Catholic Commission for Social Justice
The Catholic Church was among more than two dozen religious groups which recently signed a Declaration of Commitment in support of the HIV/AIDS response in Trinidad and Tobago. The signing took place on December 10, 2012 and the groups represented were from the Christian, Hindu and Muslim faiths.
Pope Benedict XVI’s general prayer intention for July is: “That Christ may ease the physical and spiritual sufferings of those who are sick with AIDS, especially in the poorest countries.”
Following my participation as a panellist during the Regional Consultation held in T&T in March 2011 on “Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support “(see CCSJ’s website), I was invited to attend a two-day Regional Consultation in the Dominican Republic (DR) in June on the theme: “Putting Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention into action in the Caribbean region”.
On Wednesday, March 23 and Thursday 24, I attended UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Consultation on Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support. I was a member of the panel that focused on: The Social and Cultural Environment: Human Rights and HIV (see CCSJ’s website for my presentation).
Interestingly, among the 150 or so persons present – including Ministers of Government from around the region, I was the only speaker/participant representing a faith-based community.