25 Jul 2007

HIV/AIDS high on agenda for church conference in the Pacific

10:23 am on 25 July 2007

Samoa is this week hosting this week the Episcopal Conference for the Association of Catholic Bishops in the Pacific, and high on their agenda, for the first time, is the issue of HIV/AIDS.

It follows the local council of churches last week met with the Fa'afafine association for the very first time to discuss HIV/AIDS.

The secretary general of the conference Roger McCarrick says HIV/AIDS is not usually a matter for discussions during the bi-annual conference but it is becoming a big issue within the pacific.

The Bishops will focus on developing Christian and pastoral responses to the epidemic and engaging communities in the response to HIV/AIDS.