Night of Solidarity With People living with or affected by HIV and for Access to Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support

Church of Santa Maria Magdalena
2 June 2007
Reflection on Romans 8:31b-39

By Rev. Robert J. Vitillo
Special Advisor on HIV and AIDS, Caritas Internationalis

To an uneducated ear, the reading that we just heard might give the impression that St. Paul was looking into a crystal ball in order to predict our present-day challenges as he speaks about “anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword”. These, and many more human sufferings, will be the contents of our reflections and debates during the General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis which will begin tomorrow. These same dilemmas, I am quite sure, dominated as well the thoughts and prayers at the respective meetings of the Unions of Superiors General convened here in Rome some weeks ago. For millions of people with whom we gather in solidarity this evening, these also are the root causes of vulnerability to infection with HIV.

Download the entire homily/article (PDF file) here.