Catholic Policy on AIDS Programs: Acts of War or Love? : Cleric: He says Catholic faith and beliefs are derived from the life, ministry and example of Jesus Christ and that the archdiocese is committed to ministering to the homosexual community with love and compassion.

Actions of extremist activist groups within any movement invariably lead to antisocial behavior that is abusive and even violent in nature--and puts them at odds with the rest of society.

While we understand the anger, frustration and fear AIDS has inflicted upon the homosexual community, we must view with considerable concern the attacks of groups such as ACT UP that have resulted in desecration of some of our churches, recent personal abuse and disruption of the celebration of our Masses.

Yet, our response must be one based on Christ’s teachings and traditions of our Catholic faith--that of prayerful understanding and sympathy, and most important, one of love.

KCET’s regrettable decision to air “Stop the Church,” an anti-Catholic “documentary” of the disruption of a Mass by ACT UP, has provided us with a “teachable moment” to explain our relationships with the homosexual community, as well as our work with those infected with AIDS, their families and friends.

Too often, in the media and in the public’s perception, the church and the gay community are cast as adversaries. Certainly, the extremists who are depicted in “Stop the Church” portray the relationship between us in that light.

When public television station KCET decided to run this regrettable film, the station abdicated its responsibility to be a community leader in Southern California by perpetuating an “us vs. them” mind-set, driving a wedge where truly responsive and responsible leaders would build bridges.

Catholic faith and beliefs, which the film trashed, are derived from the life, ministry and example of Jesus Christ as set forth in the Gospels, not from public opinion polls or ephemeral popular trends.

Our moral teaching compels us, as medicine has done, to look at the activities that place persons in high risk of contracting AIDS and of jeopardizing the health of other persons.

With regard to homosexual activity, the nation’s Catholic bishops, in a 1976 pastoral letter, stated: “Like heterosexual persons, homosexuals are called to give witness to chastity, avoiding, with God’s grace, behavior which is wrong for them, just as non-marital sexual relations are wrong for heterosexuals.”

In the Los Angeles Archdiocese, we operate an active ministry to the lesbian and gay community, which recognizes that all persons with a homosexual orientation are capable of living a full Catholic life in union with all members of the church.

This ministry takes its inspiration from the Gospel, is shaped by church teachings and practice, borrows appropriately from the insights of the social and biological sciences and listens and prays over the lived experience of those to whom it ministers.

The archdiocese’s ministry toward the homosexual community has a priest assigned as its full-time coordinator, while more than 50 priests have received special training to minister to people with AIDS and their families. Many other priests, religious brothers and sisters, and lay people are active participants.

Perhaps the most appropriate words to describe the archdiocese’s ministry to the homosexual community--and specifically our AIDS ministry--are found in St. Paul’s discourse in First Corinthians 13, which concludes: “In the end, three things last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.”

As we mark the first decade of the AIDS epidemic, these three virtues can help us deal with this health crisis, even as we seek a cure.

Faith in God and in the proposition that we are created in his image and after his likeness, can call us to a deeper realization of our human integrity.

Last November, the U.S. Catholic bishops in a formal statement pointed out: “Fundamentally, we are called to realize the basic goodness of our personhood as God has created it. This is not a prerogative or an obligation only for Christians. Everyone, whether believer or nonbeliever, is obliged to honor the integrity of the human person by respecting himself or herself along with all other persons.”

One of the ways we respect ourselves and others is by safeguarding our physical health. We know that the primary means of transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus is by the exchange of infected bodily fluids through sexual contact or sharing needles among intravenous drug users.

The only sure prevention is for people to practice chastity.

In last November’s document, the bishops said chastity presupposes both self-control and openness to life and interpersonal love which goes beyond the mere desire for physical pleasure. In particular, desire for union with another must not degenerate into a craving to possess and dominate.

Prophylactics and needle exchange programs will not provide the answer to the AIDS crisis; appropriate behavioral changes will.

It is not enough to hope for a cure; we must fund research. It is not enough to hope for care and compassions; we must offer it by expanding programs and support structures for people affected by AIDS.

Here in Los Angeles, our archdiocese is committed to providing such services with love and compassion. The archdiocese and six Catholic hospitals have formed the Serra Ancillary Care Foundation, which currently operates two residences for people with AIDS, and is preparing to open a third.

Additionally, I continue to urge priests, religious brothers and sisters, and lay people to reach out in AIDS ministries. Scores of these dedicated men and women spend countless hours bringing love, care and understanding to persons infected with HIV, members of their families and friends.

We know that we must not merely hope that people with AIDS will be accepted; we must embrace them so that they will know that we love and accept them, that God loves and accepts them. That is the mission and the message of Catholics and so many others responding to the AIDS crisis.

“And the greatest of these is love.”

The bishops’ letter echoes St. Paul’s words: “Persons with AIDS are not distant, unfamiliar people, the objects of our mingled pity and aversion. We must keep them present to our consciousness, as individuals and a community, and embrace them with unconditional love.

“The Gospel demands reverence for life in all circumstances. Compassion--love--toward persons infected with HIV is the only authentic Gospel response.”

It is not only the authentic Gospel response, it is the only authentic human response. Love is the response which has been the hallmark of thousands upon thousands of people involved in various forms of AIDS ministry and outreach--Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Gentiles, believers and nonbelievers alike.

Although much has been accomplished, much more needs to be done. May we never underestimate what the virtues of faith, hope and love can and will impel us to achieve if we will open our hearts and let them in.