wfn.org | LWI 208-048 FEATURE: Companionship in Education, Health Care and Children's Center

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Public Act of Repentance: LWF President Hanson Washes Feet of
HIV-positive Women

Churches Called to Advocate for and Welcome Persons with HIV and

>AIDS

MEXICO CITY, Mexico/GENEVA, 7 August 2008 (LWI) - In a public
"act of repentance and humility," Bishop Mark S. Hanson,
President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA),
washed the feet of two women living with HIV.  

"I am absolutely convinced that we as religious leaders and we
in the religious community that so shunned and shamed people with
HIV and struggling with AIDS, that we must begin first by
engaging in public acts of repentance. Because, absent public
acts of repentance, I fear our words will not be trusted," he
said at the Ecumenical Pre-Conference "Faith in Action Now!"
preceding the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City
from 3 to 8 August 2008. 

According to conference organizers, over 20,000 scientists,
government officials and representatives of the pharmaceutical
industry, churches and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as
well as community activists are attending the biennial
international conference. 

As possible public acts of repentance Hanson named being tested
for HIV, engaging in advocacy and accompaniment, and welcoming
persons with HIV and AIDS into full participation and leadership
in religious communities. People living with HIV and AIDS are not
to be regarded as "objects of our compassion," he stressed, but
rather as "full members and participants" in religious
communities.

>Hard Questions

Hanson underlined that full participation of persons with HIV
and AIDS cannot be achieved unless male heterosexual religious
leaders are willing to talk openly about their own sexuality
rather than focusing on people who are homosexual, bisexual or
transgendered. 
"If we are serious about ending such discrimination, we must
reject the notion that human sexuality is a church-defining, and
therefore church-dividing, issue. It is the good news of Jesus
Christ that defines the church, not human sexuality," he said. 

The predominantly male religious leadership must ask itself hard
questions regarding its preaching and teaching, and its
understanding of God, Hanson insisted. Church leaders must
examine the ways in which their views have contributed to
continued discrimination against women and to women’s
second-class status not only in society but in religious
communities as well. 

"Do we dare? Do we dare become as radical in our love and mercy
and actions as Jesus was?" he challenged the ecumenical
delegates. 

>Leaders' Responsibility

Sophie Dilmitis of the World Young Women's Christian Association
(World YWCA), one of the women whose feet Hanson washed, shared
with delegates to the Ecumenical Pre-Conference her vision of the
partnership between church leaders and persons with HIV and AIDS.

"Religious leaders hold the key to doing away with shame and
guilt that destroy immune systems and fight[ing] back viruses
like stigma and silence," she declared. 

"When we see religious leaders standing up and addressing these
tough and very important issues, things will begin to shift,"
Dilmitis commented. "We have to recognize these opportunities to
work together. Religious leaders have the responsibility to
challenge other leaders, to take risks, to form these kinds of
relationships and stand in solidarity with people living with
HIV." (524 words)

(A contribution by LWI correspondent Julia Heyde)

For more information regarding the pre-conference theme "Faith
in Action Now!” or ecumenical involvement at the Conference,
visit: http://iac.e-alliance.ch 

>*        *          *

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF
currently has 141 member churches in 79 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of over 68.3 million. The LWF acts
on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such
as ecumenical and interfaith 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
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