BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Most Rev Emmanuel Badejo has urged Nigerian women to arrive and resist divorce, artificial family planning, contraception, abortion and other anti-life tendencies.
The cleric also charged women, especially those who are members of the Catholic Church, to stand against the evil of prostitution and ensure that they discourage the immoral act in the society.
Bishop Badejo gave these charges in his keynote address at the Ibadan Provincial Catholic Women Organisation 27th Annual Provincial Seminar and Humanitarian Launch held at St Paul Pastoral Centre Aawe, Oyo State.
Delving into the theme of the programme, “Protection of the Family: The Dignity of Women in the Society,” Badejo said the family and its welfare is the paramount of all tasks God gave to women, adding that women are the backbone of the family, church and communities.
While addressing the Catholic women, Badejo stated, “In my own humble message, I see women as the backbone of the family, the church and communities, providing care, support and nurture for families and most importantly cooperating with the grace of God. What dignity can be greater than that? It is from here derives my view that your calling as catholic women and mothers extends to the protection of the unborn, protection of the right ordering of human sexuality, standing firm against homosexuality, lesbianism, transgenderism and the like, learning about and teaching others the evil of artificial family planning, contraception, prostitution, divorce, abortion and all anti-life tendencies of today, the seed of which is sown in the very insidious Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), not forgetting the current menace of drug addiction and abuse among us which destroys the world view of children right from nursery and elementary schools.”
He added, “Summarily, the dignity of women and the protection of the family in society is a project of the culture of life and an antidote to the contemporary culture of death which bothers all of sane humanity.
“As a corollary what will give leverage to your demand for respect for the dignity of women, you too among yourselves must respect one another regardless of age, status, caliber, tribe or qualification. Mary gave us a good example of this when she visited the old “expired” woman, Elizabeth, who reciprocated.”
Making references to other speakers at the event, the clergyman said, “The Archbishop of Ibadan in his message, sees the theme as echoing deeply the core values that your organization stands for, expressing appreciation for your tremendous commitment to the growth of the parishes and dioceses of Ibadan Province. The Bishop of Osogbo cites the role of the Church in protecting the dignity of all God’s children and encourages you to not see yourselves as aliens or as second-class citizens but as members of God’s household, always ready to stand as light of the world and salt of the earth.(Eph 2:9, Matt 5:13-14).
“The administrator of Ilorin diocese, points out the ongoing effort all over the world to amplify the voice and dignity of women. He considers that in faith, this is already given and granted and that important task for you is to pay more attention to the girl child and raise her in the way of the Lord. In other words, be more proactive than reactive. Surely, very Rev Fr Lawani does not mean that we should exclude the boy child in upbringing.”
