HA NOI (UCAN) -- Church HIV and AIDS workers shared information and experiences at a national recent national workshop where other Church personnel resolved to arrange programs and build networking to address the situation.

Around 70 clergy, Religious and lay Catholics from 14 dioceses attended the workshop Holding Together Practical Activities of the Catholic Church in Vietnam in the Face of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic, held at the Ha Noi archbishop's residence Jan. 14-16. Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Ha Noi and Bishop Joseph Dang Duc Ngan of Lang Son were among participants.

The Commission for Charitable and Social Actions of the Vietnam bishops' conference organized this first such workshop, which Caritas Germany sponsored.

Foreign participants represented Action AIDS, Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Germany, Caritas Internationalis, Misereor and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

"The workshop will help local Catholics and Church leaders fully understand the reality of the deadly disease, create a network of action and make action plans for dioceses," Father Antoine Nguyen Ngoc Son, secretary of the bishops' commission, told UCA News.

According to Father Son, many dioceses do not have pastoral committees for people with HIV and AIDS, and clergy lack information on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS, which usually results from it.

The Church official said participants asked his commission to coordinate activities among dioceses and lay groups, and post Church materials, information and scheduled activities relating to HIV and AIDS on the bishops' website for wider sharing and study.

Participants also agreed to arrange training courses for members of parish-based associations to improve their knowledge of HIV and AIDS and their skills in serving affected people in their area. Young people also need to be told, through sex education and other forums, how to avoid infection, they said.

HIV and AIDS workers from Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese shared experiences and explained their activities at the workshop. One important initiative they spoke about is creating jobs for patients and their children so they can integrate into society. They also offer spiritual support, last rites and funeral services. They noted that more than 1,000 people converted to Catholicism before dying of AIDS.

The workers also said they founded many clinics and centers to provide free medical treatment and medicines for people living with HIV, but only two have legal recognition from the government.

Daughters of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception sisters from Hue, central Vietnam, told the workshop they started working with HIV and AIDS patients in 1996 after local government authorities invited them to serve these people. The nuns also said they cooperate closely with other Christians and Buddhists in caring for affected people and prevention work.

Tran Thi Le, an AIDS patient, shared at the workshop that she was infected by her husband seven years ago. Le said she and her 2-year-old daughter face discrimination, even members of their own family, who do not allow them to live in their house in the central province of Quang Ngai. They now live at a Church-run home in Ho Chi Minh City for HIV-infected women and their children. Le said she now earns a living as a dressmaker.

Bishop Ngan, 50, told participants he appreciated the workshop, from which he learned about other dioceses' activities regarding HIV and AIDS. He said he would inform his priests about the epidemic and plan activities for people living with HIV in his diocese, which covers Cao Bang and Lang Son provinces.

Lang Son province alone has 2,647 HIV and AIDS cases -- including 200 new cases -- Bishop Ngan noted, citing 2007 government records. Most infections result from shared syringes among drug users and sexual activities.

The bishop, who took over the diocese on Dec. 3, 2007, said it has not yet set up a pastoral committee for HIV and AIDS since it lacks staff.

Archbishop Kiet likewise noted that many HIV-infected people live in the capital but he lacks workers.

The archbishop, secretary general of the bishops' conference, promised to present HIV and AIDS issues to other bishops at their next meeting, in March.

According to the government HIV and AIDS prevention agency, the country recorded 128,367 cases and 14,042 deaths as of June 29, 2007. People in the 13-29 age group have accounted for 65 percent of the cases, it said.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)