Church mulls mandatory HIV tests

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Monday January 20, 12:09 AM

Church mulls mandatory HIV tests

By ChennaiOnline News Service

Thrissur, Jan 14: The Catholic Diocese here is actively considering a

proposal to make blood tests mandatory for couples desiring to get

married, before the weddings are solemnised, to check 'innocent youth

falling prey to AIDS,' according to the church sources here.

The proposal came up for " serious discussion " at a recent conference

of priests under the Thrissur Archdiocese where Archbishop Mar

Thoomkuzhy promised to have a serious look into the matter, sources

said.

Medical check-up and production of blood test certificates were

compulsory for Catholic marriages in the United States and some

European countries, according to Fr Francis Karippery, general

secretary of the Nazrani Catholic Priests Conference.

" The matter has been discussed by the priests' conference and it is

expected to be placed in the next meeting of the synod, " Fr Karippery

said.

" It often happens here that young people employed outside the state

come home on short leave and get married without giving the girls'

parents time to make sufficient inquiries about the background of the

grooms. This exposed the innocent girls to the danger of HIV

infection. If a blood test is made compulsory they would be saved

from this danger, " Karippery, also Vicar of St Xavier's Church at

nearby Koonammoochi, said. (Agencies)

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