Download The Church`s role in strengthening the family in the context of HIV

The Church’s Role in Strengthening the Family
in an Era of HIV/AIDS
A Position Paper by the Pan-African Christian AIDS Network (PACANet)
Abuja, Nigeria, December 2005
Preamble
At a time when the world is acknowledging the role of the faith-based organizations (FBOs) in
HIV/AIDS prevention, care and control, the Pan African Christian AIDS Network (PACANet)
in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Christian Connections for International
Health (CCIH) and the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) convened a symposium of
various stakeholders on the Christian front against HIV/AIDS. The Symposium took place in
Abuja, Nigeria at the Sharon Ultimate Hotel from December 1-3 2005. In attendance were 216
participants from 37 countries representing national and local churches, church-based
organizations, private voluntary organizations, academic institutions, businesses, activists and
other strategic partners.
The symposium discussed how to improve the standards of the Christian response to the
HIV/AIDS pandemic and how to build effective partnerships. Delegates were deeply
committed and involved in HIV/AIDS control and impact mitigation programmes across
Africa. They shared experiences, successes, pains, regrets, controversies, new knowledge and
insight, models, old and new tools, and resolutions with fellow partners in the global battle
against HIV/AIDS.
The meeting concluded with a position paper about the Church’s role in strengthening the
family as summarized below.
Affirmation
Family is central in every culture especially in times of crisis. Every time there is a disaster the
family is central to the response. The stories of families responding to tragedy and loss touch
our hearts. It is no different with HIV/AIDS. Every time a person is infected by HIV the family
is weakened.
Therefore, we affirm that families are central to an effective grassroots response to HIV/AIDS
in both prevention and care. Families are our hope for the future and the Church in Africa has
great potential to strengthen and support families.
Definitions
PACANet’s Understanding of Family
The Bible ideal for the family is a network of individuals permanently related together by
kinship, marriage or adoption who provide love, companionship and support for one another.
At the centre of the network is the covenant marriage relationship of one man and one woman
who remain together for life. God’s plan for family is a strong marriage relationship as the
nucleus or centre of an extended family network.
The Church’s Role in Strengthening the Family
PACANet’s Understanding of Church
For the purpose of this paper, we are taking ‘Church’ to mean the whole body of people who
identify themselves as Christians and ‘church’ to mean a local Christian congregation.
Present Situation
The State of the Family and HIV/AIDS
The impact of HIV/AIDS and other issues have strained the family and changed its form in a
variety of ways:
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Women often bear an unfair burden in caring for the family.
Children are now being forced to head some families.
Grandparents and especially grandmothers have returned to being primary caregivers of
small children.
Orphans are overwhelming the ability of the extended family to absorb them.
Modern entertainment media is helping to undermine positive traditional African family
values by portraying immorality, violence and other forms of social evil.
Families often struggle in teaching sex and family-related issues.
Inadequate housing has exposed and created premature curiosity in children about sex
and even encouraged incest and sexual abuse.
Alcoholism and drug abuse provide a growing threat to the stability of the family.
People living with HIV/AIDS sometimes suffer neglect, discrimination and rejection
even in their families.
Spousal abuse, domestic and sexual violence are on the increase.
HIV/AIDS fuels poverty and creates an ongoing spiral of disease and poverty that undermines
family stability. Household income is reduced and even land and property are lost while
medical expenses increase. Children are forced out of school. Women and girls are pressured
into becoming commercial sex workers. Families are split apart by work commitments and
some families even live in the street. These are issues that the Church can and must address.
The Role of the Church and Family – Growing Areas of Excellence
We affirm that God has uniquely prepared the Church to respond to this crisis and many parts
of the Christian community in Africa have responded with compassion, creativity, commitment
and courage.
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The church brings to the AIDS crisis a permanent presence at the grassroots level.
The church has earned great respect in the community because of its compassion toward
the weak and vulnerable in society, and, thus, has a powerful ability to influence
individuals, the community and the nation.
The church is an outstanding vehicle for getting information to the grassroots through
its regular meetings.
The church possesses an amazing ability to respond to crises through its abundant
material resources and its army of compassionate volunteers.
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The Church’s Role in Strengthening the Family
In light of these unique advantages, we believe the Christian Church should be in the forefront
in responding to the AIDS crisis. We are grateful that the Church has indeed been able to make
a significant contribution to this crisis.
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The church has often been the first body to respond to the AIDS crisis.
Individual Christians are leading many of the aspects of the HIV/AIDS battle across
Africa.
The Church, including its many denominations and NGO’s, has led the way in taking
care of orphans and vulnerable children.
Compassionate Christians are the greatest single block of care givers for those affected
by HIV/AIDS.
The faith community and particularly the church is the best institution in society for
encouraging behavioral change, which is often recognized as the single biggest need in
preventing the spread of HIV.
We believe the Church is uniquely qualified to strengthen the family’s response to the
HIV/AIDS pandemic:
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The church creates families by officially constituting marriages.
The church encourages and blesses the addition of children to the family.
The church influences families through its interpretations of family-related issues in the
Bible.
The church corrects marriages through its preaching, teaching, counseling and
discipline.
The church has the ability to change families through its pronouncements and programs.
The church provides a model for families, which include such things as love, toleration,
submission, respect, forgiveness, and other positive qualities that are equally as
important to the family as they are to the church.
The Church and Family – Challenges
We acknowledge that the Church has not always responded to the HIV/AIDS crisis in an
appropriate way. We have often been guilty of ignorance and at times have denied that
HIV/AIDS was a part of our Christian families. As a result of our apathy, we have often
misunderstood the HIV/AIDS crisis and, even when we have spoken clearly, we have
sometimes not lived honorably. By our silence, we have tolerated unbiblical practices that have
fostered the oppression of women. Because of these things we have not always provided the
care and support that sick and needy people deserve and have also contributed to the stigma
that is associated with HIV/AIDS.
The Way Forward: The Role of the Church in Strengthening Families
In light of these opportunities and challenges, we call on all churches and Christians to do the
following:
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Repent of the shortcomings we have had in dealing with family-related issues, including
the failure to live up by God’s standards for families.
Protect the family from false ideas about family, including those that arise from our
cultures rather than the Bible.
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The Church’s Role in Strengthening the Family
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o For example, we must correct the idea of rigid male domination and present a
more Biblical understanding of gender relationships that stresses the equal value
of men and women. In addition, we must resist female genital mutilation and
empower our younger girls to resist the sexual advances of older men.
o In the same way, we must protect our families from wrong concepts of marriage
that are often portrayed through media and other negative external influences.
Rearrange our priorities to focus more attention on family-related issues such as
sexuality education and marriage enrichment.
Provide training and enhanced emphasis in our seminaries and other theological training
institutions to better prepare our future leaders for their responsibilities to our families.
Equip pastors and church leaders to provide more teachings about family matters in the
pulpit, the classroom and in their counseling.
Go beyond negative prohibitions related to sex to a holistic, meaningful and fulfilling
presentation of relationships.
Develop more materials and provide more opportunities for Christian parents to develop
responsible parenting skills.
Address issues of economic empowerment to help break the downward spiral of
poverty.
Consider reinstituting certain positive traditional practices of African cultures that will
contribute to the strengthening of families, such as the sex education that was often
presented in rites of passage.
Recognize that Christianity is a world-wide body and what affects the Church in Africa
affects the Church around the world. Therefore, we appeal to those Christians who have
influence in the global Church to encourage them to join hands by sharing resources to
protect families from HIV/AIDS.
Provide adequate care and support for vulnerable children.
Speak out against the separation of families and, within the church, design policies that
will prevent separation of families in the line of duty.
Stand with widows and others affected by HIV/AIDS and oppose those practices that
compound their vulnerability.
Encourage and promote positive male role models.
Conclusion
In summary, we acknowledge our potential as a Church, and commit ourselves to marshal our
vast resources, sharpen our tools and challenge our people to make the family the centerpiece
in our Christian response to HIV/AIDS. To that end we celebrate the Year of the Family 2006
and beyond.
Le Réseau Pan Africain des Eglises
dans la Lutte contre le SIDA
Pan African Christian AIDS Network
P/Bag 00149. Suite 261
Gaborone – Botswana
[email protected]
[email protected]
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