07 August 2006
Pointing fingers or supporting each other
FAITH BASED CONTRIBUTIONS to alleviate the HIV/AIDS pandemic are all but simple. Some summarize the status quo saying that faith communities have been part of the problem but are becoming part of the solution. It might well be so, but the process is hardly simple and straightforward.
Stephanie Nolen has published an article in Globe and Mail, Toronto's leading newspaper, in which she interviews Canon Gideon Byamugisha, a Ugandan Anglican priest who is known as "the first religious leader in all Africa publicly living with HIV". He is also known as founder of the African Network for Religious Leaders Living with or Affected by HIV/AIDS (ANERELA+).
Canon Byamugisha is, too, a very good communicator and knows how a good soundbite looks like. So he typically would deliver one like this:
Canon Byamugisha says he can today divide religious leaders into two groups: "Some are using their congregations to control AIDS: They gather children, adults, and give them information about prevention. On the other end of the spectrum, you have leaders who are using AIDS to control their congregations. The first group will do everything possible to de-stigmatize AIDS... The others are intolerant people who quote Deuteronomy 28 ["The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee"]; they say repent or you will die of AIDS. They use the disease to justify their failed sermons and their theologies of damnation."
Some religious leaders use their congregations to control AIDS; others use AIDS to control their congregations. Wow! That has been nicely put. No journalist would miss that jewel of a soundbite. Stephanie Nolen didn't, of course. Her article mentions —without quoting Canon Byamugisha as the source— Catholic bishops who forbid condoms and Evangelical preachers who promise to cure AIDS through prayer. It also mentions priests and nuns who defiantly distribute condoms, an Anglican church that has apologized for its previous behaviour regarding people with HIV/AIDS. In brief — in terms of the article — some who are still part of the problem, some who have moved towards becoming part of the solution.
An article like this raises different kinds of concerns among Christians. It will be seen — particularly by those who are criticized — as blanket slamming Catholics and Evangelicals, being therefore unfair to the amount of love and care that both are responsible for. The attitude behind the article will therefore be denounced as a strong ideological attempt to divide the good from the bad, something that amounts to a bias that risks shouting out conservative voices within the Christian diverse body. Others will highlight the need for dealing with the differences between Christians in a spirit of love, openness, commitment and respect, looking more at the positive aspects of each other and seeking constructive dialogue in order to identify areas where they can work together. These will stress that there actually is some common ground in spite of human limitations that affect all faith traditions, and it is that of compassion and commitment to fight the pandemic.
I spoke to Canon Byamugisha himself, and he highlighted the fact that the link between his quote and the "examples" mentioned in the article was not his responsibility — he actually was unhappy with it. Why? Because he thinks mutual support between Christians is needed more than criticism of each other, because in spite of progress, grave challenges remain that require mutual understanding. And, additionally and this is very important, he believes that when it comes to HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination no denomination or faith has the monopoly.
It would be too easy to blame the messenger, in this case the journalist, for "creating" a situation where Christians are pushed to criticize each other, sometimes bitterly. This is also a tipical reaction to an article like the one written by Stephanie Nolen. The point is that those who are passionated about an issue of life and death like the HIV and AIDS pandemic will almost unavoidably become impatient with those who, from their perspective, are "wrong".
Canon Byamugisha thinks that that doesn't help. Instead he proposes patience and an attitude of mutual support. It sounds good. But I am afraid he has more than the average the stuff that saints are made of.
