Dr. Ligaya A. Acosta, November 6-14 2008

Mongolia is located between China and Russia in northern Asia.  It is one of the least densely populated countries in the world, with a population density of 4.9 persons per square mile and an annual population growth rate of 1.5%.  To make matters worse, for every 1,000 children that live, 41 die before they reach their first birthday.  Also, 69% of women use contraception in Mongolia.  The birth rate is estimated at 21.2 births per 1,000 people, and the average life expectancy is 63.5 years.  About two-thirds of the total population is under age 30, 28.5% of whom are under 14.  Religions practiced in the country are mainly Buddhism with some small Muslim and Christian influences.  Roman Catholicism was introduced 16 years ago by the current Bishop, and today Catholics number only 500 throughout the whole country.

MONGOLIA'S ACTIVE CULTURE OF DEATH  

I would have found Mongolia very cold indeed if not for the warm reception of the Bishop, His Excellency, Most Rev. Wenceslao Padilla, Bishop and Apostolic Prefect of Mongolia, who took care of me from my arrival to my departure.  His touching kindness was more than enough compensation for the weather (the temperature was six degrees below zero), as well as the absence of hot water in my room.

Even before I reached Mongolia, though, I was already chilled to the bone as I went through documents to familiarize myself with the country.  International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the number one abortion-provider in the world, has been very active in Mongolia, working through its affiliate, the Mongolian Family Welfare Association.  In 1992, it started a program dubbed HIV/AIDS Education for Dormitory University Students of Ulaanbaatar, which was set up to provide "accurate information on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention" and "to increase condom use."  Topics covered in this program included "family planning and unwanted pregnancy" and, not surprisingly, "safe sex."  To help spread the message, it said it used the cooperation of tutors and social workers.  Peer educators, it proudly proclaimed, "passed the information to more than 2,500 young people across the country and elsewhere."

By going to the UNFPA website, I found that it has been active in Mongolia since 1991, and that in January 2007, a total of nine million US dollars was approved for the Fourth Country Programme Action Plan covering the period of 2007 to 2011. The same site announced that "UNFPA will concentrate its strategic support in achieving the ICPD goals of promoting reproductive health and reproductive rights within the larger context of the Millennium Development Goals and poverty reduction in Mongolia."

Practically all the death peddlers have been in Mongolia for some time.  Thus, I was saddened, but not surprised, when the Bishop told me of his concern over increasing teenage pregnancies.  He arranged for me a special meeting with the priest in charge of Youth Affairs in the diocese, Father Ernesto Viscardi, an Italian Consolata Missionary.  We discussed the possibility of integrating HLI talks in next year's Youth Summer Camp.  

 I confirmed, upon my arrival, that not only is pre-marital sex common in Mongolia, but abortion and divorce are legal.  It is not unusual to find single parents and women with children of different fathers or women who have had multiple abortions.  As I watched the beautiful Mongol children all cutely bundled and tied up to protect them from the winter cold, I could not help but wonder, "How on earth could mothers kill their very own children?"  It was always a treat for me to see from my bedroom window each morning the few kindergarten pupils quickly passing by as they tried to hold on to the hands of their fast-walking mothers.

During my first three days, I had the chance to interact with both the Catholic Missionaries and their wards in the various centers run by the Diocese. The Bishop himself brought me to the Center for Children at Risk (managed by the Missionaries of Charity), the huge Center for Street Children and Orphans, the diocesan clinic, and the Don Bosco Industrial Training Skills Center.  I also had the chance to go to Sunday Mass at a Parish Church inside a ger (tent), a common dwelling place for Mongolians.  Most of those who attended were foreigners working in multinational companies and organizations.  It was also there that I learned where the Country Director of UNFPA, who is a Filipino like me, goes to Mass.  I missed meeting her, though, because that Sunday she was away.  It is a sad realization to find that most of the death peddlers are actually Catholics!  A sadder realization, however, is finding the clergy and religious silent about the matter.  One nun even told me that abortion and pre-marital sex are part of the Mongolian culture, so they cannot say anything about it!

MONGOLIANS THIRSTY FOR THE GOSPEL OF LIFE

My first formal talk was held November 10 with the Association of Major Religious Superiors, comprised of about 15 heads of the different foreign congregations working in Mongolia and presided over by the Bishop.  I titled my talk "Building a Culture of Life in Mongolia." The response was great, as it brought many realizations to the audience.  They said they really needed such a talk, which they were hearing for the first time.  One priest shared that an abortion organization occupies one of their neighbor apartments.  He also shared many complaints from women who are forced to use contraception.  They thanked me profusely and told me that this was the kind of talk they needed to hear and proclaim, and they expressed the wish that I will be able to speak in wider audiences.  They copied my presentation and asked my permission to have it translated into Mongolian.  They also were glad to receive copies of the HLI Pro-Life CD Library.  They confirmed that they truly needed reference materials and were glad they could find it in just one CD.  By God's grace, my talk became the subject of the Bishop's homily in a Mass later that day.

The next day, I was with about 50 young teachers and staff members of the Diocese-run Don Bosco Industrial Training Skills Center, which included Vietnamese Brother Andrew Tran Le Phuong, SDB, the school principal.  What was supposed to be a one-hour presentation stretched to three. Some missionary sisters who had heard about my talk the other day also attended.  After my talk, which was given with the aid of an interpreter, the participants did not get up to leave.  They stayed glued to their seats, speechless at first, and then they clamored for more.  They also shared their very touching realizations.  It was the first time they had heard the Gospel of Life.  And they said that they had always thought contraception, abortion, divorce, and pre-marital sex were normal and safe, until they heard me speak.  Now they were all convinced otherwise.  One person told me that prior to 1990, before these international organizations came to teach them about "safe sex," Mongolians were indeed chaste and valued life and family!  They also seemed shocked with the realization that-if they continue to contracept and abortion-day will come when there will be no more Mongolians in Mongolia.  They were wide-eyed as I explained why they should be producing more babies rather than killing them. 

TEENS TAKE VOW OF CHASTITY

There were about 100 people in the audience for my next talk on November 12.  Although it was supposed to be only for the students, all the rest of the teachers and nuns came as well.  They wanted to learn how to conduct such a sensitive topic with teenagers and how to deal with the rampant cases of pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancies, and abortions.  It was interesting to observe two very young students who were obviously "lovebirds," almost intertwined at the start of my talk, falling further away as my discussion continued.  They would look at each other with wide eyes as I explained the risks of pre-marital sex and the many advantages of chastity.  The students nodded their heads and smiled as I emphasized that true love waits until marriage.  I ended with the recitation of a vow of chastity, which I asked my interpreter to first explain to make sure they understood. I explained the seriousness of the vow and that it was voluntary.  It was heartwarming that everyone took it.  After my talk, the principal unexpectedly questioned the students about what they learned.  It initially gave me jitters, as I worried that my message may have not been interpreted correctly and that the students who did not understand English did not understand me at all.  But, their answers, as well as their impressions, truly touched me.  One girl even said her moving thanks to me in English.  As I heard them speak, I silently thanked the Lord for hearing my prayers.  

NEW PRO-LIFE MONGOLIA

After my session with the students, all the teachers and staff gathered again for their requested talk on Natural Family Planning.  Everyone listened with interest, even when it was way beyond their working hours.  Their hunger for the message of life and family was evident.  They asked how they could become affiliated with HLI.  They expressed a desire to establish "Pro-Life Mongolia" and said they will do their best to be able to come to HLI's 16^th Asia-Pacific Congress on Love Life and Family in Malaysia in November next year.

As Brother Andrew, the school principal, drove me back on that cold winter night, we talked about future plans for Mongolia.  Being the Chair for the Ministry on Education, Brother Andrew will be my main contact.  Earlier, during the session with the faculty and staff, he expressed his wish to have me back for a bigger congress and even asked everyone to bring all their friends and family.  We also talked about the possibility of starting a Family and Life Ministry, which will incorporate Natural Family Planning.  He also was heaven-sent in that he knew the Bishop of Papua New Guinea, whom I had wanted to reach, and he also promised to help arrange for my Vietnam trip, which we set for late February 2009, during his vacation in his home country.  He told me that these countries also need to hear the message of life.

On my last night in Mongolia, the Bishop invited me to a special dinner with his staff "to celebrate the success" of my initial visit.  We talked about the possibility of having HLI back next year for a speaking tour, which we further discussed over a late breakfast the next day.  He handed me a heartwarming letter just before my departure, in which he described my visit as "grace-filled days in the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar" and expressed his sincere gratitude to HLI for sending me to Mongolia.  In it, he also said, "It's my hope that HLI will be able to continue its presence felt in our society in the vast steppes of Mongolia."

What a privilege indeed for me to be made an instrument in planting the seed of life in Mongolia.  I pray that God, with Our Lady, will bless it and make it grow to bear abundant fruits.  To God be the glory!