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Articles: Burundi's HIV church wedding ban

Posted by admin on Saturday, March 25, 2006 - 08:56 PM

Roman Catholic Church leaders in Burundi have told priests not to conduct wedding ceremonies for people who are HIV positive.

About 6% of Burundians are HIV positive

Couples in the central African state will have to give an HIV test certificate to the priest. Aids activists said this was discriminatory. Guidelines in a booklet issued by the church authorities also forbid church weddings for pregnant women. Roman Catholics are Burundi's largest religion group.

To moralise to people or give good advice... does not mean becoming a policeman or giving orders

Jeanne Gapiya
Aids activist

The Church believes it should not be complicit in spreading the virus to the partners or children of those with HIV. Both groups remain free to marry through civil ceremonies. About 6% of adult Burundians are HIV positive, according to the United Nations. 'Forced tests' The head of programmes for the Catholic Church in Burundi, Father Gerase Mugerowimana, said the guidelines were designed to clarify the Church's position on religious weddings. "There was a meeting of bishops who decided that young couples who wish to be married have to present an HIV test certificate," he said. "The church will not bless the engaged couple if they do not present this document." But an association of people with HIV, ANSS, said it was against "forced tests", reports the Reuters news agency. "The church has a duty to moralise to people, but to moralise to people or give good advice... does not mean becoming a policeman or giving orders," ANSS head Jeanne Gapiya said. Burundi is recovering from a decade of civil war, which made it difficult to run public information programmes about Aids, and led hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

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