20 Catholic Bishops Hit AIDS Ballot Proposition

California’s 20 Roman Catholic bishops have denounced Proposition 64, which could compel health authorities to impose sweeping new controls on persons infected with AIDS and threatens the confidentiality guarantees of those tested for the disease.

The bishops’ statement, released today by the California Catholic Conference in Sacramento, calls the so-called LaRouche Initiative “an irrational, inappropriate and misguided approach to a serious public health problem.”

“The assumption of Proposition 64 that AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is highly contagious and that people are at risk by casual contact with an infected person simply flies in the face of the medical evidence,” the bishops said.

Harmony of Opposition

Their statement is in harmony with those by a growing number of community and religious organizations opposing the initiative, which is sponsored by the political organization of ultraconservative 1988 presidential candidate Lyndon H. LaRouche.

While not endorsing homosexual behavior, the Catholic bishops as a national body have declared that civil and humane considerations apply to all persons, including homosexuals, whom AIDS has afflicted more than any other group in the United States.

What the exact impact of Proposition 64 would be if it were passed Nov. 4 is widely disputed.

Proponents say it would require health officials to test widely, collect the names of everyone infected and bar anyone ill or infected with AIDS from schools and food-handling jobs. LaRouche literature also advocates quarantine, but legal analysts say the initiative probably does not require it.

Medical leaders say health officials already have full authority to take necessary steps and that passage would undermine the effort to control AIDS. The opposition includes Gov. George Deukmejian, Sens. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) and Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, the California Medical Assn. and every major medical and health organization in the state.

The Catholic bishops’ statement said fear generated by Proposition 64 “could undermine years of research and seriously hurt (health professionals’) ability to treat and find a cure for AIDS.

Use of Resources

“Expertise and resources would be diverted to identifying, isolating and quarantining persons with AIDS rather than finding a cure . . . educating people for effective prevention, and caring for persons suffering from it.”

In the process, the prelates warned, “numerous California residents would be forced to endure or be the agents of repressive and discriminatory action,” and the spread of AIDS could be prolonged:

“Reluctant to be tested in their fear of social isolation, individuals at risk would avoid early medical intervention and even the very counseling and medical advice they need to prevent becoming infected by the virus,” the bishops said.

Proposition 64 has “grave defects” and “threatens the civil rights of all persons in this state as well as the mutual trust and respect which characterize life in a civilized and humane society,” the bishops concluded.

Other Statements

The Executive Board of the San Diego County Ecumenical Conference recently opposed the LaRouche AIDS Initiative, and the Interfaith Council of AIDS Project Los Angeles has announced it will issue an anti-Proposition 64 statement at an Oct. 1 press conference. Scheduled speakers include Catholic Archbishop Roger M. Mahony, Episcopal Bishop Oliver B. Garver and Rabbi Allen Freehling, president of the Southern California Board of Rabbis.

The San Diego group’s statement said the AIDS crisis “calls not for . . . fear and misinformation but for a compassionate response from churches, governments and other care-giving organizations while we support the medical community’s search for means of prevention and cure for AIDS.”

On Monday night, about 1,000 opponents of Proposition 64 protested peacefully outside the Los Feliz headquarters of LaRouche’s campaign.

The crowd gathered first at Friendship Auditorium on Riverside Drive for anti-LaRouche speeches by leaders of the “Stop the AIDS Quarantine Committee,” who had organized the demonstration.

“We will send a message to the LaRouchites: ‘Not here. Not now. Not ever,’ ” said speaker Jackie Goldberg, who represents the Silver Lake-Hollywood area on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.

The event was also endorsed by Los Angeles City Councilmen Michael Woo and Joel Wachs and State Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles).

After the speeches, the crowd lined up in pairs on the sidewalk, signs were handed out, and the group marched under lighted torches about a quarter mile--past the LaRouche publishing and political offices, and then to a nearby park, where the group disbanded.

Sponsors of Proposition 64 had attacked the rally as a “public health threat,” because of the large number of gays expected to be involved, but there were no disruptive incidents.

Times staff writer Kevin Roderick contributed to this article.