WASHINGTON (AP) β Elton John and the Rev. Rick Warren are both urging Congress to continue funding global efforts to fight AIDS.
Sitting next to each other at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, the pop star and evangelical pastor testified that the disease can be contained and even eliminated if treatment programs remain funded.
But Elton John said many victims in countries where homosexuality is banned are afraid to come forward. He said, “If Christ was alive today, and I believe in Christ, he would be appalled at the way people are being stigmatized.”
Warren, whose church has sent money and members worldwide to fight AIDS, said it’s not a sin to be sick, but it is “wrong to withhold assistance from those who need it.”
The pastor of California’s Saddleback Church said local churches in developing nations are best positioned to distribute AIDS drugs to those who need them.
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