Catholic Bishops Call on Government to Protect Life and Family

by Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

The Joy of Love seeks to encourage everyone to be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy.  PNS Photo

KAMPALA- Catholic Bishops in Uganda have called upon government and parliament not to enact, support or enforce policies and laws that destroy life or the family and thereby put the well-being and existence of the family at stake.

The Bishops sounded this warning during a press conference at the Catholic Secretariat in Nsambya on June 10, 2016. The press conference was called to correct misconceptions about the Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” translated in English as The Joy of Love. This warning comes a month after the Ministry of Health said that it had come up with a policy that will allow children, as young as ten years, to seek abortion! 

“The Joy of Love is a pastoral document geared towards inspiring and encouraging the Christian faithful by assisting them to understand, appreciate and live the vocation of marriage and the family in the spirit of love, peace and joy amidst their challenges.”

The Joy of Love, released on April 8, 2016 at the Vatican, is an outcome of the contributions of two Synods on marriage and the family which the Holy Father convoked in 2014 and 2015.

Since its release, there have been many misleading claims fanned by the international press that Pope Francis, in this Exhortation, is introducing a new teaching about the family and marriage.

“The Holy Father does not introduce a new teaching on the institution of marriage and the family as some people have understood, but rather affirms the Catholic Church’s teaching while recognising the challenges and dilemmas faced by the faithful as presented by the Synod Fathers.

“The Holy Father bases his reflection on the Holy Scriptures, the Synod reports, the documents and teachings of his predecessors, his previous catecheses on the family and his pastoral experience.”

The Catholic Bishops also stressed the coincidence of releasing The Joy of Love at a time when the Catholic Church is celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy which began on December 8, 2015 and will end on November 20, 2016.

“The Year of Mercy challenges us to be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful. The Joy of Love as the Holy Father himself states, seeks to encourage everyone to be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy.

“It is a call to journey with and support rather than condemn families or individuals that fall short of the demands of the Church teaching on marriage and family life.”

The Bishops pointed out that understanding marriage and the family in the light of the sacred scriptures is one of the three key themes they identified in The Joy of Love. They said that the Holy Father highlights the fact that the Bible is the foundation for the Church’s teaching about marriage and the family. In order to meaningfully reflect and understand marriage and the family, Christians ought to always turn to the Holy Scriptures for guidance.

The other theme is love as a core Christian virtue for marriage and the family. The Joy of Love underscores the virtue of love as fundamental for a meaningful and lasting marriage and family life. The family is the place where love ought to be experienced and ought to be fruitful through the transmission of life and the rearing of children in fulfillment of God’s plan for humanity.

Pastoral care towards families is the third key theme. While emphasizing marriage and the family as the first environment for experiencing relevant education and socialization, the roles, duties and obligations of pastors and parents as well as the rights of children are highlighted.

Identifying the challenges of marriage and the family in Uganda, the Bishops singled out the continued violation of the dignity and rights of the human person by individuals and in some cases by those in authority, as the cause of most of the challenges.

Most prominent is domestic violence in its various forms, lack of proper parental care, guidance and education of children. Parents and families have relegated their roles of parenting children to schools, government, NGOs and the media.

“Parents should create and provide a conducive environment for the proper upbringing of children. The children should be educated in sexuality as in other areas of social orientation in preparation for future life.

“This is the primary responsibility of parents and guardians. Schools, government, NGOs and the media should play a secondary and subsidiary task, complementing and supporting the role of the family without contradicting its traditional or Christian values.  Sex should be understood within the broader framework of love and marriage, in mutual self-giving because it is a mutual responsibility that is open to the gift of new life.”

Poverty and the inconsistency between the faith professed and the daily life of many Christians who continue to live a double life are the other challenges to the family that the Bishops have pointed out. Others are migration, adverse effects of climate change and land conflicts. Inappropriate use and application of technologies such as the internet is another challenge.

The public is urged to respect the institution of marriage and the family as sacred and strive to protect if even in face of the numerous challenges and imperfections. It is further urged to cooperate with the Church in supporting people facing various problems and challenges in marriage and family life.

“Respect families, individuals and children in irregular situations and non-traditional families and assist them to get integrated into society instead of judging and condemning them.”

The Bishops have also called upon the priests to always approach marriage and family issues with respect, love, care and mercy, not judgment or condemnation. Effort should as well be made to reawaken marriage and family apostolate at all levels of the Church, and to use the media to propagate the Church teaching on marriage and the family. This is how the people will understand and appreciate the teaching.

Like wise, priests have been urged to ensure on-going formation and teaching of the Catholic doctrine of faith and morality before and after the reception of the Sacrament of Marriage. This will ensure that the couples are accompanied by their sponsors, pastoral agents, extended family, relatives and friends.  

To the government, the Bishops further call for the promotion of the rule of law and ensure that institutions and individuals respect the inherent rights of families and all people. Government is also tasked to ensure fair and equitable distribution of political, social, educational and economic opportunities for all Ugandans which will support the sustainable and integral development of all families and individuals.

Urging all Catholics and people of good will to make use of the treasure that The Joy of Love is, for the good of the family, the Bishops extended their appreciation to all families that strive to be models of true Christian living in the face of all challenges and prayed for the struggling families to persevere and never to lose hope in God.

“Let the government fulfill its commitment to protect and promote the welfare of each and every Ugandan citizen including children as provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and other Regional and International Instruments.”