MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD AIDS DAY
1 December 2005

For I was hungry and you gave me to eat, thirsty and you gave me to drink, a stranger and welcomed me into your home, naked and you clothed me, sick and in prison and you visited me. (Mt. 25:35-36)

If we were to take these words of Christ seriously, then we cannot deny that love for one another is the fulfillment of His law, the final measure by which we are to be judged. And yet, the greatest poverty that the world suffers from today is the lack of love or compassion as is evidenced by the breakdown of moral values, families and self-worth affecting even our very soul which we experience in our society today.

If we consider ourselves as members of Christ’s Church, then we cannot, as part of His Body, continue to deny that we are bleeding at the very core.

The deepest wound resulting from society’s breakdown is the scourge of AIDS, or what Mother Teresa referred to as the new leprosy of the West. Leprosy though, as with cancer and all other ailments, is not born directly of man’s own self-inclination as AIDS is. We have brought AIDS into this world as a direct result of a lack of love.

All of us are capable of spreading this disease as well as those who are afflicted with it as a result of their own personal choice or otherwise. They are all victims as all of us are capable of becoming. We cannot continue to turn our backs on them in the hope that if we pretend hard enough of their non-existence, the disease will go away.

AIDS is real, as real as the victims inflicted by it, who suffer mostly in loneliness, stripped of their dignity, hungry and thirsting for compassion, and sentenced in a prison imposed on them by an uncaring society.

We must live our faith and act with compassion especially with those who have been most affected by our indifference.

The problem of AIDS calls for compassion, responsibility, and most of all, love. We all have to do our part to help combat this disease, to assist those who suffer from it, and to act to stem its spread through education and responsible action.

As we celebrate World AIDS Day this year, let us pray to God, our loving and compassionate father, for those who tirelessly work to combat this disease and care for its victims. Let us pray that all may look in compassion and kindness on those who suffer from AIDS. Let us pray for His protection and mercy so that our world may be finally rid of this scourge.

May God bless you!

+GAUDENCIO B. ROSALES
Archbishop of Manila