Adam.Selene@f269.n107.z1.fidonet.org (Adam Selene) (09/30/89)
I number of people have noticed a not-so-subtle negativity about AIDS programs,
both educational and service oriented, that are christian-identified -- and are
wondering WHY.
+
+ I share this anti-Church bias ... even though I know that some
relatively good programs HAVE come out of various church groups -- because
overall the track record of the churches and congrigations in their treatment
of AIDS issues and gay parishoners has been , to be kind about it --
"regrettable".
+ My own feeling is that the church people expect HUGE amounts of
gratitude for themselves personally as caring human beings and truth-sharers
.. if not actual contritition over one's lifestyle and conversion to THEIR
denomination -- in return for what amounts to a hug, a meal, and a sermon, once
or twice a week.
+
+Offhand, I can think of ONE exception: "G-d's Love, We Deliver" a "meals on
wheels" project for homebound PWAs. And, come to think of it, THAT program is
not associated with any particular denomination or congregation ... and has a
significant participation by gays and able bodied PWAs.
+
+ Part of the problem for the churches is that (perhaps unwillingly
and/or unconciously) they find themselves "on the same side" as some business
interests ( insurance and drug manufacturing in particular) and supporting
New Right and Administration political AIDS agendas, ranging from mandatory
testing to quarantine. As an "AIDS Activist" and someone who is pro-PWA,
these "strange bedfellows" are extremely frightening.
+ In the same vein of "lie down with dogs, get up with fleas" New York's
Cardinal O'Conner hasn't been a great deal of help towards developing a
respectable Christian response to the Health Crisis. His own personal
homophobia is exteme ... even pathalogical -- and he has few inhabitions about
exhibiting it in public. His OFFICIAL reaction to his private fears has
included the silencing of Fr. John McNeil,S.J. and the virual outlawing of
CATHOLIC DIGNITY in the parishes under his authority ... forbidding fellowship
and healing masses that are specifically gay or AIDS-identifified -- and an
ongoing refusal to enter into good-faith discussions with gay-identified AIDS
workers, educators, or activists.
+
+ What gets even SCARIER than the "repent messages" and the "expectations
of gratitude" is the kind of educational programs that the regligious groups
will put in place for themselves, and permit to be put in place for the wider
community. HOW one manages AIDS prevention without reference to condoms
escapes me ... and how one advocates safer sex as an alternative to condoms
without being able/comfortable with sexually explicit (though age-appropriate)
material is ALSO a mystery. Never mind the educational and moral implications
of ignoring the existance of gay teenagers while doing AIDS education ... or of
"forgetting" to discuss the mechanics of needle-carried HIV.
+
+ In general, the Christian churches and congregations have got a serious
"Beam in the Eye" problem ... on top of a pre-existing set of "blind spots" ...
If they want to be more helpful than harmful they've got a lot of
self-criticism and reformation to attend to.
+
+ Can anyone point to some hopefull specifics, indicating that this
process is gathering momentum ?
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