I read with great interest Bishop Mvume Dandala’s statements on HIV/AIDS in Africa. In it he proposes that the pandemic be viewed as a moral issue. I don’t think that will work. This is not to suggest that there is no moral component to the war on AIDS. There is. But in our society we are doing all we can to “de-moralize” diseases. Alcoholism is treated as a disease, not as a moral issue. The same is true of drug abuse. And now, according to the American Psychiatric Association, homosexuality is not a dysfunction and should not be treated.
With all due compassion for those afflicted, there are moral components to each of these problems, as anyone who shares a household with someone afflicted knows. The diversion of resources and emotions from healthy relationships are devastating to those close to and dependent on the person with a dysfunctional lifestyle. These are moral issues, and they are so whether or not one lives in poverty.
We had a college student come to our youth group one evening as part of her research into HIV/AIDS awareness. She agreed not only to ask the youth what they knew about HIV/AIDS, but to share useful information about the disease with them. Just like the bishop, all she would say was that the disease is passed on through dirty needles. Since none of our youth are IV drug abusers, they might think they are safe.
I anticipated that the information might be limited, so I downloaded the standards for blood donation from the American Red Cross website. True enough! They don’t want IV drug abusers donating blood. But they also don’t want people who engage in homosexual acts, prostitution, or those who even travel to places where such activity is common. Africa is on the list. (Tattoos are also on the list, Mom & Dad, in case you’re having that discussion with your kids.) Wherever these activities occur, HIV/AIDS flourishes.
If the bishop wants this to be a moral issue, I propose that it already is. But it will take more courage than to simply condemn poverty, dirty needles or a pandemic. This disease is personal, and is passed on primarily by people who are careless of fidelity and personal responsibility. Those are moral issues. The church should be bold enough to say so. There are innocent victims, but they are the victims of people who are careless. They are not the victims of neglect by other countries. The vast majority of HIV infection is passed on through sexual contact outside the context of a monogamous relationship. When did the church stop advocating monogamous relationships?
I fully agree that poverty is a complication. So is the high cost of drugs. I agree that Western nations must not overlook the pandemic in Africa. I am totally in favor of providing all possible assistance to those orphaned by the disease and to work with those already afflicted. I am in favor of education for and the empowerment of women. I support the promotion of economic development and democracy in Africa. I also agree that the nations of Africa have shown far less interest in their people’s health, well being and rights than have foreign nations. That too is a moral issue.
This disease will have a greater affect on Africa than the plague did in Medieval Europe. But “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men” can’t put Africa together again until hearts and behaviors are changed. And for that, we have the Gospel and the love of God. Africa’s salvation is most closely tied to her people’s salvation. This is as true for Africa as it is anywhere else in the world.
Rev. Dennis P. Levin