Church looking for ways to combat HIV/AIDS in NE India

Worried over the increasing number of HIV/AIDS cases in North East India, Christian leaders from the region are now cogitating on ways it can combat the epidemic.

A two-day workshop on "HIV/AIDS, Prevention and Care" was held in Shillong, attended by leaders of various Christian denominations.

During the discussions, they observed that it was urgent for the Church to step up efforts to fight the menace, and also to extend its helping hand to those already infected.

Among questions they were pondering on, was whether to advocate the use of condoms.

"It will be morally wrong for the Church to prescribe condoms for safe sex and use of sterile syringes by drug abusers," says Rev. Kevi Meru of the Shillong Baptist Church.

"The Church can only preach monogamy and abstinence before marriage because that's what is written in the scriptures," a TOI report quoted the Church leader saying.

Meru laments that "Church has seldom used the pulpit to highlight the dangers of HIV and AIDS faced by the faithful."

During the workshop, Christian leaders were urged to avoid discrimination of victims infected with the disease. They stressed that people with HIV virus must be "forgiven and accepted".