Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Tegucigalpa (Agenzia Fides) – The Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Madariaga, and his Auxiliary Bishops have expressed their concern for the content and values being promoted at the 18th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State, which will be held October 29-31 in El Salvador, on “Youth and Development” (see Fides 22/10/2008). The Bishops have issued a statement entitled “The dignity of the human person is sacred,” in which they recall that in Article 1 of Honduras' Consitution, “in a clear and concise manner” it states that “Honduras is a State of right, sovereign, established as a free, democratic, and independent republic, in order to guarantee its inhabitants justive, freedom, culture, and economic and social welfare.” Thus, in their statement they address the nation's President Manuel Zelaya, to offer him some of the reasons for which he “should analyze with greater reflection,” the Declaration of San Salvador, under the theme of Youth and Development, before signing it.
“The real intentions are not clear and the text is full of ambiguous statements, which in the end will lead to harmful public policies, imposed by other structures that attack education and the integral development of our youth,” they say.
The Bishops also point out that the foundational document “has a tendency to impose anti-life policies,” which is “a form of ideological oppression on the part of the richer nations over developing nations.” They state the document's affirmation that the abstinence programs are not working, is not necessarily true. “In our country, as in other countries like Uganda, where fidelity between spouses and sexual abstinence among youth has been promoted, the results have been mainly positive.”
“In our country, we have always recognized motherhood as one of the most beautiful vocations and a gift from God to humanity,” and therefore, it should not be treated as if it were the “principal cause of poverty,” or “a demeaning activity and a burden that prevents a woman from fulfilling her dreams.” “Living her motherhood, a woman is fulfilled,” it says. The statement also affirms that neither should parents be “robbed of their governing powers, allowing the youth to decide on their sexual life and maternity.” And “sexual life should not be seen as something separate from the reproductive act, encouraging the use of all kinds of methods so as not to become pregnant and thus promoting sexual licentiousness.”
The Bishops of Tegucigalpa also denounce the fact that behind these ideas, there is also a spread of terms such as “reproductive health,” and gender ideology, which in reality serve as a mask to “hide the deeper desire to legalize abortion and contraceptives, promote homosexuality, sterilizations and other artificial means, and birth control.”
They also recall the fact that Article 59 of the Constitution states that: “The human person is the ultimate end of society and the State. Everyone has the obligation to respect and protect the human person. The dignity of the human person is sacred.” And Article 65 says: “the right to life is sacred.”
“We wish to express our firm position that does not oppose the formation and education of our youth, but seeks an integral formation that includes religious content,” the Bishops conclude in their statement to the nation's President. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 27/10/2008)
