Ethics and AIDS: Compassion and Justice in Global Crisis [Hardcover]

Overberg's text is a sophisticated summary and synthesis of the best contemporary Catholic thinkers on these issues from Karl Rahner to John Paul II. Ethics and AIDS is a first-rate primer for those who want an introduction to the topic from a Catholic theological perspective. It will be a welcome resource for parish educators, undergraduates and Catholic study groups seeking to understand Aids and our response as a community of faith to what John Paul II has labeled 'this terrible evil which has come upon humanity.'[Overberg's] careful portrayal and analysis of ethical complexities is commendable. He carefully analyzes the challenges raised by the many women who are caught in structures of poverty and oppression, recognizing that their abilities to choose life for themselves or their children are undermined by gender discrimination and societal pressures. O. captures many such dilemmas in ways that move religious ethical reflection on AIDS forward, past judgmental moralizing and simplistic solutions.Based on the Churchs defense of human life and dignity, in this comprehensive work Fr. Overberg seeks to join the AIDS epidemic to other themes developed in Cardinal Bernardins Constent Ethic of Life. Quite approachable discussions on topics which range from the promotion of justice and the ethics of HIV prevention to an understanding of the epidemics relationship to the fundamental option for the poor, all provide a hopeful sign that the Churchs ethicists and moral theologians are applying their efforts to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.HIV and AIDS raise ethical questions that extend throughout the life cycle.Ethics and AIDS: Compassion and Justice in Global Crisis pulls together many of the these life issues in one book and carefully considers them in the context of the realities of the daily existence of people across the globe suffering from this terrible disease. In thoughtful analysis, Overberg suggests appropriate responses in light of a ChlĂL