Statements and Webcast
Holy See
H.E. Ms. Jane Adolphe, on behalf of Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, Permanent Observer for the Holy See
10 June 2011
- Statement: English (Check against delivery)
Statement Summary
JANE ADOLPHE, speaking on behalf of Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, Permanent Observer for the Holy See, said that, through its approximately 117,000 health-care facilities around the world, the Catholic Church alone provided more than 25 per cent of all care for those living with HIV and AIDS, especially children. Those Church-affiliated institutions were at the forefront of providing a response that viewed people with dignity and worth as brothers and sisters and neighbours of the same human family, rather than as statistics. There was a growing international consensus that abstinence and fidelity-based programmes in parts of Africa had been successful in reducing HIV infection, where transmission had largely occurred within the general population. However, despite that, groups continued to deny those results and were instead largely guided by ideology and the financial self-interest spawned by the disease. HIV/AIDS was also a moral question, and the causes of the disease reflected a serious crisis of values. Prevention, first and foremost, should be directed towards individual development and education in proper human behaviour.
Source: GA/11093