Episcopal Life reports on an HIV positive Ugandan priest who has won the 2009 Niwano Peace Prize for breaking the silence in faith communities on HIV/AIDS.
The Rev. Canon Gideon Byamugisha, a Ugandan Anglican priest who became the first known African cleric to declare publicly he was HIV-positive, breaking stigma-induced silence that often hampers combating the illness, has been awarded the Niwano Peace Prize.
The award is often seen as akin to a Nobel Peace Prize for members of the faith community. It is awarded by the Japan-based Niwano Peace Foundation. The prize comes with 20 million yen (US$213,000), the Buddhist group said in a February 20 statement. This is the second time in five years the prize has gone to Uganda.
Read more here.
More stories on Canon Byamugisha here and in a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury here.