ZIMBABWE — A small group of Pentecostal churches in Zimbabwe has ordered all of its pastors, marriage officers and couples seeking marriage to be tested for the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
The Pentecostal Assemblies of Zimbabwe, a group of 150 churches in a country where a quarter of the population is infected with AIDS, has already tested most of its clergy and will require couples to be tested starting Jan. 1.
“Although this might sound rather controversial, discriminatory and infringing on individuals’ rights, we felt that the only way we could effectively fight this pandemic was through adoption of more pragmatic and practical measures,” Bishop Trevor Managa said in a news release.
Everyone who is tested will receive certification, but marriage officers who do not have the certification will not be allowed to conduct weddings. Clergy who test positive for the disease would presumably be allowed to continue working.
“Church leaders who daily preach to and counsel church members on various issues, including HIV/AIDS, have to set the pace and leads by example and avoid the notion of ‘do as I say, and not as I do,’ ” Managa said.
Various church leaders in Africa have voiced support for clergy testing, including Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, and Anglican Bishop Mwai Abiero of Kenya.
Dandala urged HIV-positive clergy to disclose their status and help remove stigma associated with the disease. “I think it is important for people like that to come out into the open and for us all as a church to learn how to handle one another in a responsible way,” he said in November.
(TAB)
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