Contreras presented a workshop for Latino leaders during the Global Summit on AIDS at Saddleback Church last week, describing the experience as “an incredible conference.”
The event drew participants from around the world and featured speakers that included U.S. Senators Barack Obama and Rick Santorum. The accompanying photo shows Contreras (right) with Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church who convened the conference.
Contreras led the workshop after Luis Cortez, the director of Esperanza USA, had to attend another event. Contreras has been “heavily involved” as a member of Esperanza, a Hispanic network of Christians, churches and ministries focused on issues affecting Hispanic communities.
The workshop, Contreras says, was designed to spread basic information about the disease and how churches can help fight the epidemic. He also hopes to break the stigma often associated with people with the HIV virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, Hispanics accounted for 20 percent of the new diagnoses in the United States in 2004, and they represented 20 percent of the people living with AIDS, despite being only 14 percent of the population. In 2002, HIV/AIDS was the third leading cause of death among Hispanic men ages 35 to 44 and the fourth leading cause of death among Hispanic women in the same age group.
Hispanic churches have been slow to react, Contreras says, in part because of the AIDS stigma and the difficulty some Hispanics have in discussing sexual issues. “Many see AIDS as a punishment from God,” he notes.
That view slowly is changing, he says. “What was very interesting to see was a real melting of hearts. It’s all about saving lives.”
Contreras says showing a new half-hour movie produced by Esperanza has helped build bridges. The video is part of the You Are The Answer (Tu Eres La Respuesta) campaign, which also has an accompanying compact disc called There Is An Answer (Hay Una Respuesta), book and study guide. The video is in Spanish with English subtitles.
The campaign is being spread throughout Hispanic churches and organizations, says Contreras, adding that several Hispanic Covenant churches have begun to participate in the campaign. The video also was shown at the conference’s men’s retreat.
Contreras says he knows it will take time for people to reach out more effectively to people with AIDS. “You’re breaking down barriers of politics. You’re breaking down barriers of stigma.”
Warren has been taken to task by a number of conservative religious leaders for inviting people with whom they disagree, including Obama, because he is pro-choice on abortion.
Obama, who is considering a presidential bid, told the gathering that all people can work together to fight AIDS.
“You can tell he has a Christian perspective . . . caring for people is the number one thing about being a Christian,” John Smith, senior pastor of Crossroads Church in Loveland, Colorado, told the Chicago Tribune. “It didn’t feel like he was politicking.
Obama said the distribution of condoms and clean needles would slow the pandemic, but would not end it. “He said to stop it, we must change people’s behavior, and I think that’s what a lot of people resonated with,” Smith said.
Smith attended the summit last year, and his church has since begun working with an AIDS ministry outside Cape Town, South Africa.
Covenant News Service will publish more information on the issue of Hispanics and AIDS in the near future.
