What the Pope Has to Say About Women and HIV/AIDS

The Lord Jesus Heals the Leper

 

Key to Avoid Disease Is to Avoid Risky Behaviors

By Jane Adolphe 

NEW YORK, JUNE 14, 2011 (Zenit.org).-
This opinion piece is in response to Nancy Goldstein's discussion of
the debate occurring at the United Nations over the drafting of the
Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS (See "Why Won't the Pope Let Women Protect Themselves From HIV?" June 8, Guardian).

She criticizes Benedict XVI
(otherwise known as the Holy See in international law) for having an
all-male delegation, but in fact, the delegation contained three women,
two of whom were law professors. She also implies that the Pope is
anti-woman, when in fact he strongly promotes respect for the inherent
dignity of women and girls in fundamental documents, as well as in his
catechesis, speeches, messages, homilies, conferences and other
activities. Moreover, one of the Vatican's dicasteries, the Pontifical
Council for the Laity, has a section devoted to the Study of the Dignity
and Vocation of Women, where it implements teachings with particular
attention to the equal dignity of man and woman.

 The Pope maintains that there are "deep fundamental anthropological
truths of man and woman, the equality of their dignity and the unity of
both, the well rooted and profound diversity between the masculine and
the feminine and their vocation to reciprocity and complementarity, to
collaboration and to communion" (Benedict XVI's address to the
conference "Woman and Man, the Humanum in its Entirety," 2008; cf. Pope
John Paul II, "Mulieris Dignitatem," 1988, No. 6). In this way, the Pope
avoids an indistinct uniformity between women and men, which
constitutes a dull and impoverishing equality and counters an
understanding of the relationship between women and men that pits one
against the other in an endless struggle for power.

He underlines that women bear the brunt of the negative consequences
associated with a denial of the complementarity of man and woman, which
often dovetails into a disordered view of masculinity, and autonomy. He
acknowledges the "disheartening" results flowing from the simple fact of
being a female, and the reduced likelihood of: being born, surviving
childhood, avoiding violence, receiving adequate nutrition, obtaining an
education, accessing basic health care as well as evading HIV and AIDS
(cf. Pope John Paul II, Address to Members of the Holy See Delegation to
the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995; See also Address
of Pope Benedict XVI to the Participants of the Fifth General Conference
of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops' Conferences, Brazil,
2007).

The Pope promotes a values-based response to HIV and AIDs, which
focuses on risk-elimination through: abstinence before marriage and
mutual fidelity in marriage, avoiding risk-taking behaviors, and
promoting universal access to drugs that prevent the spread of HIV from
mother-to-child. In regard to prevention, Benedict XVI does not try to
convince women that irresponsible sexual behavior or risky and dangerous
encounters form part of an acceptable lifestyle. Rather, he encourages
every human person to live in conformity with norms of the natural moral
order, an approach that respects fully the inherent dignity of the
human person by nature endowed with reason and conscience having rights
and responsibilities to self, others and the community. By the way, this
position is fully in conformity with international human rights law
(e.g. cf. et al. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, preamble para.
1, arts. 1, 29). 

In brief, the Holy Father first and foremost supports character
formation and education toward proper behavior, as the key to avoiding
the disease. The starting point is that the women and men can and should
change irresponsible behavior. The contrary position would accept such
behavior, at all costs, and then emphasize simply risk reduction (e.g.
condom use or clean needles), as if persons were somehow incapable of
breaking free from engaging in self-destructive behavior.

* * *

Jane Adolphe is an associate professor of law at Ave Maria School of
Law, Naples, Florida. She was a member of the Holy See's delegation to
the June 10 meeting at the United Nations on HIV/AIDS.

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On ZENIT's Web page:




Holy See Intervention at the High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS: www.zenit.org/article-32854?l=english




Statement of Interpretation on the adoption of the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: www.zenit.org/article-32853?l=english