| Mission Report: Nigeria: January 2009 |
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MISSIONARY TRIP TO NIGERIA Reported by Fr. Bill Bellrose, January, 2009.
The culture of life is alive and well in Africa, at least for now. My recent trip to Nigeria confirmed this fact. It also showed me how great is the need for continued outreach to this continent in order to keep it that way. One great challenge that sooner or later faces all pro-lifers is how to deal with the culture of death’s verbal engineering. Verbal engineering refers to the choosing of words that evoke certain After the talk, I met privately with some of the attendees to further discuss these issues. At first, this consisted of only a few people, but others in the audience were also very interested in what was discussed, so the “private” meeting ended up being much less private than expected! It was extremely beneficial to listen to some of the challenges that the pro-life movement is facing in Nigeria. One of which is the need to improve communication between parish and regional pro-life groups. Another is the need to better understand the tactics used by the culture of death. Addressing the latter, we spoke at length about the strategies used by the pro-death movement to advance its mission. PRO-LIFE SEMINARIANS
Since the battle against the culture of death is essentially a spiritual battle, it will require pro-life leadership on the part of the Church for ultimate victory. Therefore, I always welcome the opportunity to work with seminarians, as I did at Blessed Tansi Major Seminary in Onitsha, Nigeria. On the morning after my first talk, I met a former seminarian, now a priest, who had returned for his first anniversary of ordained priesthood. His name was Fr. Lawrence Soja Anyembugu, and I was fortunate to share breakfast with him and his parents, as well as the seminarians. During breakfast, the seminarians were discussing issues from my talk on the previous night. Then, Fr. Anyembugu stood up and spoke on how the promotion of condoms is destroying Nigeria. It was wonderful to see these seminarians interested in and concerned about the culture of life, and it bodes well for the future of the Church in Africa. I also met with the Seminarians for Life group there. Many of these seminarians are very active in the parish. They go out every Sunday to give talks, distribute information, or perform other types of pro-life activism. One of the priests at Pius X Seminary told me how he became pro-life when he was studying there. He had picked up a Seminarians for Life newsletter, and since he was to be silent all day during this time of intense prayer, he was forced to seriously contemplate the points made in the newsletter, and it converted him to the pro-life ideology. The seminarians here were very interested in the topics I discussed, and one asked how he could be a pro-life activist during his time of prayer in the seminary. That’s when I pointed out that prayer is where it all starts. INTRUSION OF THE CULTURE OF DEATH The future of the Church is its children, so it was wonderful to be able to speak to high school students in Nigeria on the importance of chastity, the dignity of the human person, and the culture of life. I spoke first to an audience of 2,200 at an all-boys school. Then, the next morning, I spoke to 3,800 girls at their high school. The children there are so full of life, so it was a great morale boost to see them! I spoke to other high schools, seminaries, and women’s groups during this time, and even had the opportunity to say Mass at a small rural parish. Each of these visits allowed me to see the passion behind
Nigeria’s culture of life, but also reminded me of the encroachment of the culture of death. I noticed that some of the language advertised in the cities was beginning to change into the kind of language one hears from the culture of death. Nigerians were constantly telling me they have always been against abortion and that they would never allow its legalization, but I warned them about the culture of death and that its promoters were attempting to subtly introduce it into their beloved country. Catholic politicians in Nigeria have been feeling the pressure from the culture of death for a long time. One local politician said that each time there is a conference regarding abortion, about 80% of the attendees begin to be swayed into thinking abortion is a good thing. Listening only to the pro-abortion arguments, you would think there is no option but abortion. But, I questioned this notion with the politicians over and over again, explaining to them that life is always an option. DANGERS OF THE MAPUTO PROTOCOL Verbal engineering came up again and again during my meetings with several government officials in Nigeria, including the Speaker of the House, with whom I discussed how this tactic was being introduced into his country. He was very interested in the information. I also spoke with the Chief Inspector, thanking him for his strong pro-life position and encouraging him to beware of outside forces trying to change Nigeria’s culture. I said Mass for many of the Catholic politicians and enjoyed a cup of coffee with them. Many of them had questions about how to ensure that pro-abortion advocates will not sneak language into laws that could later introduce abortion into the country. To assist them, I gave them a copy of The Maputo Protocol: Clear and Present Danger, a booklet produced by HLI that explains the dangerous and deceptive anti-life language contained in the Maputo Protocol. Supporters of the Maputo Protocol claim it is a piece of legislation designed to combat female genital mutilation (FGM), but FGM is mentioned in only one sentence of the document out of its 23 pages. A large part of the document outlines provisions legalizing abortion and undermining the traditional family values that are a huge part of African culture.
During a meeting with the Papal Nuncio, who is very solid on pro-life issues, I explained the many positive things that Human Life International is doing in Africa. He was very pleased to hear these things, and he was amazed at the pressure anti-life groups were placing on the African people to change their ways from a culture that loves the beauty of life to one that accepts the culture of death through abortion and contraception. It is very selfish of these foreign groups to come into a country and attempt to kill its children. On Sunday, I offered Mass at the Basilica in Onitsha for about 3,000 people. Then, at a Church where Pope John Paul II had offered Mass, I assisted at another Mass and gave a talk there to about 7,000 people. It was such a blessing to see these Masses so full. The fact that many of these people were so excited about the faith was very interesting and wonderful. It just proves that when the culture of life is alive, the Faith is also alive. On the last day, I flew back to Lagos and offered Mass for a group of sisters in the morning. As I prepared to head home, a group of them started asking about my pro-life talks and wanted to receive more information. I ended up speaking with them about life issues, and they told me they would like to host a conference there at some point, because they see the need for more of them in Nigeria. Overall, my trip to Nigeria was very busy, and very fruitful. I was able to see so many lives touched by the beautiful message of the Gospel of Life. |
actions or cultural shifts. For example, the culture of death refers to its proponents as “pro-choice” and to pro-life activists as “anti-choice” or “anti-abortion.” The way certain issues or arguments are worded is extremely important in affecting the culture. This became the topic of a meeting I had with the Archdiocesan Laity Council at Regina Mundi Parish, which was attended by both priests and lay people. I also spoke about attacks against the dignity of the person in the promotion of contraception, abortion, and perverse “sex education.” 
