and AIDS and we both have the desire that the church  indeed serves the people living with the HI virus as much as possible.

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

08/31/2009 • 10:30 pm Comments Off on 31.08.2009… turns out to be a blessed Monday…

31.08.2009… turns out to be a blessed Monday…

It is Monday afternoon when I have a contact with my Bishop in Trier. And now it is official:

I will serve for the next 5 years here in Cape Town, working in the fields of HIV and AIDS, specially HOPE Cape Town and the Catholic AIDS Network and all, what comes with it.  After being a chaplain of two German speaking Catholic Communities the last year, I change to be a “Fidei Donum ” Priest – means a present of the faith. The expression comes from Paul VI and one of his documents (Encyclical Fidei Donum), asking the European churches to give priests to the developing world to assist in the development of the local churches. Admitted, meanwhile it seems that the European churches need assistance.. But nevertheless, it still is a working mechanism, specially for the church in Latin America.

I am grateful and relieved, that after a year of unpleasant experiences and disappointments a constructive talk was possible with my new Bishop in Trier and that this constructive meeting turned the situation into a solution which is beneficial to the church, the people and also takes into account my talents and charisma. It shows, that we are able within the church to find good solutions, if we only want to…

Living at the Cape of Good Hope, working with HOPE Cape Town – so nomen est omen… somehow it seems.

What does it mean now for me in practice?  I will start working on the 1.10.2009 for HOPE Cape Town and the Catholic Aids Network – leaving my offices at the Mediterranean Villa, the community center and occupying offices in Newlands and at Tygerberg Campus of the University of Stellenbosch. And I am invited to supply for the Archdiocese of Cape Town, whenever time permits and need arises. So I stay as a priest within my church and work in the fields I have gained some knowledge and expertise the last years.

It is indeed sad to leave the communities, but it is also exciting to know, what lies ahead and to be able – after one year of being tossed from one corner to the other – to plan ahead again in a systematic way. So it was more than an ordinary Monday, I came home blessed with a final decision, a perspective and lots of ideas how to pursue the new task. Indeed, miracles happen in our days…… 🙂

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

08/29/2009 • 1:37 am Comments Off on 29.08.2009 It feels good…

29.08.2009 It feels good…

It simply feels good to know where you are heading. And I feel good because I know that I can continue to work in a field which is close to my heart and I guess I collected some expertise. And I am also happy because this shows that even in our church, we can find ways after a disaster, which benefits all parties concerned.It feels good to know that I can remain in this church and serve this church and the people in the fields of HIV and AIDS. I feel, it is a privilege to be able to do so. After 12 years of the privilege to be a chaplain to German speaking Communities abroad the next privilege. Or should I call it blessings?

This blog will accompany me in my new chapter of life – and it will continue to report about my work, my life, my thoughts – I hope it will be a good way in keeping in touch with many people I have learned to know in the last years and kept contact. It should stimulate discussion – and I already can see that it serves the purpose of getting in touch with people all over the world with similar or other thoughts.

I am grateful for everybody who gave me feedback so far or encouraged me to continue writing. Modern media and modern communication is indeed so helpful to exchange ideas and to meet people, one otherwise would never meet in a lifetime.

Five more Sunday services as the chaplain of a German speaking Catholic Community – the last being the farewell one. Besides all the good feelings I just described there is also sadness – of leaving this communities. For me, the personal contact with people of different back ground as you find them in a Catholic parish abroad was indeed a blessing. I learned so much – yes, I would say, that I learned more from all those who crossed my way in the last 12 years than they could learn from me… 🙂

It is 1.30 am in the morning, time to go to bed and I hope that today will be another splendid Capetonian winter day: 28 Degree Celsius, blue sky and no wind..  Another blessing…

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

08/29/2009 • 1:04 am Comments Off on 29.08.2009 Religious Leaders Absent in the Anti-AIDS Fight & the POZ initiative

29.08.2009 Religious Leaders Absent in the Anti-AIDS Fight & the POZ initiative

The following article I found today on the website “the body” – and caught my attention:
Religious Leaders Absent in the Anti-AIDS Fight  August 21, 2009
Though they exert great influence in the communities in which they serve, religious leaders are not doing enough to fight HIV/AIDS, said experts at the recent ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, held in Bali, Indonesia. “Many religious groups and leaders are unwilling to address HIV/AIDS and make it a priority. Their commitment level is quite low, particularly when compared to the size of their budget and the amount of work they do,” said Donald Messer of the US-based Center of Church and Global AIDS. “We’ve been talking about HIV/AIDS and the religious groups’ response for three decades now. We’re still talking too much even now,” said Fiji’s Dominica Abo. The “most powerful contribution” religious leaders can make is addressing stigma, discrimination, and biases that put groups like women at high risk for the disease. The epidemics impact on women and children needs to be addressed from a faith-based perspective, said the Rev. Youngsook Charlene Kang of the United Methodist Church in the United States, noting that women account for nearly half of all infections worldwide. “We need to call on religious leaders to educate and create new pathways within our churches for parishioners to learn the role that faith communities can play.” Messer noted that many conservative Muslim and Christian groups continue to preach against contraceptives, including condoms, believing they promote promiscuity. “[Yet] when used directly and consistently, condoms are humanity’s best protection and weapon against HIV/AIDS,” he said. “Some religious leaders are more eager to preserve the purity or correctness of theological perspectives than their task to save human lives.”
I guess, that the POZ initiative of HOPE Cape Town and the Justice & Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Cape Town will make a difference and highlight, that we take the fight against stigma, discrimination and bias serious. By working with and for priests, religious and seminarians, who are living with the virus, we address the double stigma of being infected and being infected as a “sacred” person, so to speak.  In this sense we can see a double discrimination – and of course also the bias, as many church leaders do not acknowledge that the pandemic also is amongst us, the clergy.
I am personally thrilled that we got the permission from the local Archbishop of Cape Town to work in this field – and when I will visit the papal council for health care workers end of the year, I will address it and hope that they join hands to work for a transformation from stigma to charisma.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

08/28/2009 • 9:04 am Comments Off on 28.08.2009 Light at the end of the tunnel…

28.08.2009 Light at the end of the tunnel…

Friday morning, a new day and slowly but surely the clouds of uncertainty are fading away. As it looks in the moment, I will stay in Cape Town to continue my work in the fields of HIV and AIDS with HOPE Cape Town and the Catholic AIDS Network (CAN) of the Archdiocese of Cape Town. This would enable me to built on the last more than 8 years of work in this portfolio. I must admit that I would be very happy to dedicate my time and energy for this cause and to create, develop and foster relationships in this field between Europe and South Africa.

Regarding the German speaking Catholic Communities in Cape Town and Durban the future is now also decided. I accept the fact that there is a termination of contract and I will not take the matter for a juridical review within the church. It would damage the church, waste a lot of energies and I cannot see the need to fight those, who decided to get me out of this portfolio. I don’t feel any need to have a dependency of any kind to them. My farewell in Cape Town will be on the 4th of October 2009, in Durban on the 13.9.2009.
I feel sad about leaving the communities – I felt home with the people in the last 12 years, but I guess, for a priest it is normal to change positions – and in our days, it applies for a lot of professions. The good old times, where priests where sitting for ages in one little village are gone….

But I am also looking forward to the new challenge and I know that I can continue to build on a good foundation – life is good and at the end, the bible is right:  God can write straight on twisted lines. Light at the end of the tunnel…

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

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