God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

05/09/2010 • 9:11 am Comments Off on 09.05.2010 On the way…

09.05.2010 On the way…

Cape Town – Johannesburg – Frankfurt – Hannover… the first leg of the trip, Fr. Wim Lindeque of Manneberg and I are flying to meet a lot of interesting people and to hopefully push forward our common agenda regarding the pastoral work for HIV positive priests and religious. While the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference considers our proposal, we are heading also to Rome to introduce our concept to two papal councils. After that to Munich where I am invited to join a podium about South African children and HIV. Lots of talks with politicians and church people are also on the agenda. Finally to Muenster Sarmsheim to join for a fundraising evening in lieu of HOPE Cape Town and the next day discussion with some students of a local school.

But first to Hannover and Wolfsburg to meet “brother” Joachim and Sandra and their team to prepare for some challenging events next year.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

04/30/2010 • 11:05 am Comments Off on 30.04.2010 Human mankind

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, , , , , , , , , ,

04/22/2010 • 10:45 pm 3

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, , , , , , ,

01/05/2010 • 9:47 am Comments Off on 05.01.2010 Holiday blues…

05.01.2010 Holiday blues…

Staying on holiday so far away from home has two disadvantages: The first is that people forget that there is indeed a time difference and that phoning me in the evening means waking me up after midnight. Well, one might say, that one could simply switch off the cell during night – and yes, that’s right. But – and this is the second disadvantage: climax points of disasters and worries happening normally especially, when one is far away – so one is needed the most, when one is far away… Or is that only my fantasy?? 🙂

Nevertheless, Bangkok is starting to fill up again with people and cars and noise; normal life has come back to the city of angels. And checking the news I see our president dancing the Zulu wedding dance in full leopard outfit – his third wife, not to count the divorced one and the deceased one – and it is mentioned that he is already engaged with future wife number four. And it comes to my mind what that all means to fidelity in marriage – and the concept of marriage as we Catholics have. Not to mention that his now third wife has already three kids – so sexuality must have been practiced before marriage. Which is obvious for most Africans, as after paying the lobola the couple is allowed to engage in sexual activities before the wedding ceremony – old African traditions – once again – what does this mean to the more Eurocentric view of Catholicism which puts sex only into the marriage.

Here in Bangkok I am reading in the moment a book about katoeys – the third gender in Thailand – and once again I asked myself, what does the existence of such a third gender mean in the framework of Catholic moral theology.

So not, only sleepless nights, but also so many questions and so little answer…  And all this has indeed also to do with the topic of HIV and AIDS and how we approach it.. Well, I still have more than a week time to find some…  🙂

Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, Politics and Society, Reflection, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

12/27/2009 • 3:22 pm 1

27.12.2009 Feast of the Holy Family

How many families are destroyed through HIV and AIDS? How many families are broken because it did not work out any more? How many kids are growing up with one parent or even no one?
The feast of the Holy Family seems to be put onto this scenario the three persons Mary, Joseph and Jesus – most times found with halos and an ideal of family life. I am not so sure, so this morning, I tried to look at the Holy Family a bit differently to bring them closer to my audience. What did I see?

A girl getting pregnant before marriage – Father unknown. A baby boy in a stable – very unstable circumstances of birth. A son running away from his parents during a trip to Jerusalem, a young adult without a proper income, en route with some other runaways and some women, who, according to one gospel, support Jesus. I do see a Mum standing under the cross of her son, being sentenced as a normal criminal. And I am seeing a husband, who is disappearing during the family story without any further note..

Does that sound like a realistic family? Yeap, I do think so – and what makes this family holy is not all the unrealistic things attributed to them but that throughout the family history, Mary never lost hope; it is the message, that whatever happens to a family, one should never lose hope that things are coming right again at the end.

I am not sure how things are coming right again at the end when a family is broken up completely, or parents are lost at an early stage – human understanding cannot give any reasoning. But I belive that there is a bigger picture, which does not take away the pain and the suffering, but that brings together all the ends at the end. Somehow… Let’s hope.

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

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