ARHIVELE OLTENIEI - Universitatea din Craiova

The “HIV/AIDS” Phenomenon level of knowledge perceptions and atitudes 253process, by reporting on the situation from a European country (France forexample). In this way, three periods can be defined, according to the opinion ofthe specialists 34 , in fighting against AIDS in France. The first is situated between1981 and 1983 and it corresponds to the apparition of the problem in the medicalfield, meaning the identification of the first cases of AIDS and raising theawareness of the medical and social stakes. A second period starts right after thecreation of volunteer associations which appear in 1982 in the United States andin 1983 in the biggest part of the western countries. Putting the accent on thenew disease, these movements developed social activities of support andprevention alongside actions of claim. A third phase, starting with 1986, ischarachterized by the intervention of public authorities. Later, under the criticalgaze of the organizations and doctors in the States, it is admitted that AIDS is aplague requiring the involvement of public actions. There was a dynamic ofdeclaring the fight against AIDS which gradually became official and institutedas a new field of public health.C. The special way of intervention by the priest in cases of the HIVphenomena. Methods and ways of intervention for the priest to raiseawareness of the people in the community about HIV.Some of the priests have already had the experience of “meeting” withcontaminated people. Most of the participants at the focus groups haveunderlined the anxiety, the fear 35 , the caution which thy manifested 36 or insome cases they have imagined that they would be „put „ face to face with seropositivepeople. But they have stated that they can overcome the fear or theywould overcome it because of the compassion for these people 37 , having the34 Ibidem.35“What I want to underline about this sickness, which is troubling many people, refersto what I have felt myself when I served communion to a child and then I participated at his burialin the 8 th grade (so he lived until the 8 th grade). He got the HIV virus thru a vaccine situation,which we don`t comment on anymore. The authorities know more about the vaccines asconsequences have appeared over time. The meeting with that child has created a feeling hard todefine, both of fear and embarrassment. When they called me to serve him the communion, he wasaware of what he was saying but he was just badly immobilized. In the first moment I was afraidbecause I knew he had AIDS. I was thinking how to get close. I knew this was a disease to betaken thru blood and I shouldn`t be afraid and embarrassed. I did my duty and I served himcommunion, and then the death and the burial came. At the burial, even though he was a youngchild, the entire family was protected with gloves. I want to say that I was very surprised andbecause of this I think everybody who`s in front of a person attacked by this sickness remainsmarked for their entire life.” (priest Iaşi)36 “But he who knows more about AIDS and knows that it is not spread thru a touch orbecause he touched the other. So he knows the way of transmission, and he should not hold backfrom a relatioship with the sero-positive. But the instinct of preservation, I think, makes you stayaway from the one that is sick of such a dreadful disease.” (priest Timiş)37 “I know many things about AIDS but I honestly confess, my first reaction would be offear or at least a little emotion where I wouldn`t get as close to him as with a healthy person. Thisis how I have understood and how I would express it, I would be a little afraid but most surely the