HONDURAS: New campus ministries have unique way of putting Gospel into action

November 28, 2007 [Episcopal News Service] After dedication ceremonies that included blessings with holy water, speeches and ribbon cuttings, San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa in the Diocese of Honduras became the two newest campus ministry sites in the Episcopal Church.

On October 16 and 17 respectively, the two ministries were launched as Ministerio Episcopal Club Canterbury on the two Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras campuses. UNAH-San Pedro Sula is a public university with an enrollment of 10,000 students, while UNAH- Tegucigalpa, also a public university, has an enrollment of approximately 25,000. They are the two largest universities in the country.

The ministries began in partnership with the diocese and the universities, and with a new campus ministry grant from the Episcopal Church's Office of Young Adult and Higher Education Ministries and matching funds from Episcopal Campus Ministries/Canterbury Clubs in the United States.

However, these Canterbury Clubs don't look a lot like any other Episcopal campus ministry. Their main mission is to teach Christian ethics and HIV/AIDS education in the classrooms of the universities and one-on-one in cafeterias and corridors.

The ministries' lecturers are invited into classrooms by the professors. They work in teams with student volunteers who hand out informational brochures. The lectures include very detailed information on how HIV is communicated and how to prevent contracting the virus. Included in the lecture is a three-fold approach emphasizing abstinence, fidelity and use of condoms. Students are told at the end of the lecture that the presentation is a ministry of the Episcopal Church and that pastoral care is available to any who wish it.

An estimated 65,000 people out of Honduras' approximately seven million are infected with HIV and many of them now have AIDS. Honduras has the highest number of HIV infection cases in Central America. Medical supplies are only available to 5,000. The others are able to receive medication only after another person dies.

The ministries, conceived by the Very Rev. Pascual Torres, have had an immediate impact on the life of the university communities. Torres has put in place an educational and pastoral response team that explains to students and staff that sexuality is a sacred gift from God and that everyone must respect their own bodies and those of others.