Catholic News 2

Rome, Italy, Apr 20, 2016 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat is achievable if attention is focused on children infected with HIV, participants in a recent conference held by Caritas International emphasized.

Monsignor Robert Vitillo, who has been involved in healthcare issues for 30 years, said there is already progress.

“Thirty years ago, we could only accompany people to a dignified death. There was no treatment,” he told CNA. “At the moment, there is still no cure, but drugs can let you live. Some children have been under treatment for more than 10 years. They get older, they have a future.”
 
“We need to do more, as only 45 percent of needy people have access to drugs, while the rest of the world is sentenced to death,” said the monsignor, who heads Caritas International’s delegation to the United Nations in Geneva.

He was one of the participants in a conference on AIDS held in Rome April 11-13 at the Vatican Secretariat of State’s Bambino Gesu Pediatric Hospital. The event was organized by Caritas International, the Catholic umbrella organization that includes more than 160 Catholic relief agencies all over the world.
 
Msgr. Vitillo saw three main reasons why children do not have access to HIV treatment.
 
“First, the drugs are very expensive: costs are lower now, but in most poor countries the access to treatment costs $100 per year. It is too much for a poor person,” he explained. “More international solidarity is needed.”
 
He then noted the difficulty in diagnosing AIDS in a young child.

“The tests are expensive, they are not always possible. In addition, drugs for children are not easy to produce, as it is quite complicated to estimate the dosages,” he said.
 
There is also a stigma about HIV infection.

“There are many mothers who undergo tests for themselves and their children, but they never go to get the results,” Msgr. Vitillo said. “They are scared. They fear that their husband or partner will blame the infection on them.”
 
Education is the only way to overcome the stigma, the priest said. He thought the Catholic Church can be “a great part” of this process.
Bob Kickert, an American who works for Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland, agreed with the importance of education.
 
“I live in one of the countries where HIV infection has had the biggest impact, though it is a very small country. But the real issue is not access to drugs,” he told CNA.
 
Kickert saw changing social norms as the priority to help prevent HIV infection.

“There is a lot of poverty, and there is a patriarchal society that does not value women and considers women as men’s property,” he said.
 
The biggest challenge is to heal and rehabilitate women who are infected by HIV.

Other social practices can also help.

“Even merely keeping girls in school is a strategy to prevent infection,” Kickert said.
 
Doctor Prince Bosco Kanani, vice president of the Rwandan Healthcare Federation, said he is optimistic about the future.
 
“We are certain we can end AIDS,” he said. “What happened in Rwanda is a proof of it. We decreased the number of the HIV infected by 50 percent in the last decades, and the mortality rate was reduced by 70 percent. If Rwanda can do it, with a few resources, the goal is really achievable.”

Msgr. Vitillo recommended more networks and collaboration to fight AIDS.

“We have the tools and the possibility to end AIDS as a public threat,” he said.

Full Article

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians must look to their own sins and failings and not fall into the temptation of hypocrisy that causes them to believe they are better than others, Pope Francis said.

"The relationship of salvation" with God cannot move forward if people justify themselves and look at the mistakes of others instead of fixing their gaze on the Lord, he said at his weekly general audience April 20.

"This is the line of salvation, the relationship between me -- the sinner, and the Lord," he told tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square.

The pope reflected on one aspect of mercy exemplified in Jesus' encounter with a woman who was considered sinful. While Jesus dined with one of the Pharisees, she entered the house weeping, bathed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

"Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little," Jesus said.

Although the Pharisee questions Jesus' reason for allowing himself to be "contaminated" by the woman "as if she were a leper," the pope said Jesus' reaction is a lesson on how to "distinguish between the sin and the sinner."

"With sin there is no need to compromise, while sinners -- meaning all of us -- we are like sick people who are being cured and in order to be cured, we need the doctor to come close, to visit us, to touch us. And naturally the sick person, in order to be healed, must recognize the need for a doctor," he said.

By allowing himself to be free of prejudice "that impedes mercy from expressing itself," he added, Jesus puts an end to the isolation caused by the hypocrisy of "ruthless judgments."

Pope Francis said the encounter between Jesus and the woman teaches "us the link between faith, love and gratitude."

"Let us allow Christ's love to be poured in us. A disciple draws from and is rooted in this love. From this love, everyone can be nourished and fed. In this way, through the grateful love we pour out to our brothers and sisters, in our homes and in society, the Lord's mercy can be communicated," he said.

- - -

Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju.

- - -

Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

(Vatican Radio) Before his General Audience on Wednesday Pope Francis greeted athletes from the Austrian Skiing Federation in the Paul VI complex, telling them they were models especially for young people. But he also reminded them that sport was not just about performance, it was also about the virtues and values that sport represents such as, commitment, perseverance, determination, honesty, solidarity, and team spirit.

“By your example”, the Pope continued, “you contribute to the shaping of society”, adding, “always be messengers of the uniting power of sport and hospitality”.

And alluding to the natural wealth of the country, Pope Francis invited the Federation to be messengers of safeguarding the environment and the beauty of God's creation.

Full Article