Aids Symposium at the Vatican

(May 28, 2011) AIDS experts from around the world have concluded Saturday a two-day symposium on preventing HIV and caring for people with the virus, organized by Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers.. Among the speakers at the conference was Dr. Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, the U.N. agency which maintains that condoms are an "integral and essential" part of prevention programs, which the U.N. says should also include education about delaying the start of sexual activity, limiting sexual partners and marital fidelity. In his inaugurating discourse, Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone underlined the central position of the Aids patient. The patient’s family and society should overcome fears of contagion and show affection and acceptance towards the sufferer.