AIDS Fight Needs Churches, Obama Says

At an evangelical AIDS conference Friday at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., 2,072 religious leaders gathered to discuss the church's role in fighting HIV/AIDS. Two potential presidential candidates addressed the crowd, emphasizing that stopping the epidemic should be a moral and not a partisan effort.

"We can't ignore the fact that abstinence and fidelity, although the ideal, may not always be the reality -- that we're dealing with flesh and blood men and women and not abstractions, and that if condoms and, potentially, things like microbicides, can prevent millions of deaths, then they should be made more widely available," said Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois).

"There's nothing political about dealing with malaria and global HIV," said Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), noting that Democrats and Republicans must work together to fight AIDS. In Africa, Brownback said he saw people suffering from AIDS and malaria. "If we'll just give them crumbs off our table, they can live, and we can save our souls."

In his recent visit to Kenya and South Africa, Obama said he heard "stories of men and women contracting HIV because sex was no longer part of a sacred covenant, but a mechanical, physical act; because men had visited prostitutes and then brought the disease home to their wives, or young girls had been subjected to rape and abuse. These are issues of prevention we cannot walk away from."

"Let me say this loud and clear: I don't think that we can deny that there is a moral and spiritual component to prevention, that in too many places all over the world… the relationship between men and women, between sexuality and spirituality, has broken down, and needs to be repaired," said Obama, whose speech received a standing ovation.

Obama said he could not praise enough President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which allocates billions of dollars to fight the disease overseas. "The administration and this Congress have been serious about putting resources in contributing to the fight against HIV and AIDS."

To destigmatize testing, both senators took rapid-result oral HIV tests after their speeches.

Back to other news for December 5, 2006