Abstract
What children are not learning in their educational settings is
the response of the Catholic Church to the AIDS epidemic. For
Catholic Christians, behaviors and choices of daily living are to be
founded on the Gospel acts and teachings of Jesus Christ. From the
time they are very young, children can begin to lay a foundation for
learning, responding to the sick, suffering and lonely, with the non-judgemental compassion of Jesus as the prime model.
Children nurtured to appreciate and treasure their own
human dignity as well as that of others, will grow in freedom and
ability to make positive choices about their behaviors. This means
they will learn to realize they do not have to submit to peer pressure
or be led by social and media messages. A young person growing
with a Christian attitude towards AIDS can see that the virus does
not have to be a feared threat to his/her welfare, thereby allowing
greater openness and empathy towards those ravaged by this
devastating illness.
