At the All Africa Anglican Conference in Boksburg, South Africa, last Thursday, Archbishop of Capetown Njongonkulu Ndungane said that an HIV/AIDS state of emergency should be declared in all African countries. "As in a state of war, all government agencies should be in a state of alert. The issue should not just be domesticated in the health department. It affects all of us across the board," he said.

The conference document "Our Vision, Our Hope: The First Step" called for pastoral care for HIV/AIDS patients and support for children orphaned by the disease. Delegates also touched on the issue of condoms, whose use as a preventive measure has been condemned by the Catholic Church. The Anglican conference recognized condoms as "the greater good or lesser of two evils" for people who are unable to be faithful to one partner.

Ndungane said the church's call was for people to abstain from sex or be faithful. "But we realize that we live in a real world with human imperfection. Our vocation as Anglican Christians is to save souls but we must also save lives," he said.

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