ARTICLES

Giving Scandal to the Church?

CATHOLICS PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL AIDS WALK

By Allyson Smith

"It's a shame," said a local pro-life coordinator, "how the [San Diego] diocese has bought into the idea that the AIDS Walk should be incorporated into Respect Life Sunday. AIDS is a serious problem, and sufferers deserve our help and prayers. But Respect Life Sunday is intended to focus attention on the most innocent sufferers imaginable, the millions of unborn children killed each year by abortion."

The pro-life coordinator pointed to past efforts by the diocesan office of social ministries and AIDS chaplaincy program to involve local parishes in the AIDS Walk. A photo and caption in last year's October 9 Southern Cross identified the following parishes as official participants: Santa Sophia (Spring Valley), St. Luke's (El Cajon), St. Patrick's (North Park), St. Didacus (Normal Heights), and Christ the King and St. Jude Shrine of the West (both in greater southeast San Diego). Also carrying banners identifying themselves were representatives of the diocesan HIV/AIDS Ministry, Catholic Charities, and students from Our Lady of Peace Academy (North Park).

Most of the same parishes and organizations have been promoting their participation in this year's AIDS Walk, which takes place October 4. Eighteen thousand participants are anticipated for the 3.1 mile (five kilometer) walk, which begins 10 a.m. at the Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park and ends at Quince Street and Balboa Drive.

Father Rich Perozich is pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in City Heights, which offers support to Catholics with homosexual inclinations and their friends and relatives through its Courage and Encourage ministries. "None of our parishioners has volunteered to coordinate anything for the AIDS Walk," Father Perozich said.

"AIDS Walk sounds like a simple way to support AIDS sufferers, those who have lost friends to the disease, and prevention, treatment, and research programs," he added. "But before one participates in any organized activity, one needs to investigate it. Who is its sponsor? What is the mission statement of the group? Who else is participating? Can one participate without giving scandal to the Church?"

AIDS Walk San Diego was co-founded in 1990 by the now-bankrupt AIDS Foundation of San Diego, the Assistance Fund, and the San Diego Lesbian and Gay Men's Community Center. The walk's mission, according to its website, is "to assist local HIV and AIDS organizations to improve the quality of life for individuals living with HIV and AIDS" and raise funds for "awareness of HIV and AIDS throughout the San Diego region." Major sponsors include Hewlett-Packard and the County of San Diego.

In 1997, the Walk raised $520,000 in monetary contributions and in-kind donations such as food, water, and advertising. A total of $335,000 was distributed to 37 HIV/AIDS-related organizations, with individual amounts varying from $1000 to almost $100,000.

Auntie Helen's Fluff 'n Fold in North Park, a thrift store and free laundry service for people living with AIDS, currently provides laundry services for 350 AIDS patients, as well as clothing vouchers and medical equipment such as walkers, canes, and wheelchairs. In 1997, Auntie Helen's got $5000 from AIDS Walk which was used, according to executive director Bob Stanley, for expenses such as insurance, laundry soap, and bleach.

East County Community Health Services received $8500 in Walk proceeds last year. "In 1996 we proposed to begin HIV testing at Grossmont Community College after a survey showed that 97 out of 100 students surveyed wanted testing HIV services on campus," said Tom Stubberud, health promotion coordinator. "We are now able to provide HIV risk reduction counseling and HIV testing for students. To date we've tested over 250 students with funds provided from AIDS Walk."

The recipient of last year's highest single amount -- $98,000 -- from AIDS Walk was the San Diego Lesbian and Gay Men's Community Center, which serves as an umbrella for several HIV prevention programs and support services that claim to assist over 7500 people per month. These programs include the Common Ground Gay Youth Services/HIV Peer Education Program, the Lesbian Health Project, the Holistic AIDS Response Program (HARP), and mental health and chemical dependency counseling.

According to Scott Thompson, the Lesbian and Gay Men's Community Center's director of programs, these programs "try to meet clients where they're at. We educate people on the risks and consequences [of engaging in homosexual activity] for themselves and their partners, then support people in whatever decision they've made in a non-judgmental way."

One of the Center's programs, Operation Sexwyze, educates clients "by conducting outreach education within social settings where men gather, such as bars, bathhouses, and special events," according to a fact sheet. Trained outreach teams go into these settings, where, said Thompson, "they distribute condoms and lube [lubricant]. The outreach workers also talk to these men about 'negotiating sex' to help them develop the skills, language, and confidence to be able to talk to their partners about risk behaviors and risk tolerance." Other programs sponsored by the Center, such as Bridges, and Heads Up!, help "men who have sex with men" become informed about general health care and "master the psycho-social cofactors that contribute to HIV infection."

In past years, funds have also been given to churches and affiliated organizations, including St. Vincent de Paul Village (according to the AIDS Walk San Diego website). Many churches and other religious institutions also participate in the walk, helping to raise funds.

Reverend Mike Williams, a United Methodist pastor, spoke enthusiastically about the involvement of the AIDS Chaplaincy Program in this year's Walk. "This is our second year coordinating the 'Celebration of the Spirit' entertainment at the beginning of the Walk," he said. "We'll have six choirs, including the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus, the Metropolitan Community Church, KARIBU and Bahai Faith, singing pieces that lift up God's compassion and unconditional love." He added that many Catholics are involved in the AIDS Chaplaincy Program, the Ecumenical Council, and AIDS Walk San Diego.

"Many organizations which promote same-sex activity as good and normal under the terms 'gay' and "lesbian" use this type of walk for publicity," said Father Perozich. "While AIDS is a disease, and while it is not a same-sex disease, and while care, prevention, and cure need to be emphasized, care should be taken not to promote same-sex activity as good or normal. That means looking closely at the organization, its goals, etc., before jumping on the band wagon."

It is an uneasy alliance at best between the Catholic Church -- which holds that a homosexual orientation is "intrinsically disordered" and all same-sex sexual activity is immoral -- and the organizers and beneficiaries of AIDS Walk, most of whom repudiate the Church's moral stance. The 1996 AIDS Walk promotional flier, disseminated by the diocesan social ministries office and posted in the vestibules of many local churches, prominently displayed the names of sponsors such as F Street Book Store pornographic shops and Safeskin condoms.

Kent Peters, head of the diocesan social ministries office, did not return a phone call seeking comment. Peters took over the office a year ago.

"This is the fifth year where a group of parishioners will join together to walk," St. Didacus parishioner Karen Dey told News Notes. "We started the first year with 15 people; last year we had approximately 40. The group is intergenerational and includes babies, young people, singles, married couples, and even a woman in her 90s."

Father Henry Rodriguez, St. Jude pastor, said that in addition to sponsoring a group of student walkers from its preschool through eighth grade student body, the church will also make announcements about the Walk at Masses and encourage parishioners to participate in it. "This is keeping in line with our Catholic identity of reaching out to those in need," he said.

When contacted about Our Lady of Peace's plans to participate again this year, Jeannette Handelsman of the girls' school's associated student body said, "At this point I prefer not to make a comment to your newspaper about this."

According to Father Jim Mott, who leads monthly support group meetings for "Gay and Lesbian Catholics" at Santa Sophia, the Spring Valley church was the first in San Diego to "go public" with "gay ministry." A participant in the support group's May meeting reported that Father Mott encouraged one sexually active lesbian in the group to receive Holy Communion, without stressing the necessity of repentance and Confession prior to reception of the Blessed Sacrament.

Asked about Santa Sophia's participation this year, pastor Father Michael Ratajczak issued the following statement through his receptionist: "He [Father Ratajczak] does not cooperate or communicate with News Notes on any issue. He is just following the directives of the diocese."

"Regardless of how one contracted [AIDS], compassion for the suffering is the what we Catholics can offer," Father Perozich pointed out. "Assistance with prayer, spirituality, and the needs of daily living are important. Ongoing education for persons with AIDS is important. Just because someone has this disease does not mean the sexual passions which might have been the means of contracting it will go away. Persons with AIDS need to be counseled to be chaste from now on. The reason so many persons have contracted the disease is because those knowing they have HIV are still having sexual encounters without telling their partners."