Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bissau (Agenzia Fides) – The influence of the materialist and relativist mentality, propagated by the mass media and political organizations and national and international economies, is blurring the moral conscience of the Guinean people, who are increasingly leaving behind the traditional African values of education to recruit those of so-called modernity. "The result is disturbing, particularly when one considers the construction of our common destiny, short and long range,” writes Bishop José Camnate na Bissign of Bissau in his message for the Pastoral Year 2010-2011, which will officially begin on World Mission Sunday. The message is centered on the formation of the moral conscience.
Noting among Christians a "massive ignorance of moral conscience" and worried that new generations grow up without values, the Bishop points out that "a good number of families and most schools offer education to pupils but they do not provide formation. They teach how to make money, but not how to acquire virtue.” Thus, it is considered “normal” to appropriate goods that belong to everyone, to participate in the drug business, to treat abortion as a method of family planning... The Bishop then asks the entire diocese, and in particular the pastoral workers, to deepen in their reflection on forming consciences in order to provide a more credible Christian witness in the society in which we live.
The document, which the curia of Bissau has also sent to Fides, opens by explaining "the greatness and the fragility of the moral conscience." "Due to various reasons ... we are witnessing today a certain eclipse of an individual, well-formed conscience and the attempt, more or less explicit, to silence it, preferring to pursue other types of moral behavior, without God and the divine law." Therefore, the text emphasizes the "need for a continual formation of the moral conscience," offering insights and sharing some practical ways: reading and meditating on the Word of God, the daily examination of conscience, prayer to invoke the gifts of the Holy Spirit, seeking the counsel of other people who are well-formed, letting oneself be guided by the authentic teachings of the Church ...
The Bishop of Bissau then proposes a series of questions about the challenges that Guinean society is facing today, in the political, socio-economic, and ecclesial communities on which Christians are called to examine themselves at the light of "a well-formed conscience" during the pastoral year. "The work of refinement of the conscience is the work of a lifetime and a Christian must strive to be perfect as our Father in heaven (Mt 5:48)," concludes the Bishop, wishing everyone "a happy new pastoral pastoral." (SL) (Agenzia Fides 10/02/2010)
