Archbishop Paulinus Costa of Dhaka had a tale to tell Catholics of the "silent disaster" developing in their midst.Speaking at a pastoral assembly held Oct. 24-26 in Dhaka, he told the story of a Catholic man who contracted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which usually results in AIDS.
The prelate wanted to emphasize the danger that HIV/AIDS poses in Bangladesh, amid the other Church business the three-day meeting was scheduled to discuss.
More than 300 pastoral council members, parish priests and other Catholics active in the archdiocese attended the assembly.
The story Archbishop Costa related, which he heard from Caritas Bangladesh staff, concerned a Catholic man from Dhaka archdiocese who went to the Middle East to work and contracted HIV before he returned to Bangladesh.
Back home the man got married and infected his wife with HIV, the archbishop continued.
Eventually, he spent all his foreign earnings paying for medical treatment. In desperation the man hanged himself, leaving his wife to bring up their only child herself.
According to Archbishop Costa, the story shows that Caritas Bangladesh, the Catholic Church's social-service agency, needs to get serious about tackling this silent disaster, especially since people are reluctant to admit they have HIV.
The prelate went on to say that Caritas recently told him seven Catholics in the archdiocese were infected with HIV, but the figure "jumped up to 37 a few days later" after further investigation.
"Maybe there are many others we don't know about," he worried aloud.
"Several organizations are providing medical treatment secretly to many HIV/AIDS patients, who are not identified for fear of social stigma, discrimination and criticism," he pointed out.
He added that many people "flee the hospital" after being told they are HIV-positive. Among the factors that feed this cycle of discrimination and secrecy, the prelate pointed to a misconception in Bangladesh that all people with HIV have been involved in "illegal sexual acts."
Another misconception, he said, is that HIV/AIDS is "a curse."
Caritas staff should correct such wrong thinking, he insisted.
"We must take a strong and steady stance to combat and prevent it. If religious teaching is not followed, many will fall prey to (these ideas)," he warned participants.
The Church supports awareness-raising of the ways HIV can be transmitted and advises HIV checks for couples before they get married as well as sexual abstinence outside of marriage.
Part of awareness-raising is informing drug addicts that sharing hypodermic needles is a primary way HIV is transmitted. Archbishop Costa acknowledged that condom use to prevent infection is a controversial subject for the Church.
"Officially as per our Catholic faith, condom promotion is prohibited, but unofficially it is approved in the case of saving lives of the spouses because of this disease," he told UCA News.
He also said concern over HIV/AIDS is one reason people of various religions are growing closer together. He noted that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, chairman of the Bangladesh mosque committee, "already organized several gatherings involving different religionists at the national level" on AIDS.
Campaigns against HIV/AIDS in churches, mosques, pagodas and temples should be strengthened, he said, explaining that "religious obedience will help greatly in combating the disease."
Apart from Caritas, the Protestant-run World Vision Bangladesh also works to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Dr. Z.M. Babar, the NGO's national health coordinator, told UCA News they run several HIV/AIDS prevention projects, including four voluntary counseling and testing centers. He said 206 national and international NGOs work in Bangladesh to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and 20 percent of the programs promote condom use.
"Transport workers, sex workers, drug addicts, migrants and hotel staff are at high risk of spreading the disease," he said.
According to government statistics, 874 people in Bangladesh are HIV positive, 109 have died of AIDS and 240 are currently living with AIDS.
However, UNAIDS estimates that between 13,000 and 20,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in the country.
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