Even at church, people would not shake my hand.

Given six months to live and being the fighter that I am, I set high goals for myself.

Twice a week I would receive injections or IV's of Factor VIII which clotted the blood and then broke it down.

Rumors of sneezing, kissing, tears, sweat, and saliva spreading AIDS caused people to panic.

Because of the lack of education on AIDS, discrimination, fear, panic, and lies surrounded me.

Mayor Koch, of New York, was the first public figure to give me support.

Most recently my battle has been against AIDS and the discrimination surrounding it.

Eventually, I won the right to attend school, but the prejudice was still there.

I was labeled a troublemaker, my mom an unfit mother, and I was not welcome anywhere.

My family and I held no hatred for those people because we realized they were victims of their own ignorance.

I received thousands of letters of support from all around the world, all because I wanted to go to school.

My studies are important to me. I made the honor role just recently, with 2 A's and 2 B's.

Listening to medical facts was not enough. People wanted one hundred percent guarantees.

The first five to six years of my life were spent in and out of the hospital.

We began a series of court battles for nine months, while I was attending classes by telephone.

Entertainers, athletes, and stars started giving me support.

How could these people in the public eye not be afraid of me, but my whole town was?

This brought on the news media, TV crews, interviews, and numerous public appearances.

I came face to face with death at thirteen years old.

AIDS can destroy a family if you let it, but luckily for my sister and me, Mom taught us to keep going. Don't give up, be proud of who you are, and never feel sorry for yourself.

I believe in myself as I look forward to graduating from Hamilton Heights High School in 1991.

We had great faith that with patience, understanding, and education, that my family and I could be helpful in changing their minds and attitudes around.

People would get up and leave so they would not have to sit anywhere near me.

My name is Ryan White. I am sixteen years old. I have hemophilia, and I have AIDS.

Even at church, people would not shake my hand.

Financial hardships were rough on us, even though Mom had a good job at G.M.

A lot of my time was spent searching, thinking and planning my life.

On December 17, 1984, I had surgery to remove two inches of my left lung due to pneumonia. After two hours of surgery the doctors told my mother I had AIDS.

The desire to move into a bigger house, to avoid living AIDS daily, and a dream to be accepted by a community and school, became possible and a reality with a movie about my life, The Ryan White Story.

I'm just one of the kids, and all because the students at Hamilton Heights High School listened to the facts, educated their parents and themselves, and believed in me.

The school I was going to said they had no guidelines for a person with AIDS.

If it came to saving the life of one priest or sacrificing the life of an entire congregation, the church would save the life of the priest. Which is backwards, of course.

I remember going to church about four times a week. I liked it a lot.

You get a heck of a sound from the church. Can't you hear it in my voice?

Every true prayer is a prayer of the Church; by means of that prayer the Church prays, since it is the Holy Spirit living in the Church, Who in every single soul 'prays in us with unspeakable groanings'.

I think my election is one of several indications that gay and lesbian folk are being brought more into the center of things. I'd like to think that my election signals my bringing of gay and lesbian folk into the center of the church.

So, not only am I panicking over the weekend if I need to know my lines, but also if can I get the kids to the zoo. Can I even go to church? I was asking for certain things that would allow me to plan my life a little better.

The more I do bookstores, the more people come up to me from church groups. I spoke at Pittsburg State College and had 2 or 3 ministers and book groups from a couple of churches.

My father started me singing in church.

Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate.

A lot of victims, for example, have become addicted to alcohol and drugs. It seems to me that the church's healing ministry is going to be enhanced through this in much broader strokes. That's good, it's all positive.

The intelligence investigation under the leadership of Senator Church, which I know has helped cause this investigation by you, points out that the agencies did not disclose certain facts to us and that certain plots were going on.

Yesterday I had a Shaker visitor, and today a Catholic; and the more I see and hear, the less do I care about church doctrines.

Some hypocrites and seeming mortified men, that held down their heads, were like the little images that they place in the very bowing of the vaults of churches, that look as if they held up the church, but are but puppets.

If all Church power vests in the clergy, then the people are practically bound to passive obedience in all matters of faith and practice; for all right of private judgment is then denied.

Mom and Dad would stay in bed on Sunday morning, but the kids would have to go to church.

It doesn't say anywhere in the Constitution this idea of the separation of church and state.

When I'm on stage, I'm trying to do one thing: bring people joy. Just like church does. People don't go to church to find trouble, they go there to lose it.

There are enormously gifted Episcopal priests around this church who are gay and lesbian, some of whom are partnered, who would make wonderful bishops and they're going to be nominated and they're going to be elected.