CBCP releases new primer on HIV/AIDS

In a bid to fight the disease by increasing public awareness, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has released a new primer on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The primer, dubbed “Love Casts Out Fear," is a 43-page booklet made by the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA). "Awareness is very important because HIV/AIDS is a big problem for us and also for the people to be more careful and avoid behaviors that causes it," Manila Auxiliary Bishop and NASSA chairman Broderick Pabillo said in an article posted on the CBCP news website. Pabillo said the primer will be distributed to various parishes and Catholic schools across the country. He said this primer will work hand in hand with ongoing Church efforts to take care of the victims. Pabillo lamented many HIV-infected people also suffer from stigma that includes ostracism, rejection, discrimination and avoidance. In worst-case scenarios, he said those with HIV even suffer violence, as threats of stigma prevent them from seeking HIV testing or treatment. Condom not the key On the other hand, the CBCP maintained the use of condoms is not the key to solving the spread of the disease. Pabillo stressed the basic change to decrease HIV prevalence is a change of attitude and behavior, like teaching youths about faithfulness within marriage and abstinence for those who are not married yet. Pope Benedict XVI has in the past reiterated the Church’s position that abstinence and marital fidelity are the only sure ways to prevent the spread of HIV. Pabillo said condom promotion only reinforces an attitude and behavior toward sex which is already irresponsible. "The use of condom is not part of our AIDS prevention campaign but awareness and at the same time behavioral change," he said. — KG, GMA News