Catholic AIDS Ministry

Schools AIDS Day in Victoria, 2003

Love: the vital ingredient - SCHOOLS RECOGNISE AIDS DAY
By Susan Pascoe
Director of Catholic Education

I was fortunate enough to attend St Kevin's Primary School in Lower Templestowe on a recent Friday for School AIDS Day, an annual event that recognises the world's HIV/AIDS sufferers.

A Mass and a sausage sizzle were organised for students in Catholic schools in the area, providing an occasion for prayer, meditation and some relaxation; students were also encouraged to donate a gold coin to the Catholic AIDS Ministry.

The Mass was hosted by St Charles Borromeo and St Kevin's primary schools and celebrated by the St Kevin's parish priest, Father Chris Toms. Hundreds of colourful paper cranes - symbolising hope and peace - were made by the children and hung inside the church.

It is interesting to remember that about twenty years ago Australians were bombarded with warnings about a new, dreaded disease which had to cure. Images of the Grim Reaper knocking over men, women and children with a bowling ball haunted a generation of Australians.

However, over time fear made way for complacency and younger people today are not subjected to the same level of emotional advertising and dire warnings. But while the Grim Reaper has long since disappeared from our screens, HIV/AIDS is still a major health problem in the world, particularly in many African countries.
As Archbishop Hart stated in his School AIDS Day statement, "The increase in infection in our country should also cause us to reflect on how we present the Gospel and promote a culture of life to our young people".
Speaking directly to the children during his homily, Father Toms made some pertinent and valuable comments about the prevalence of the disease. Forty-two million people live with HIV/AIDS and there are 14,000 new infections somewhere in the world every day. In Australia, a total of 12,680 people have the disease and over six thousand have died since the early eighties.

So how do we as Christians relate to people who have HIV/AIDS? Father Toms said it was imperative that we see the goodness in each person we meet and move beyond our fears and prejudices: love was a very important ingredient. "If we love others, we can love ourselves," he reminded the students during his homily.
In addition, Father Toms said we had a duty to help those less fortunate than ourselves - such as HIV/AIDS sufferers. With love we have the ability to "change the lives of others".

Father Toms also called on more Catholic schools in the Archdiocese to recognise School AIDS Day next year, as he strongly believes it deserves wider school involvement and publicity.

It is a call I support, and hopefully in 2004 more Catholic schools will join their local communities and recognise this important initiative.

October, 2002 - Victoria

The new AAFI Board has provided Melbourne’s Catholic AIDS Ministry (CAM) with a superb collection of book and print references to boost its reference and resource facilities. That Ministry’s activities are now also supported financially each year through the AAFI Schools AIDS Day initiative – now run through the Melbourne Catholic Education Office - every July, helping to pay its operating costs. And we continue to push for the replacement of the San Michel and Rosehaven supported accommodation facilities, as promised by Catholic Social Services Victoria in its written undertaking of March 28 this year. It’s a promise that’s been accepted in good faith.

Earlier, the valuable and specially commissioned stained glass artworks depicting World AIDS Day...and which were a feature of the AAFI office/resource center at the San Michel site were also gifted to Catholic AIDS Ministry and duly installed in its new East Melbourne headquarters, subsequently opened by Archbishop Hart.