nothing to see here, folks

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Mar 17, 2007

Thanks be to God, we can now speak about HIV-AIDS as an illness that is indiscriminate in its reach and impact.

Relax. He didn't mean it. That's Archbishop Wilton Gregory speaking, and his emotions, in this case, out-sprinted his diction. He wanted to express his satisfaction at the etiquette that compels us to pretend that the most easily avoidable "pandemic" in medical history is the contrary of what we all know it to be.

It has touched the lives of infants within the womb [true], patients infected through blood transfusions in hospitals [true], men and women [true], people of every class, age, race, and ethnic community [very nearly true].

Nothing heretical in the above, but by his maladroitness in evading the obvious the Archbishop reinforces the very point he is at pains to confute. The moral turpitude that often attends AIDS transmission can't be addressed -- addressed with candor, at any rate -- in polite company. Why not? None of your business why not.

But there is also a disturbing vision that we cannot ignore or deny. Some people still wish to focus exclusively upon how the HIV-AIDS is transmitted and those people who may have suffered disproportionately from its presence. Some folks still wish to withhold their compassion because of biases that continue to be a residual effect of the sin of hatred and discrimination. The world has lived with HIV-AIDS for 25 years; however we have lived with such bigotry for all of our human history.

Bias against recipients of blood transfusions ...?

Our world has been changed because of HIV-AIDS and we continue to need to change hearts to respond in love to those whose lives have been turned upside down in the wake of this new reality. The great quilt of names of people who have died from AIDS serves as a sacramental reminder of the lives that have been taken from us because of this pandemic.

Won't work, your Excellency. It's futile. The more strenuously you lay on the sugar-coating, the more surely your hearers' minds -- even against their will -- are driven to focus on the sordid reality you're trying to cover up. Moreover, the element of self-congratulation in your effusions is conspicuous enough to undo whatever chastening or edifying effect they might otherwise have.

To see more plainly what's going on, let's shift the topic. Suppose the occasion of the Archbishop's address had been a Mass for relatives of persons who had taken their own lives. Here too there's a strong emotional undercurrent of moral opprobrium to be dealt with: some cases clearly condemned by the Church, some cases clearly excused by her, many in a clouded middle-ground where the factors pertinent to free will are too deeply intertwined to make a judgment possible. In such circumstances we'd expect -- and almost certainly get -- a subdued, reticent discourse that spoke to the grief but was respectful of the mystery of human freedom. What we wouldn't hear is a hectoring and sanctimonious polemic against the bigotry of the uncompassionate: the moral reality cuts too deep for that.

---

Incidentally, at the Archdiocese of Atlanta's home page, whence come the remarks above, we find the following solicitation:

Archbishop Gregory is nominated as one of the most influential baby boomers by Newsweek. Cast your vote for him today!

My ballot, regrettably, is already in.