Rock Star Bono Preaches to the Faithful in New Orleans

Christian music fans at nine festivals and concerts this summer have been shown a videotaped message about AIDS from rock star Bono of the Irish band U2. Bono recently created a nonprofit called DATA -- Debt, AIDS, Trade for Africa -- to build support for addressing the AIDS crisis and reducing African debt. Jay Swartzendruber of Nashville-based Gotee Records was among five Christian music executives who drafted a proposal to work with Bono and suggested the video be part of their efforts. He said 24 Christian artists -- including the Newsboys, Sixpence None the Richer and Third Day -- have endorsed DATA. "Today, this very day, 5,500 Africans will die of AIDS," Bono says in the three-minute video. "There are 2,300 -- two thousand, three hundred -- verses of Scripture pertaining to the poor. History will judge us on how we deal with this crisis. God will judge us harder on how we deal with this crisis." Bono urges audience members to get in touch with political leaders and sign up with his organization to express their desire to make AIDS and poverty in Africa a priority.

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