200 Attend Catholic Anointing Service for AIDS Sufferers
About 200 people attended an anointing service for people with AIDS and other severe illnesses Saturday night.
Father Thomas Healy, pastor at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, led the service of the Roman Catholic sacrament of the sick, the first of a series to be offered by the Chicago archdiocese. About 60 people came forward to be anointed by Healy and four other priests. The sacrament was formerly called extreme unction or last rites.
In the United States, most of those with acquired immune deficiency syndrome are male homosexuals. Healy said that 5% to 10% of his parishioners are homosexuals, and that he knew of at least 30 parishioners afflicted with AIDS.
Healy said the services have nothing to do with the Roman Catholic Church’s belief that homosexuality is a sin.
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