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Apr 8, 2010
Religious groups meeting at The Hague discussed in late March how to help the global fight against AIDS by preventing victims from becoming social outcasts.
Canon Gideon Byamugisha, an Anglican priest from Uganda, said the way his church treated him after he discovered he had HIV should set an example for the rest of the world.
“They reacted with support and understanding,” he said in a telephone interview. “There were sections who were annoyed and disappointed I was HIV-positive, but a big number opted to give me the love, care and support I needed.”
Earlier this month, Byamugisha was among a delegation that delivered a petition signed by 500,000 people to Uganda’s parliament calling on lawmakers to reject a proposed law that would impose the death penalty on some gays. Byamugisha said the bill teaches intolerance and hatred and is counter to the constitution’s anti-discrimination laws.
Representatives, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, were expected to round off two days of talks by pledging to fight discrimination against those with AIDS and HIV.
However, some divisions remained among leaders, he added, with delegates “still struggling with how to balance between communicating the religious messages that talk about morality and spirituality (and) public health challenges on the ground.”
