“Dignity of the woman means acting in such a way that she protects life, not destroys it. Dignity of the woman means that she is mother and works hand in hand with God to protect life”. That’s how Msgr. Martin Igwemezie Uzoukwu, bishop of Minna, in Nigeria (one of the members of SECAM/SCEAM, the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar), comments on the report of the European Parliament on “Population and Development” that asks for sex education programmes, the provision of contraceptives and safe abortion for the developing countries. The African bishops had met with the European bishops at Lisbon last year (27-28 February, cf. SirEurope 17/2003); the meeting, aimed at finding new forms of partnership, was organized jointly by SECAM and COMECE, the Commission of European episcopates. “This is not a decision that comes from Africa says Msgr. Uzoukwu, commenting on the report -. We shall never approve of abortion. Children are given by God and we must teach this to our young people”. “If Europe really wants to help us in the sanitary or medical field he adds there’s so many things that need to be done. First of all, Europe should help us to eradicate malaria, which is one of the most feared diseases in our countries: the number of those suffering from it is huge. We need medicines, drinking water, food, hospitals. Without all this, people go hungry and fall sick”. With regard to Aids, the bishop declares: “We must do everything possible to help the victims and curb the spread of the virus”: “In Africa we are informing people of the danger of Aids and trying to do so in such a way that there is no discrimination against HIV-infected persons. The use of the condom is condemned by the Church, because if it were to be accepted it would promote sexual promiscuity, and that is morally wrong. This is the view not only of the Catholic Church, but also of Muslims and other traditional religions. African cultural traditions also attach high moral value to virginity prior to marriage, and so it is right to respect them”. With regard to the problems in the individual African countries, Bishop Uzoukwu mentions the Nigerian situation: “There’s no shortage of resources in our country, but money is in the hands of a tiny minority, while the majority of the population are poor. So we must commit ourselves to trying to improve the social situation of our country”. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1280 N.ro relativo : 20 Data pubblicazione : 17/03/2004
