Staff Reporter | EMN
DIMAPUR, JULY 31
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he religious leaders in Nagaland are not bold enough to take part in the revolutionary movement towards spreading HIV & AIDS awareness in the society. The difficulty in addressing issues of sex and sexuality is making it painful for the churches to engage in any honest and realistic way to address sex education and HIV prevention. And, the fear among the people towards HIV & AIDS has had negative impacts.Speaking at the two-day skill building training for church leaders in response to HIV and AIDS being held at the AIDA Conference Centre here today, Fr Chacko quoted from Isaiah 53:3-9 reminding that the churches are living with HIV & AIDS as God’s children are dying of the disease.
Focusing on the role of churches in addressing HIV/AIDS in Nagaland, the programme was organized by the Nagaland Development Outreach (NDO) and sponsored by Legislators Forum on AIDS (LFA).
“As people of faith we have done so much and yet there is so much we have avoided because of the challenges to the church is felt at a deeper level,” Fr Chacko said.
He added that spread of the virus has exposed the fault lines in our theology, ethics, liturgy and our practice of ministry.
“Today, churches are being obliged to acknowledge that we have unwittingly contributed both actively and passively to the spread of the virus,” Fr Chacko maintained.
He also rued that the tendency to exclude others, interpretation of the scriptures and theology of sin have all combined to promote the stigmatization, exclusion and suffering of people with HIV & AIDS. This has damaged the effectiveness of care, education and prevention efforts and caused additional suffering on those already affected by the HIV, he stated.
The churches, given the great urgency of the situation, have a distinctive role to play in response to the epidemic with rethinking of the church mission and the transformation of the structure. In addition, Fr Chacko inspired the gathering with the urgent plea to talk to the churches freely about the disease.
The pain and fear of the disease has also touched the society, Fr. Chacko observed. Stating that churches cover Great Spirit with strength and credibility as they are the face of every community, he said. He lamented that to preach the good news of new life is ignored by the church with the age-old tradition where the word ‘sex’ is considered as taboo, ignoring the prevailing and the urgent call to face the challenges.
As much as the doctors pledge to save lives of their patients no matter what, the Church too has a greater role to reflect on their Christian ethics.
Bearing in mind the urgency of the prevailing situation, Fr. Chacko felt that the most powerful contribution to combat HIV transmission is the eradication of stigma and discrimination.
Churches have a better network of care as they go beyond just medical care and are also a powerful tool to address the problems of the society.
With the HIV & AIDS emerging as a reality in Nagaland during the early 1990s, the NGOs have been working hard to generate the required human resources.
WC Humtsoe, Chief Functionary, Bethesda Youth Welfare Centre and president of N NagaDAO while talking about the partnership with the church to curb the HIV & AIDS menace stated that the sole objective is to provide harm reduction services among the targeted population which will reduce drug injecting harms and reduce the risk of HIV infection. This would also promote and create larger awareness on safer sex practices, he added.
Humtsoe encouraged the churches to get involved and support the harm reduction programme in the State. He also requested the churches to pay immediate attention to HIV & AIDS affected orphans and give nutritional support to the affected families.
