Pope: appeal for help in fight against HIV/AIDS

(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI issued an appeal on Wednesday in behalf of efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. The call came at the end of his weekly General Audience in Paul VI Hall, and looked forward to the UN-sponsored World Day against AIDS, which will be marked this coming Saturday, December 1^st. The Holy Father spoke of the millions of deaths and the tragic human suffering that the disease has caused. “Suffering,” he said, “that is particularly great in the poorest regions of the world, where people have great difficulty in accessing effective drugs.” Pope Benedict also noted the great number of children each year who contract the virus from their mothers, who do not have access to or knowledge of treatments capable of preventing mother-to-child transmission. Concluding his appeal, Pope Benedict offered his encouragement to the many initiatives that the Church, in Her missionary work, promotes and carries out in order to eradicate the disease. Listen to our report:

During the catechetical portion of his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI continued his reflections for the Year of Faith, focusing specifically on the way in which we are to speak about God to our contemporaries, communicating the Christian faith as a response to the deepest longings of the human heart. “The first step, he said, “is to listen to what God has told us.” Speaking in English, Pope Benedict said that communicating the faith, “means bearing quiet and humble witness each day to the core of the Gospel message,” the heart of which is the Good News of the God who is Love and who – in His Son – has drawn near to us, giving Himself for us on the Cross, bringing us in His resurrection the hope and promise of eternal life. He also spoke of the privileged role that families play, saying that in families, “The life of faith is lived daily in joy, dialogue, forgiveness and love.”

“Jesus,” he said, “gave us an example: by his loving concern for people’s questions, struggles and needs, he led them to the Father. The God of Jesus Christ has revealed our grandeur as persons redeemed by love and called, in the Church, to renew the city of man, so that it can become the city of God.”