People with faith who are living with HIV often experience difficulties in finding sympathetic or understanding people in faith communities or families, to whom HIV positive believers can be open about living with HIV. Even within HIV support services, views about Christianity and other faiths may not be welcomed by all.
Into this gap, in the UK and Ireland, steps Positive Catholics, which is for all Christians living with HIV.
Other faiths
Jewish Action and Training for sexual health, (JAT) serves the Jewish community living with and affected by HIV in the UK.
Resources and support for people of other faith communities affected by HIV in Britain, like Muslims, is much more limited. However Naz have produced a leaflet HIV, AIDS and Islam.
Christian and Catholic Peer support
Positive Catholics is a peer support network of women and men, who are living with HIV and have a Christian faith. Within the Roman Catholic tradition, they offer peer ministry of support and fellowship for each other. All who identify as Christian who are living with HIV in the UK and Ireland are welcome.
Positive Catholics are women and men, young and old, gay and straight, married and single, recently diagnosed and those who have lived with HIV for many years.
Welcome for all
Positive Catholics members are people originally from Africa, Latin America and Europe, as well as from the UK and Ireland. Members include Christians active in church life and Catholics who have been ‘away’ from the Church for many years. Some feel secure in their faith and identity as Catholics and Christians, while others struggle with faith. Some feel very at home in the church, some others have an uneasy relationship with the wider Church.
All kinds of Christians can be gay, including Evangelicals - and some live with HIV - at Manchester Gay Pride
They welcome all people living with HIV who share a Christian faith, and all who wish to explore living with HIV from a Christian perspective.
