INDIA -- A consultation on “Christian response to AIDS, homophobia and violence against women” has said that the mission of the church is not to protect or defend her heritage, liturgy, confessional doctrines, ecclesiastical office or even the Bible.
“Rather, we are called to enable the process of making these means of grace and the rich resources of our faith to incarnate in the street by exposing them to the challenges in the street...” the 8-9 March consultation held in Chennai stated.
The consultation, organized by Concern for AIDS Research and Education Foundation and Center for the Church and Global AIDS was attended by some 50 church leaders, theologians and activists from India, Singapore and the USA.
Representatives from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities and sex workers also participated at the consultation, and shared problems and challenges they faced in their daily life.
The purpose of the consultation was to engage the Christians in conversations regarding Christian faith and attitude to HIV/AIDS and violence against women, with a particular focus on the recent Supreme Court judgment to recriminalize the LGBT community in the country.
Speaking at the consultation, Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao, ecumenical leader and former bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore said that a concerted struggle can achieve the goal of repealing article 377 in the Penal Code dealing with homosexuality in India. Singapore also has the same article 377 in the Penal Code. He called for affirming LGBT communities, and seeking equal rights for all regardless of race, religion and sexual orientation.
Dr Aruna Gnanadasan, a feminist theologian and activist, in her presentation on Patriarchy felt that religions have played an important role in giving foundational strength to this system of graded subjugation.
Dr Donald E Messer, executive director of the Center for the Church and Global AIDS told the participants that the intolerance and difference of people of faith has fuelled the global HIV and AIDS pandemic. He felt that ending AIDS in our lifetime is not a utopian dream, but a practical possibility if Christian theological beliefs of love, compassion, human integrity and inclusion are taken seriously.
Dr George Zachariah, who teaches Theology and Ethics at the United Theological College in Bangalore, said that Church happens as fellowship, solidarity, love, care, compassion, justice, and restoration in the lives of people who go through the tragic experience of utter God-forsakenness.
“Church is not a monument that is built on the foundations of traditions and doctrines but it is an empowering and transforming experience that happens in the lives of the communities on the margin,” he noted.
According to him, Church requires the prophetic commitment to become illegitimate to the dominant norms and morality. Only then can the church in India become a Samaritan Church in the context of homophobia, stigma and violence.
The consultation felt that more discussions need to be held in the churches on homophobia and positive masculinity.
Sex education in theological colleges and collecting data on LGBT community were recommended by the participants at the consultation.
Rev Winnie Varghese, Rector of the St Mark’s Church in New York, Rev Asir Ebenezer from the National Council of Churches in India and Dr Joshua Kalapati from the Madras Christian College were among those who spoke at the consultation.