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Rome (Agenzia Fides) – Auxiliary Bishop Barry Alexander Anthony Wood of Durban, South Africa, in his address to the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, presented an initiative from the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) that could be an example for other African nations. It's name is the Catholic Parliamentarian Liaison Office (CPLO), a Catholic office with Parliamentary ties. “Although South Africa is only 9% Catholic, of the 440 members of Parliament, 22% are Catholic,” Bishop Wood said. “However, and this is an important point, the Office liaises with, does research for and informs ALL Parliamentarians irrespective of their religious or political backgrounds.”
“We have a number of full-time researchers who do in-depth research on all aspects of legislation coming before Parliament,” the Bishop commented. “We do this from a Gospel-based value system, drawing heavily from Catholic Social Teaching. Parliamentarians have neither the resources nor the time to do their own in-depth research on any given subject. Therefore these research papers are very much appreciated by many.”
The CPLO also produces a series of documents for presenting the position of the Church on the draft bills in discussion in the various Parliamentary Commissions. “ These papers are made available to a much wider public as are reflective insights and comments on newly passed legislation. This creates a national and at times an international awareness among a much wider community about public policy issues and the response of the Catholic Church,” Bishop Wood said.
The CPLO has had an enormous influence on Parliament over the last twelve years and this influence continues to grow. Social informal contact with Parliamentarians is another important aspect of the work.
Twice a year, the CPLO organizes training for people from other countries identified and sent by their respective Bishops' Conferences. To date Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone have benefited from these training programs. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 9/10/2009)
