| Mission Report: Seminarian Institute: Republic of the Congo: July 2007 |
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Joseph Meaney, July 5-13, 2007
HLI SEMINARIAN SUMMER INSTITUTEHLI is establishing a new pro-life tradition in Africa: the Seminarian's for Life International Institutes. Last year the first French-speaking Seminarian Institute was in Benin. This year we held it in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo. The Cardinal Emile Biayenda Seminary graciously hosted this international pro-life event. Thanks to our generous donors, HLI brought 88 seminarians from the following 9 African countries: Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Rwanda, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. (See HLI's upcoming FrontLines for a fuller report on the Seminarian Summer Institute.) PAPAL NUNCIO CONCELEBRATES OPENING MASSWe were blessed to have Archbishop Andrés Carrascossa Coso, Apostolic Nuncio to both the Republic of the Congo and Gabon, as the main celebrant for our opening Mass. Archbishop Anatole Milandou of Brazzaville concelebrated with him. Archbishop Carrascossa was very delighted and told the seminarians they were blessed to be participants at the HLI Institute and enjoined them to pray for all who made the financial and material sacrifices that made their participation at the institute possible. The Nuncio promised he would write to Fr. Tom Euteneuer to salute the efforts of HLI, and we received a letter in the same vein from the Archbishop of Brazzaville, who came back to see us on the second day of the institute. POPULATION CONTROL STILL ATTACKING AFRICAAfrica is one of the favorite targets of the international abortion lobby, which still proceeds with the logic of the discredited population control ideology. Fortunately, some African priests are speaking out against this modern form of exploitation. One of them is Fr. Mika Mfitzsche, a Congolese Sulpician father, who represents HLI in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is a seminary professor and a scholar, and he addressed the Francophone seminarians at this summer's Institute on the topic of "The Changing Face of the Culture of Death" and "The Language and Presentation Techniques of Culture of Death Documents [With Particular Focus on the Maputo Protocol]." THE MAPUTO PROTOCOL AIMS AT LEGALIZING ABORTIONFr. Mfitzsche and I pointed out the insidious nature of the Maputo Protocol.1 This treaty, promulgated by the African Union (AU), is a roadmap to legalize abortion in almost all cases as a matter of "Reproductive Rights" in the 53 countries that belong to this inter-governmental organization.2 So far, 43 countries have signed it, and 21 have formally ratified it. The nation of Togo liberalized their abortion law shortly after ratifying the document last year.
I read to a shocked audience of seminarians Article 14 subsection C of the Maputo Protocol which states: "protect the reproductive rights of women by authorizing medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or the fetus." I then pointed out that such language was totally foreign to Africa and could only be explained by anti-life external influence in the drafting. In fact, the AU admits that it was developed in collaboration with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). HLI STANDS WITH AFRICA IN DEFENSE OF LIFEHLI has produced an 18-page document explaining the Maputo Protocol in English and French versions. It provides the essential information about the evils the treaty contains. We are distributing it to the many African leaders who are completely unaware of the radical nature of the Maputo Protocol. Fortunately, African bishops and cardinals are increasingly speaking out against this imminent threat to their pro-life cultures and laws. We will do everything in our power to stop the millions of abortions that would inevitably follow its generalized legalization as a consequence of universal African acceptance of the Maputo Protocol. CONDOMS: THE OTHER GREAT MENACE IN AFRICAGeorge Wirnkar, our HLI director for Francophone Africa, followed up on our talks by addressing "The Methods and Agents of the Culture of Death in Africa." He discussed the modus operandi of the culture of death groups in select countries. In conjunction with Fr. Mika Mfitzsche, George raised the issue of condoms in response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. HLI has now produced a French-language version of our The Case Against Condoms book. (The French title is Le Préservatif en Procès.)
HLI's latest book demonstrates the fact that the calamity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been compounded by the immoral and ineffective strategy of massive condom distribution. Millions of people are dying from AIDS every year because they were not given the chastity-abstinence and fidelity message that would have saved their lives. Instead, most of those suffering and dying from AIDS believed that using condoms would make promiscuous intercourse "safe." I am happy to say that, thanks to HLI's donors, several thousand copies of this book, in English and French, are reaching Africa. This summer, we also distributed copies to the bishops, priests, and seminarians who attended our Institute in Brazzaville.
Several other HLI affiliated African pro-life leaders also spoke at the Seminarians Summer Institute. Mr. Jean Marie Kouakoua of the Movement for Life Brazzaville addressed "The Work of the Movement for Life with People in Crisis Pregnancies as Support to the Pastoral Work of Parishes." Mr. Leo Kodjo, Togolese National President of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima and delegate of Pro-life Togo, spoke on "The Role of Mary in the Pro-life Movement" and on the "Role of Civil Society in Collaboration with the Church in Resisting the Culture of Death - the Case of Togo and Benin." Mr. Maxime Janvier Djossa of the Community of Mary Mother of Preborn Children (Communauté de Marie Mère des Enfants à Naître- CMMEN) spoke on "When Young People Commit Themselves to Action for Life - The History and Activities of CMMEN."
The seminarians participating also provided a valuable witness. From Burkina Faso, seminarian Desiré Kinda told us about his university experience (in Burkina Faso), where he formed a youth and chastity group before entering the seminary. The seminarians authored and signed a declaration reaffirming their faith and trust in the teachings of the Magisterium of the Church and pledging their support and willingness to work with the bishops of Africa to resist and expose the Maputo Protocol.
Copies of the declaration have been presented to the Papal Nuncio in Brazzaville and to the Archbishop of Brazzaville. Copies will be sent to all the bishops' conferences in Francophone Africa, to all Papal Nuncios, as well as to the Regional Bishops' Conference for Africa and Madagascar (SCEAM) and to the Regional Bishops' Conference of French West Africa (ACERAC).
The HLI Seminarians Summer Institute received extensive coverage in the African press. George Wirnkar granted news interviews on the history and work of HLI and the Institute. The reporters received copies of The Case Against Condoms in French. Among the media organs present were: Congolese National Radio, Congolese National Television, DRTV Radio, and Catholic Radio Magnificat. The following newspapers did interviews: La Dépêche de Brazzaville, La Semaine Africaine (a widely read Catholic bi-weekly), Tam Tam d'Afrique, and Le Nouvelle Observatoire.
We projected "The Silent Scream" and "The Eclipse of Reason" films for the seminarians during the evenings after the pro-life talks. They all left with a great deal of pro-life materials, including our two latest publications in French against the Maputo Protocol and our exposé against condoms. I also brought them the life-size models of preborn children at 10-12 weeks of pregnancy, which are a very effective tool in convincing people that human life before birth must be protected. HLI BREAKS NEW GROUND IN GABONAfter the successful conclusion of our international seminarian event, George and I took advantage of our presence in the region to visit the neighboring country of Gabon. We were very well received by Archbishop Basile Mvé Engone of Libreville. He introduced us to a dynamic Catholic women's group that may become our future HLI representatives in the country. We also met with the rector of the national seminary and two seminarians who had already participated in our Seminarian Summer Institute last year. Finally, we went to the Catholic radio station, which insisted on interviewing us about the pro-life work of HLI in Africa.
Gabon is a relatively rich nation in Africa because of the immense offshore oil reserves discovered in the 1970s. Less than a million and a half people under-populate the 267,667 square kilometers (103,346 square miles) of the country. However, this does not prevent the anti-life ideologues from working there as well. Many taxis had bumper stickers promoting the condom. One absurd slogan I saw proclaimed, "the condom: an act of love" (le préservatif un geste d'amour).
Our hope is that the Catholic Church in Gabon will prevent the Maputo Protocol from being ratified there. A majority of Gabonese are Catholics, which is a tribute to the missionaries who evangelized that country starting in the first half of the 19th century. HLI will certainly stand with them in defense of life, marriage, and family. We hope to continue our expansion to all the many French-speaking African nations as well as all the English-speaking countries there in the near future.
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