Message for WAD: Youth: Take the Lead - The future is now!

none 26 Nov 2007 – 10:54

by mlepeska

"World AIDS Day is an opportune time for us, as one community of believers, to reflect on how this epidemic has changed life around us and the challenges it has posed." To read more from Archbishop Bernard Moras on World AIDS Day, please see below.

MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD AIDS DAY
December 1, 2007
Youth: Take the Lead - The future is now!
"With the power of the Holy Spirit … you will be my witnesses"
(Acts 1:8)

1. December 1, 2007 marks another 'World AIDS Day'. This is an opportune time for us, as one community of believers, to reflect on how this epidemic has changed life around us and the challenges it has posed. Inspired by the mandate of Jesus, the Divine Healer, the Catholic Church in India considers it a special mission to provide compassionate care and solace to the many living with HIV and AIDS, and take concerted and sustainable measures towards preventing further spread of this pandemic. The enduring assurance of Jesus, "I will be with you!" (Mathew 28:20), serves as a source of hope to the sick, and provides great encouragement to the caregivers. As Chairman of the CBCI Commission for Health, I would like to reflect with you on this challenge of HIV and AIDS with a special focus on the population which is currently at the highest risk - the youth of our country.

2. The HIV pandemic has emerged as one of the greatest threats to adolescents. Alarmingly, every 14 seconds a young person between the age of 15 and 24 becomes infected globally (UNFP, State of World's Population Report, 2003, p. 16). According to a recent report, in India out of the total number of AIDS cases 35.5 percent were in the age group of 15 to 29 years (Ref. NACO & Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India, Children and AIDS Programme Update India, 31, July 2007, p. 5). The rate of new infections also is growing rapidly in most parts of the country. We know that discussing sexual behavior is a taboo in many societies. We need to impart true and lasting values to our youth in order to help in the formation of their right conscience. Grooming them with skills to follow the `promptings of their inner self' is an important task that is often neglected. As a result, many young people do not know how to truly protect themselves. If this trend continues, the next generation of adults will face greater challenges, both as individuals and as members of the civil society.

3. Even though in India the first patient with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) was diagnosed in India in 1986, twenty one years ago, people living with and affected by HIV continue to face a lot of discrimination due to stigma in society - a stigma that is born out of ignorance. Why are the children of people living with HIV been refused admissions in schools even today? Why are men and women thrown out of their families and homes causing some of them to go to the extent of committing suicide? For many of them, there is no one to hear their cry, to deliver them from their affliction, to understand their suffering, to provide them with a glimmer of hope and joy. As a community we need to do more to address this issue. More attention must be made in youth-friendly services and education programmes to address the reproductive health issues of young people. Their educational and health status, readiness to take on adult roles and responsibilities, and the support they receive from their families, communities, governments and Church will determine their own future and the future of our society. The future is now!

4. Recognizing this significant risk, the various stakeholders involved in the formulation of National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) Phase III of the Government of India, have highlighted an urgent need to strategize and develop relevant tools for addressing HIV prevention, care and support needs of youth infected and affected by HIV and AIDS in the country.

5. Working with and helping young people have always been a priority for the Church across time and cultures. Pope John Paul II of happy memory appropriately expressed this as he said, "You, young people, are the hope of the Church" (Ap. Letter, Dilecti Amici, p.17). The HIV epidemic challenges us with an urgency to find the means to protect and empower our young people to help them become happy, healthy and productive adults.

6. On the occasion of World AIDS Day-2007, the Catholic Church in India, with active participation of youth, has planned on-going programmes, which I strongly feel would help us to have a focused-approach in our interventions. These include the following:

i. Pledge by One Million Youth: 1000 youth in each of the 1000 places will take an oath to educate themselves and others with accurate information on HIV, to be personally responsible not to spread the virus, to avoid discrimination against people living with HIV and to care for all those affected and infected. This pledge has to be an expression of a genuine inner conviction, an act of well formed conscience, `that echoes in their depths' (GS, 16). Therefore, this commitment, formally taken in schools, colleges, parishes and communities, is to be organized with meaningful in-put sessions, and is to be followed up with youth leadership programmes, which can be taken as a special activity in the year 2008. As the World AIDS Campaign reminds us, each one should `take the lead - To stop AIDS. Keep the promise'.

ii. Life Skills Education Programme: At the National Catholic Youth Convention held in October 2007 at Cuttack, Orissa, on the theme, "Prophetic Youth for a Progressive Nation", a module on Life Skill Education was finalized. I sincerely thank the Catholic Medical Mission Board and the Partners in Development Initiative for supporting both the CBCI Youth and Health Commissions in preparing the module. This manual aims at enhancing capabilities of the youth to take informed decisions and guide them to lead healthy and productive lives. We are happy that both Arya Samaj and the Art of Living Foundation will adapt the same module for the training of their youth as well. On the occasion of the World AIDS Day-2007, this manual will be launched officially in 11 ecclesiastical regions. May I appeal to everyone, especially the youth and their animators, to make the most of this resource. Together with knowledge, skills, and above all inner conviction, prevention is both efficient and cost-effective. It is a tough path, but true and secure.

iii. Community AIDS Talk: The biggest weapon we have against discrimination and stigma toward people living with HIV and AIDS is knowledge. Leaders of communities - Bishops, priests, and lay faithful - and heads of families, need to speak openly about HIV in our gatherings and family get-togethers, so that people get accurate information about it and develop the right attitudes of respect and care for them. Awareness programmes need to be initiated in parishes, schools, workplaces, etc., especially with active participation of people living with HIV. Such programmes will facilitate the creation of a generation better equipped to live in the world of AIDS. In all our programmes we need to assure the active participation and greater involvement of the people living with HIV and AIDS and encourage them to live life to the fullest.

iv. AIDS Sunday: It will be opportune to observe December 2, 2007 as AIDS Sunday. This is a moment for all of us as one community to receive strength from the Eucharistic Lord, especially for those infected and affected, who carry the cross in their daily lives. Let us recommit ourselves to a life of caring for one another in love and fellowship. Following the message of Pope Benedict XVI for the World Youth Day 2008, let us hope that `the Spirit of Fortitude and Witness give us the courage to live according to the Gospel and to proclaim it boldly'. The future is now - youth, take the lead! With the power of the Holy Spirit be true witnesses of life, love and hope!

7. We have before our eyes the image of Mary, our Mother, who accompanied Christ at the beginning of his mission among his people. This is the Mary of Cana of Galilee, who interceded for the young newly-married couple when at the marriage feast wine ran out. Then Christ's Mother said these words to those serving at the feast: "Do whatever he tells you". Let her gentle advice inspire us to do our best. And, He will do the rest.
Yours in Jesus, the Divine Healer,

+ Archbishop Bernard Moras, Archbishop of Bangalore and November 1, 2007 Chairman, Commission for Health New Delhi Catholic Bishops' Conference of India

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