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HILLONG: All along even the most "basic means" to combat HIV/AIDS has been a strict no-no with Churches of all denominations in the North-East.
But with the menace assuming an alarming proportion in the predominantly Christian states of the region, the Church, it seems, is ready to review its stand on the very concept of birth control.
However, it's not going to be easy as Church elders are still in a dilemma whether to advocate the use of condoms. "It will be morally wrong for the Church to prescribe condoms for safe sex and use of sterile syringes by drug abusers," said Rev. Kevi Meru of the Shillong Baptist Church on the sidelines of a meeting held at the Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) here recently.
"The Church can only preach monogamy and abstinence before marriage because that's what is written in the scriptures," the Church leader contended.
Attended by Church leaders of different denominations, the meeting discussed threadbare the role to be taken up by the Church to address the issue of HIV/AIDS afflicting the society.
In fact, the Church is faced with a dilemma on using the pulpit for advocating the subject of HIV/AIDS. "The Church has seldom used the pulpit to highlight the dangers of HIV and AIDS faced by the faithful," Rev. Meru told reporters on the issue.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that the Church is already seized with the dangers that HIV/AIDS poses to society and added that the Church should be concerned with the "behaviour" of its members.
A two-day workshop on "HIV/AIDS, Prevention and Care" conducted by the North East India Committee on Relief and Development (NEICORD) in coordination with the UN and National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was part of the meeting.
The meeting also discussed the predicament a church leader usually faces when it comes to dealing with issues like HIV/AIDS. A church leader said, "HIV/AIDS is a menace staring society as a whole as well as the Church. It's a part of the fallen world along with other ailments afflicting humanity. But what is worse with this disease is that innocent people become victims such as faithful spouses, babies and even those getting blood transfusion."
Significantly, the workshop was also aimed at making the Church leaders convinced of the fact that HIV carriers should not be discriminated against or declared unacceptable but should be allowed to live with dignity and hope, because contracting HIV virus does not "dehumanize" the individual.
Besides, the workshop also made suggestions to the Church elders as to how the Church could extend its "helping hands" to HIV/AIDS sufferers while emphasizing that they needed to be "forgiven and accepted".
HILLONG: All along even the most "basic means" to combat HIV/AIDS has been a strict no-no with Churches of all denominations in the North-East.
But with the menace assuming an alarming proportion in the predominantly Christian states of the region, the Church, it seems, is ready to review its stand on the very concept of birth control.
However, it's not going to be easy as Church elders are still in a dilemma whether to advocate the use of condoms. "It will be morally wrong for the Church to prescribe condoms for safe sex and use of sterile syringes by drug abusers," said Rev. Kevi Meru of the Shillong Baptist Church on the sidelines of a meeting held at the Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) here recently.
"The Church can only preach monogamy and abstinence before marriage because that's what is written in the scriptures," the Church leader contended.
Attended by Church leaders of different denominations, the meeting discussed threadbare the role to be taken up by the Church to address the issue of HIV/AIDS afflicting the society.
In fact, the Church is faced with a dilemma on using the pulpit for advocating the subject of HIV/AIDS. "The Church has seldom used the pulpit to highlight the dangers of HIV and AIDS faced by the faithful," Rev. Meru told reporters on the issue.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that the Church is already seized with the dangers that HIV/AIDS poses to society and added that the Church should be concerned with the "behaviour" of its members.
A two-day workshop on "HIV/AIDS, Prevention and Care" conducted by the North East India Committee on Relief and Development (NEICORD) in coordination with the UN and National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was part of the meeting.
The meeting also discussed the predicament a church leader usually faces when it comes to dealing with issues like HIV/AIDS. A church leader said, "HIV/AIDS is a menace staring society as a whole as well as the Church. It's a part of the fallen world along with other ailments afflicting humanity. But what is worse with this disease is that innocent people become victims such as faithful spouses, babies and even those getting blood transfusion."
Significantly, the workshop was also aimed at making the Church leaders convinced of the fact that HIV carriers should not be discriminated against or declared unacceptable but should be allowed to live with dignity and hope, because contracting HIV virus does not "dehumanize" the individual.
Besides, the workshop also made suggestions to the Church elders as to how the Church could extend its "helping hands" to HIV/AIDS sufferers while emphasizing that they needed to be "forgiven and accepted".
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