Father Bob Arpin; Gay Priest Became AIDS Activist

Father Bob Arpin, 48, believed to be the nation’s first Roman Catholic priest to publicly declare his homosexuality. When his HIV infection was diagnosed eight years ago, Arpin made his condition public. He used the pulpit, television shows and finally a book, “Wonderfully, Fearfully Made,” to raise public awareness of AIDS by showing that even priests could be stricken with it. Arpin worked with the San Francisco Archdiocese, providing grief counseling and housing assistance through Catholic Charities. In San Francisco on Tuesday of complications of AIDS.