LWF President Hanson: Unity in Diversity Will Facilitate Collaboration in Response to HIV and AIDS Emphasis on Religious Teachings That promote Compassion
TORONTO, Canada/GENEVA, 16 August 2006 (LWI) - "HIV and AIDS is an issue where we find our unity within our diversity but our unity will transcend our differences," Bishop Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) told representatives of faith-based organizations attending the 16th International Aids Conference (IAC), in Toronto Canada.
Addressing an interfaith pre-conference, Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, named what he sees as the three main global challenges when facing the AIDS pandemic, namely distrust, disregard and self-interest. He went on to explain that "Because we come as people of faith, we know that we come as people whose identity has been shaped by deeply-held convictions and practices. But that also makes collaboration very difficult because we tend to distrust the faith and religious practices of the other."
The LWF president also criticized world leaders for fostering an environmen t of distrust for the sake of their ideologies. "When we live in a time when the reality of terrorism is now becoming the defining reality for decisions made, we succumb to letting one reality become the defining reality that fosters a culture of fear amongst all of us," he said. As an "antidote" to distrust, he recommended "listening, listening, listening."
Phramaha Boonchuay, chairperson of the Asian Interfaith Network on AIDS, explained how the network promotes inter-religious cooperation through some 60 temples, mosques, and churches that serve as community centers. Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and other religions, he noted, have important teachings "about loving kindness and compassion towards the other."
Father Robert J. Vitillo, special advisor for HIV and AIDS at the Roman Catholic relief organization, Caritas Internationalis, spoke of his conviction that "we as people of faith can no longer allow ourselves the luxury of our separated and segmented responses to AIDS." (322 words)
(By LWI correspondent Julia Heyde. More information about the proceedings at the ecumenical pre-conference and the 2006 International AIDS Conference is at http://iac.e-alliance.ch/index.php )
* * *
(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of 66.2 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF?s information service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]
* * *
LWI news online: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION P. O. Box 2100 CH-1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland
Tel.: +41/22-791 63 69 Fax: +41/22-791 66 30 Editor?s E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org