By: Sr. Maria Crucis

In 1968, as a young bride of Christ, I was sent to Zambia to work in the health care sector where I remained until December of 2006. For the last five years, I worked in a hospice for HIV/AIDS patients, of which I had also been a founder. It was while working at the University Teaching Hospital, that I witnessed first-hand the terrible effects of HIV/AIDS.

Looking back, I realize that no one could have known how to prepare for the ravages of this terrible disease. Millions of lives have been relentlessly destroyed all across Africa. I feel it is important to paint this picture for you to understand why we decided to set up a hospice that would focus solely on patients with HIV/AIDS, and from which, we who founded this hospice, have come to understand the importance the Theology of the Body will play in finally curing this epidemic.

Before the onset of AIDS, the medical care system in Zambia was barely able to manage the nation’s sick, and once the AIDS epidemic struck, it became a complete impossibility. Lacking sufficient hospital beds, medical equipment, and drugs, not to mention being radically understaffed, I witnessed countless patients lying on the floor, hopelessly waiting on wooden benches, or being brought in on stretchers with nowhere to put them. Some were returned home and died on the way, some arrived home only to be brought back again and finally to die somewhere in transit.

In May of 2004 our hospice gained access to free testing kits and free anti-retroviral drugs through the PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Funds for Africa), the initiative of President George Bush. This was a major breakthrough and the best thing that had happened to us since we started our program. In a 31-month period, we tested 26,000 people, and of these 24,000 were HIV positive. Clearly, we are facing a severe epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

As I travel around the globe in my mission of caring for people infected or dying with HIV/AIDS, I often hear, ‘but there is so much money for HIV/AIDS.’ To which I reply, “Well so it is said, but those suffering from the condition, rarely see it or feel its effects.” Far too often, those funds are wasted through inefficient bureaucracies or go to ineffective programs that do little to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS or help those suffering from its effects. The overwhelming majority of programs promote condoms rather than encouraging pre-marital abstinence and marital fidelity.

Presently, I am researching HIV/AIDS and the ‘prevention strategies’ that have been employed up until now. Following that, I plan to put together some truly life-giving programs for the young people of Africa based on Theology of the Body.

In the course of my research, I came across the TOB Institute’s Head & Heart Immersion Course. Being able to attend the Institute’s immersion course in Theology of the Body, taught by Christopher West, was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. During the week of intensive study and even deeper prayer, I just kept thinking ‘Yes this is the answer….’ But why does it seem that so few want to listen? We must at least give people the opportunity to know the truth of their bodies, and then they must decide how they are to live. As sacred Scripture says:

My experience in Africa has taught me one crucial thing about the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A radical change in sexual behaviour is essential for the future survival of these African nations. Any efforts to stop or slow the HIV/AIDS epidemic will not be effective unless this realization occurs. This is why after so many years of caring for thousands of people with AIDS, I know that my work will not be in vain if we are able to employ the teachings of Theology of the Body.

The Theology of the Body is the ‘key’ to survival, the lifeboat, that Pope John Paul II left us to enable us to open ourselves to God’s grace, which alone can save us from our sins and their devastating effects. It is essential for us to establish and promote Theology of the Body programs in all sectors of society. I am convinced that only a radical shift in the way we view and live out our sexuality in light of the truth illuminated in this beautiful work of Pope John Paul II has any chance of effectively battling the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. Thank you for letting me share my experience with you.

Sister Maria Crucis