Monrovia – In the wake of ongoing global debate on same sex marriage with some churches endorsing the act, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Liberia (CABICOL) has spoken against the act.
In a Pastoral message CABICOL says it is denouncing any attempt by anyone or institution to promote same sex marriage, abortion and contraceptives in Liberia.
“We denounce any attempt by anyone or any institution to promote same sex marriage, abortion and contraceptives. Thus we call upon all, especially our government to reject the acceptance of this incipient culture of death as a pre-requisite for developmental and financial aid” stated the group.
The Bishops said while they are very much aware of the difficulties and challenges faced by families Jesus “never failed to show compassion and closeness to the frailty of individual like the Samaritan woman or the woman caught in adultery” (AL 38).
“Thus, we appeal to pastors to “reach out to everyone, to help each person, find his or her proper way of participating in the ecclesial community and thus to experience being touched by an ‘unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous mercy” (AL 297) the statement added.
Tendency to undermine Religious Freedom
CABICOL disclosed that during its discussion on the Church’s mission with people of other faiths, it is concerned about the tendency to undermine and threaten religious freedom, tolerance and peaceful co-existence among the Liberian people.
Stated CABICOL: “Acknowledging our commonalities and differences, we reaffirm our commitment to promote religious freedom and peaceful co-existence as enshrined in our constitution.
We therefore call on all Liberians to join us in our efforts to promote peace and the respect for the fundamental rights and dignity of every person. We renew our commitment to collaborate with all those united to the church by faith, men and women of good will and continue our engagement with people of other religions”.
On the payment of taxes, CABICOL observed that in recent times the Church and ordinary citizens continue to experience undue hardships which undermine the capacity to assist government in service to the people. CABICOL frowned on exorbitant taxes and cumbersome procedures in clearing goods from the port.
“Donated items to our institutions are taxed exorbitantly; procedures are cumbersome leading to unnecessary delays in clearing goods from the ports. Policies are inconsistent and cost unpredictable, thus leaving room for extortion.
These conditions make it difficult, if not almost impossible, to perform our humanitarian duty to our people. We therefore call on our government to review its policies and procedures to ensure that our services to the Liberian people remain uninterrupted”, the group declared.
The statement was issued after the first Plenary Assembly of CABICOL held from 5th – 10th April 2016, under the theme: ‘The Relevance of the Church in Liberia Today: Evangelization, Health, Education, Social Works, the Justice & Peace and Mass Media’.
The statement was signed by Archbishop Lewis Zeigler, Metropolitan Archbishop of Monrovia/ President of CABICOL; Most Rev. Andrew Karnley, Bishop of Cape Palmas and Most Rev. Anthony Borwah, Bishop of Gbarnga