On 29 November, a few days after World Aids Day (1st December), representatives of 14 churches and church-run organizations from 10 western, central and eastern European countries met in Minsk, in Belarus, for a consultation organized jointly by the World Council of Churches and the Conference of the Churches of Europe. The meeting focused on the spread of the HIV virus in central and eastern Europe and the role that the Churches can play to combat this disease. The rate at which Aids is spreading in Europe is one of the highest in the world and says the final communiqué – “may become a real epidemic if all the necessary efforts are not made to prevent it”. Poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse are some of the factors that increase the rapid spread of the disease. In Minsk the Churches expressed “their determination to work together” and emphasized the importance of promoting a theological reflection on sin and disease, life and death, fatalism and responsibility. From a practical point of view, “the strength of the Churches says the communiqué is that of being able to reach many people by counting on a grassroots network of volunteers”.
