The issues central to HIV/AIDS are often positioned in rigid opposition to religion, particularly where areas of sexuality are concerned. While religious institutions and hierarchies often cling to doctrine that bolsters such polarization, communities and individuals within religious institutions have a long legacy of creating a living theology, to carry out the core tenets of their faith. Sister Brettkelly, of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Nazareth in New Zealand, dedicated much of the last 22 years of her life to upholding human dignity and challenging discrimination and stigma against persons living with HIV and AIDS as well as gays and lesbians. She entered into this work at the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s, not as a public health or human rights expert, but as a Christian witness to all that was unfolding and falling apart around her, called to take action.
Sister Bretkelly’s actions were guided by her commitment of the Sisters of Saint Joseph to work for “the least empowered in New Zealand.” She served as a companion and caregiver to those who were sick and dying, as an educator both to communities and public figures, as well as a human rights advocate, working closely with the New Zealand AIDS Foundation. In the early days of the epidemic, a positive serostatus and homosexuality were conflated in a complicated web of misunderstanding and fear. Seeing that there were no existing legal protections for gay and lesbian individuals to defend themselves against discrimination, she vigorously advocated for the passage of New Zealand’s Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986, which decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual activity for men. She then advocated for the passage of New Zealand’s Human Rights Act of 1993, which extended legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
While I am inspired by the fruits of Sister Bretkelly’s hard work, her ability to organize and coordinate people across sectors, as well as her relentless dedication, the light in her that I am most drawn to, is her own personal struggle which is the foundation of the human rights experience. Human rights as principles set out in declarations and treaties are righteous and steadfast, drawing clear lines of truth and justice. Human rights in the lived experience, however, follow a more complicated road, on which one must confront prejudices and inequalities, sorting out how the imbalances in the world around us and in our own hearts can be brought into equilibrium through a human rights framework. And it is Sister Bretkelly’s process of coming into balance, of seeking her own truth and understanding of compassionate justice that I want to lift up here.
Sister Bretkelly witnessed discrimination in secular, church and medical communities, seeing the indignities suffered by HIV-positive individuals, as well as by gay individuals perceived to be carriers of the virus. Secretly wishing that her initial outreach to help as an educator would be turned down, she was instead received with open arms by early AIDS activists. How many times have those who work for social justice wished for the very same thing—to not have to take up whatever call is ringing incessantly in their ears, for fear of what might actually be asked of them once the door is opened.
Surrounded by those she had been taught to “despise” and view as “sinners,” she began to question these prejudices that had been instilled through the institutional Church and seek out the human rights model laid out in the Gospel. Her introduction to the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, which was based on a human rights framework, further solidified the connection and translation of her faith into action to work for justice for those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. While she did not start out with all of the answers of how to best address the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its related injustices, she had the courage ask the hard questions of herself and others until she came to the answers that she needed.
After a twelve-year bout with cancer, Sister Bretkelly learned that it was terminal. Her response to this was “I haven’t got time to die—there’s too much going on!” and, following the lead of so many around her who lived with HIV, she continued working until the end.
Sister Brettkelly died the morning of August 31st and the world feels just a bit emptier now that she is gone.
