Kenyan church
official apologizes for calling HIV a "curse from God"

Benjamin Nzimbi, archbishop of the Anglican Church in Kenya, this week apologized for the church previously calling HIV a "curse from God" and for its persecution of HIV-positive congregants, AllAfrica.com reports. The Kenyan church's position on HIV has been so discriminatory that some HIV-positive members have been excommunicated. Nzimbi, who was speaking at an AIDS workshop in the capital, Nairobi, apologized for the church's actions and pledged to work to break down HIV stigma throughout the country. "We apologize for earlier abandoning our flock, which was as a result of our ignorance of the disease, but today we are more informed," he said at the workshop. (The Advocate)