Catholics in Zimbabwe: sex, celibacy and the AIDS crisis.

Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV/ AIDS infection rates in the world. So, while up to a quarter of the population is infected by the HIV virus, the rest of the population is also affected, directly or indirectly. Consequently, many Catholics are active and committed to offering compassion to those who are infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

While official figures report that some nine percent of Zimbabwe's population of 11 million is Catholic, Zimbabwean Catholicism seems to thrive on the commitment and dedication of women. It is women, more than men and young people, who are organized into leagues and associations that meet often to chart an agenda for the development of their faith as well as for social justice issues. The Legions of Mary and St. Anne are two of the most active Catholic associations. They have a rich tradition of providing compassion and care to the poor and bereaved. In this era of HIV/AIDS they consider people affected by the virus as a priority group for their work and service. They deeply believe that the compassion given to the least in society is done to the Lord (Matt. 25: 40).

These groups visit the sick in hospitals, clinics and those cared for at home, and pray for and with them for God's healing power to help them. Although they know that there is no cure for AIDS, they believe that suffering can be one of the main avenues through which human beings can establish an enduring relationship with God, who is, after all, the ultimate healer of all sicknesses. They pray also for the sick to be reconciled with their condition and with God.

The women further believe that, once some level of reconciliation has been attained, further healing may be possible. Although the healing may not necessarily lead to a cure, many Catholics in Zimbabwe believe that a measure of healing, which may be merely spiritual and psychological, can take place. This form of healing is important in that it may generate enough resilience and hope for the sick person to face life once again, from a new perspective. Although they do not rule out the possibility of a "spectacular" cure through prayer, they do not necessarily emphasize that dimension for fear of creating a crisis of expectation and disillusionment among AIDS patients.

Dedicated Catholics consider visiting the sick and offering compassion to AIDS victims as part and parcel of their apostolate. In their understanding of Christian life, visiting the sick, praying for them and with them, and praying for their healing, constitute an integral part of expressing one's faith in the form of works of mercy and compassion (James 5). Equally, an integral part of their faith is the obligation to do good to one's neighbor. The "good Samaritan" gained commendation from Jesus Christ because he was able to recognize that a sick man was his neighbor, whatever his race, creed, color or nature of disease.

Prayers, bible reading and singing have become very important resources in the women's ministry to those suffering and dying from AIDS. Through this ministry, many have been reconciled to their immediate relatives and to God and have become empowered by the gospel to live with the HIV virus, reintegrating with society and living positively. They no longer wait for death or implore God to take them, but have a new orientation towards life altogether. Through this new lease of life, many people become reconciled with their disease and with God, and have become living examples of God's healing power.

These people have also become living examples of the need for a balance between abstinence from sexual involvement and being faithful to one's partner and at the same time relying on the condom.

THE ABC OF SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS

Abstain, Be Faithful, Condomise has become known as the ABC of sexual relationships. Although the Catholic church in Zimbabwe has, on several occasions, come out against the use of condoms, many Catholics are of the opinion that married people, who see the need for condoms, should be left to decide these issues on their own. They believe the church should respect their freedom to decide on the question of whether to use condoms or not. Thus, a blanket condemnation of the use of condoms is considered to be both misguided and misinformed. Persistent condemnation by the official church on the use of condoms has become an area of friction between the hierarchy and the faithful and the whole question surrounding the use of artificial family planning methods as taught in the document Humanae Vitae has become subject to contestation by the faithful.

The HIV/AIDS era has lead many Catholics to argue that the use of the condom has ceased to be a question of family planning but one of life and death. In this regard, they argue, the church should radically change its cavalier attitude towards condoms. They also argue that the decision to use or not to use condoms should be left to individuals as they reflect on their faith in freedom and not under some type of ideological pressure from the hierarchy. They demand respect for a free conscience in the prevention of HIV infection.

THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH AND AIDS

Apart from the more individualistic salvation-centered focus of Christianity that finds manifestation in good works by groups of women, there is also the institutional level of involvement with the AIDS pandemic. The Catholic church in Zimbabwe, through its diocesan social services and specific religious orders spends vast resources in efforts that directly focus on AIDS sufferers.

The church in Zimbabwe runs hospitals and clinics where people infected by HIV are admitted and given care. There are special wards where AIDS sufferers are counseled and given care. Apart from these institutions, the church also runs a number of HIV programs that focus on skills training and self-reliance for those people who have already been forced out of work by illness. They are given independence and another chance to contribute meaningfully to society and their own lives. The Catholic church in Zimbabwe also runs orphanages for children orphaned through AIDS. These institutions provide a home where many children are given life skills that they may use later in life. They are also provided with a faith base to grow spiritually.

In its teaching on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the bishops' conference of Zimbabwe, however, continues to slight the efforts of the state and other secular organizations to curb the spread of the HIV virus through the use of condoms. The bishops stress the need for abstinence outside marriage, and call on the married to faithfully stick to their marriage vows and enter into permanent life-long partnerships. They also urge all Catholics to shun social vices such as promiscuity and unplanned sex. According to the bishops it is such social vices that are behind the high incidence of AIDS.

While personal sexual patterns and decisions have a certain bearing on the problem of AIDS, it would be naive to attribute the AIDS statistics in Zimbabwe merely to sexual permissiveness and moral laxity on the individual level. And the relationship between faith and AIDS is certainly more profound than the teachings of the bishops.

One may not go very far, however, in the prevention of AIDS without tackling the socio-economic structures that are behind the poverty and ignorance that characterize Zimbabwean society. Any meaningful social and moral reform should be predicated on a thoroughgoing social analysis that places personal and moral reform within a broader socio-economic reform program. Unfortunately, the teachings of the Catholic church only scratch the surface and are silent on the underlying socio-economic and cultural forces that continue to subject women to exploitation and abuse.

If the church does not interrogate the powers and principles that continue to subject poor women to abuse and exploitation, the gospel will continue to lose its appeal for downtrodden and disadvantaged peoples. The church has already lost respect among African men because of the high-handed approach that the priests and bishops use in tackling their problems.

The attempts to Christianize the moral order can only be truly effective if they are accompanied by a radical humanization of the world order. What the bishops have not done yet is to apply the teachings of Jesus to the social and economic environment in which people live and work. Although the use of the condom is certainly not the answer to the AIDS pandemic, to many Catholics it offers a convenient and practical option of prevention in a country where HIV has gone rampant.

To abstain from sex outside marriage, and to commit to life-long, faithful relationships sounds very good and morally praiseworthy. But, as many Catholics are wont to acknowledge, not many free-thinking adult men and women can practically walk such a high moral ground. To many Catholic men and women, while there is nothing wrong in recommending such ideals to members of the church, there is something idealistic about the teachings.

Many Catholic men and women that I interviewed in the course of my work appreciate the importance of such ideals but went on to call on the church to offer alternatives. Some referred to Paul's approach in 1 Cor. 7, where he recommends a celibate life. But, acknowledging the difficulties associated with this life, he then acknowledged that not all could follow him. This evangelical empathy is what many Catholic men and women are calling for from the bishops.

Since there is no rule without exception, many Catholics call upon the church to treat the AIDS pandemic as a very exceptional disease that cannot be tackled with ordinary and conventional methods. In a situation where so much life is at stake, they call on the church to exercise exceptional compassion and wisdom.

FAITH WORKS

Faith has a capacity to bring individuals into meaningful relationships with others. Many Catholics in Zimbabwe work directly with AIDS sufferers. A vibrant apostolate has emerged, involving both lay people and the clergy. In this apostolate, AIDS sufferers or bereaved members of AIDS victims benefit from training and compassion, as appropriate. As a result of this sensitivity towards AIDS sufferers and AIDS victims, a dynamic faith-praxis relationship has emerged. On the basis of their faith and commitment to Christ and to humanity, the caregivers help the victims grapple with emotional crises, death and bereavement, and with uncertainties and disappointments in life. The caregivers help generate a new faith for the sufferers to assist them in managing their suffering and life crises. Similarly, at the official level, the magisterium also helps people live up to Christian ideals that, if supported by socio-economic reform, could restore the world to the state that God originally intended for all humanity.

Dr. Paul Gundani is associate professor of religious studies at the University of Zimbabwe and a member of Catholic Voices. This paper was given during a panel discussion convened by the UNESCO Association for Inter-religious Dialogue, at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, July 7-12, 2002.