Hard hitting Synod intervention by Aechbishop Kaigama

Excellent and hard hitting intervention by Archbishop Kaigama of Jos Nigeria  during the Synod on the Family in Rome.

We are confronted with some issues, and sometimes [they are] quite perplexing. We recently had a big conference on pro-life issues, and in that conference, we came out very clearly to ascertain the fact that life is sacred, marriage is scared, and the family has dignity.
We get international organizations, countries, and groups which like to entice us to deviate from our cultural practices, traditions, and even our religious beliefs. And this is because of their belief that their views should be our views. Their opinions and their concept of life should be ours.

We say, "No we have come of age." Most countries in Africa are independent for 50, 60, 100 years. We should be allowed to think for ourselves. We should be able to define: What is marriage? What makes the family? When does life begin? We should have answers to those [questions].

We are wooed by economic things. We are told, "If you limit your population, we're going to give you so much." And we tell them, "Who tells you that our population is overgrown?" In the first place, children die -- infant mortality -- we die in inter-tribal wars, and diseases of all kinds. And yet, you come with money to say, "Decrease your population; we will give you economic help."

Now you come to tell us about reproductive rights, and you give us condoms and artificial contraceptives. Those are not the things we want. We want food, we want education, we want good roads, regular light, and so on. Good health care.

We have been offered the wrong things, and we are expected to accept simply because they think we are poor. And we are saying poverty is not about money. One can be poor in spirituality, poor in ideas, poor in education, and in many other ways.

So we are not poor in that sense. We may be poor materially but we are not poor in every sense. So we say no to what we think is wrong. And time has gone when we would just follow without question. Now, we question. We evaluate. We decide. We ask questions. This is what we do in Africa now.

Nigerian Pro-Life Conference Day 2

The pro-life conference organized by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria continued on Friday June 6^th with a keynote presentation by Congressman Chris Smith from the United States who told the meeting that as a member of Congress he like the Catholic Bishops believes that we have a profound moral duty to protect the weakest and most vulnerable from all existential threats. The right to life he said ‘the most basic of all human rights applies regardless of race, color, creed, sex, religion, disability, age, stage of development or condition of dependency, including unborn children.’

Congressman Smith continued by making a strong statement condemning the actions of Boko Haram in Nigeria with a particular focus on their abduction of the Nigerian schoolgirls and then turned to a number of other issues.

Smith told the gathering that when it comes to reducing maternal mortality, ‘it has been known for more than 60 years what actually saves women’s lives: skilled birth attendants, treatment to stop haemorrages, access to safe blood, antibiotics, repair of fistulas, and a venue or clinic to provide emergency obstetric care.’

The World Health Organization statistics he said show, a reduction of 52% for maternal mortality in Nigeria since 1990 but that much more needs to be done.

He then spoke of the need for each of us to promote and establish a genuine culture of life. He said that African Nations including Nigeria are under siege by the abortion industry and its numerous NGOs including IPAS, Planned Parenthood, Marie Stopes International, Centre for Reproductive Rights, many western governments including the Obama administration and UN agencies like UNFPA.

Someday, Smith told the conference;

future generations will look back on the United States and wonder how and why such a seemingly enlightened society, so blessed and endowed with education, advanced science, information, wealth and opportunity could have systematically enabled the dismemberment or chemical poisoning of millions of children. They he said, like many of us today, will be outraged knowing that the United States and others chose to export and integrate the culture of death with essential foreign aid and humanitarian assistance.