AFRICA/NIGERIA - Family, social peace and political situation focus of Catholic Bishops' 2nd Plenary Assembly

Wednesday, 20 September 2006

Abuja (Agenzia Fides)- “The Catholic bishops of in Nigeria have set aside the second week of August every year as the Family Week to be observed by all faithful in the country. The Family Week will celebrate “the inviolable nature of marriage and the privileged place of the family in forging healthy and balanced human beings,” the bishops said at the end of their second plenary meeting on Saturday. Saying the family was the fundamental cell of the human society, they noted that the quality of the individual family determines the quality of a larger society. “The multiple crises of violence and crime, including child abuse, prostitution and women trafficking, are mainly due to the gradual erosion of family values and the sacredness of life.”
A democratic government had a duty to promote family life, the bishops went on. “By now, the rights of the family should have been sufficiently met by our democracy, such as decent housing, food security, adequate employment and provision of healthcare, as well as the living wage, which will ensure a healthy and stable family life. A democratic government should protect, defend, and promote the rights of the family and the individuals.”
The Church will continue to uphold the sanctity and integrity of marriage and the family, defending them against destructive ideologies and practices, the bishops said. “We are aware that some funding agencies that sponsor programs for child spacing and eradication of HIV/AIDS often promote the use of contraceptive devices as a condition for receiving assistance. Catholics should courageously reject elements which run contrary to their faith, if such aid is at all to be accepted.”
With regard to the HIV/AIDS scourge that has devastated families in sub-Saharan Africa, the bishops said: “The only behaviour change radical enough for the prevention and eradication of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is fidelity to spouse and abstinence.”
During a recent plenary assembly the Bishops praised the Nigerian government’s efforts to consolidate democracy and improve the welfare of the people and reforms in the financial sector, the poverty alleviation programme and the fight against corruption. The bishops commended President Olusegun Obasanjo for engaging in dialogue with the people of the oil-rich Niger Delta with a view to meeting their legitimate demands and resolving the prolonged crisis in the area. But they denounced rampant hostage-taking of workers of foreign oil companies and pipeline vandalism. They also noted efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to guarantee free and fair elections in 2007, which, they said, shall be “a litmus test for the gains of democracy in Nigeria.” But efforts “should be intensified towards enacting, communicating and implementing proper electoral laws to check abuses and fraudulent behaviour, so as to build a more hopeful future for the country”. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 20/9/2006 righe 44 parole 504)


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