Case #13: Pastoral Responses to HIV/AIDS (Europe and Africa)
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Descriptive Dimension
Is the worldwide crisis of HIV/AIDS basically a problem of personal morality, a national problem, or a problem pertaining to our ability to address the common good? Is it a combination of these? What obligations, if any, do local Christian communities have to address the HIV/AIDS crisis?Normative Dimension
What are the basic goods that the HIV/AIDS crisis calls to our attention? What are the basic diminishments or curtailments of goods (that is to say, evils) that this crisis brings to our attention? What are the goods being promoted or the goods that are at risk in the various pastoral responses to the problem that the Catholic bishops are considering? What principles should have priority?
Practical Dimension
What is the concern of the major bishops' conferences (such as the one in southern Africa) in using condoms to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS? If you were a pastor of a congregation where half or more of your parishioners were dying from AIDS, what would you tell them? What comforting words would you give them? How would you communicate Church teaching on responsible use of one's sexuality in this situation?
Fundamental Dimension
Is the situation of a married couple, one of whom is infected with HIV/AIDS, fundamentally different with respect to their moral choice about condom use from a married couple that is not infected and considering artificial contraception? Do such decisions impact the formation of character in different ways?
Sources for Discernment
What place should studies about the effectiveness of condoms in controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS have in determining a proper moral response to the HIV/AIDS crisis? What place do theological sources have in guiding use of this date for the purposes of formatting a pastoral response?
