Statement
Called to Compassion and Responsibility
Called to Compassion and Responsibility: A Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis, November 1989, National Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) continues to spread throughout the world. As a contribution to the nation's response to this complex disease and its devastating consequences, we wish to help turn ignorance into understanding into action. We, the Catholic bishops of the United States, approach this task from the perspectives of faith and reason: faith which believes that health and sickness, life and death have new meaning in Jesus Christ; and moral reasoning which supports the insights concerning human nature and individual dignity, which we here affirm. We address this statement to the Catholic community and to all people of goodwill. It is our hope that these reflections will stimulate discussion and foster understanding of the ethical and spiritual dimensions of the HIV crisis.