Friday, February 5, 2010

OPINION: Life from Conception to Birth

Fr Pascal Mwambi*
Altering Definition of Beginning of Life from Conception to Birth is a Denial of the Entire Process of Generation
The parliamentary select committee, which I believe is composed of experts from various related areas, cannot affirm that life starts at birth unless motivated by other selfish motives and anti- life mentality ready to destroy many lives before birth. Biologists, scientists and doctors should not be ashamed to affirm empirical facts about the process of new human organism right away from fertilization leading to the time the pro nucleus come close to each other exchanging the genetic information, thereby the reading and activation of the DNA.
After seven weeks (embryo stage), the new organism has all the organs formed awaiting gradual development. That unborn baby is not in potency but already life in act. There is no single moment we can say that he or she isn’t a human person. Even in cases where there is splitting or monozygotic twins, there are two or more lives so long as there was already a cell neither of the male nor female but of the fusion of both the sperm and ova. There is an autonomous and continuous growth of the baby together with a cross dialogue with the mother who should be the first “Advocatus ventrus” (advocate of the womb) to the child.
There is more to do in the debate than just about legalizing abortion. Once they (pro choice) manage to delay the recognition of a living human being, who is a person entitled to rights and dignity just as any other adult living being; then doors are open for all manipulations, research and experiments on the embryo.
With the precocious (premature) diagnosis of the pregnant women, any indications of abnormalities, hereditary, genetic, chromosomal pathologies will lead to eugenic or selective abortion so long as the unborn baby is not a living person juridically recognized. The same denial will lead to medically assisted ways of fertilization which will ignore or replace the conjugal act, therefore separation between sexual union and procreation.
Reasons that do not allow completion of pregnancy may include pre-mature births (miscarriages), abortions and deaths. The argument that not all conceptions lead to birth will be a more vibrant reality when they allow discrimination of the unborn children. They (doctors) will be the ones to procure abortions or encourage women do so. When it comes to rape cases, we agree it’s a regrettable crime. Sincerely looking at it, who is the aggressor? The conceived child-no, but the man involved. Nature just takes its cause which the so called experts are trying to ignore or deny by saying life starts at birth. Sometimes the figures of these cases of rape or clandestine abortions are exaggerated for the purpose of influencing the public. There are options which the church allows in such cases of rape. In order to avoid that the sperm of the aggressor causes more harm to the woman’s body, she can immediately seek medical attention within the first few hours in order to have a virginal bath before the male gamete meets the female one. The other option could be to use a STRICTLY non abortive contraceptive which unfortunately could be difficult to get nowadays.
We are still at the right track so long as the draft is not yet approved. We have all the power now to make sure that no unjust law, against its own citizens will be approved. Legalization of abortion has not reduced abortion cases (even clandestine ones) in countries where it’s applied. The bishops are conscious of the divine mandate to defend life. Any society, (civil or not), which cannot defend life from its start, is against its own existence.
The state needs to acknowledge the right to life but has no mandate to create or abolish it since it exists in the natural moral law. Any law which does not respect the equal dignity of every single person regardless of their capabilities, age, gender, health, (….) has no reason at all of being recognized. The very fact that there is a human person in the play we should be cautious about it. None of the universal declarations (1948), conventions of rights of the child (1989) or charters denies that life begins at conception. That is an undeniable fact which when approved, puts all science and biology in a dilemma of their own lie. Science gives us the facts, which they themselves want to deny. We are called to go beyond the facts and arrive at the intelligence (truth) which only human beings are endowed with, to realise that truth about our existence cannot be hidden.
There word “rights” quoted often by lobby groups is misleading. We never have a right to possess or not to possess a child since she/he is not a property. The medical practitioners have no right too, despite their expertise to eliminate any life. Their conscience will never be at peace just like that of a mother who decides to abort for whatever reason. The post abortion trauma will be deeper than the crime of rape or its wound. The life of an unborn child is equally worthy of the same dignity to that of the born child, even in terms of medical health dangers. It’s a matter of fundamental rights (life) are highest goods (health) where none of the two lives (mother and child) can be foregone. A person is an end in him/herself and can’t be disposed of for the sake of the other for whatever reason. Thus, killing a baby to save the mother’s life is unthinkable.
The shortage of doctors (doctor-patient ration) is an issue of concern so long as they do what is expected of them. A medical act will be such when it’s geared towards the integral good of the person (to cure) or restore health. Abortion is not and will never be a medical act, since its objective is exclusively to eliminate life of an innocent human being. No doctor should be prohibited from assisting mothers in need of help even after a spontaneous abortion since this has nothing to do with voluntary or procured abortions, illegally called therapeutic.
The sanitary reforms going on in the US have spurred protests recently. The president of the priests for life, Fr Frank Pavone is actively involved. One of the issues in the just ended demonstrations was that rich countries should stop using tax payers’ money to kill unborn human beings in the poor and developing countries. Our leaders should be ready to lose economic support from these donors rather than be pressurized to legalize abortion as a condition for aid.
I pray and hope that we will put our efforts together in defending, protecting and promoting life of our innocent brothers and sisters. It’s not a matter of just changing the clause in the draft but a matter of saving lives of future generations.
*Fr Pascal Mwambi, Rome

YOUR SAY: Understanding the Silence of God in Haiti

Joseph Mwaniki, IMC*
Where was God when all these things happened? This is not only a Henry Makori question. There are very many Makoris who are asking themselves the same question. In these days, there are so many tragedies that are happening and leaving behind many unanswered questions. Some have even lost their faith amidst such terrifying situations, to the point of entering into ancient heresy of “deism” which considers God a watch maker whose work is only to make a watch and leave it to the buyer. In a word, some people today believe that God is the Creator but His work ends after creation, leaving man alone and unaided. Today, what is coming out more clearly is the silence of God amidst the many difficulties that humanity is facing.
Looking at what happened in Haiti on that dark night of 12th January, it is not only Makori whose first question is where God was. Haiti is a country whose history counts nothing else but suffering. The majority are descendants of millions of slaves who were carried off from Africa. The country is already poor enough even after many years of independence and the people are fed up with many sufferings and challenges. It is not that they don’t believe. They are Christians and pray every day like other believers.
Then comes this earthquake that turned centuries’ work to nothing. Thousands are dead and the poor now remain not only poorer but the poorest of the poor with no basic needs and a very dim future. Somebody then asks, “why is it that the poor are always the less privileged? I can understand this if it was done by man, but is this not a natural cause of which God knew and held power to prevent?”
Makori’s question is important to many. When Pope Benedict XVI visited Poland in 2006, during his second International journey, he visited Auschwitz Camp, a place that carries the memory of millions of human beings that were exterminated by the Nazis. The Pope opened his speech thus: “In a place like this, words fail; in the end, there can only be a dead silence - a silence which is itself a heartfelt cry to God: Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?” And later on, he continued: “How many questions arise in this place! Constantly, the question comes up: Where was God in those days? Why was he silent? How could he permit this endless slaughter, this triumph of evil?”
These are really very difficult questions to answer. Some, in the confusion of these unanswerable questions have gone to the point of affirming that God is the author of all these sufferings while others have tried to burn the Bible in an attempt to eliminate this God who is the cause of suffering. And what is worse is that His silence remains for us a mere mystery. But what does this His silence tell us?
Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Laureate in 1986 and a Holocaust survivor at Auschwitz, is a writer of over 50 books and a professor at Boston University. When he was asked if we could force God to respond to the injustices of the world, he posed a question, “why do the innocent suffer and yet the Lord remains dumb?” Trying to answer his own question, Wiesel narrates, “I was brought up in an environment that would expect very little from men but all in God. Even today, God is still a deep thirst inside me.” Auschwitz did not quench this thirst; in fact, it gave him deep reasons to continue believing despite this silence of God’s while still holding this cry of protest. And he adds, “(in fact), most of my books try to express this faith in God, despite His silence”.
Wiesel’s argument can give us a point of departure: Faith in the providence of God, despite the darkness in our days and the silence of the All Powerful. God is God and we can’t understand Him fully. We can only try to raise our heart and mind to the level of His transcendence. Suffering in itself is not evil. We can even call it a blessing, though it is very difficult to accept. The earthquake of Haiti took only few minutes but its effects will remain with us for decades if not centuries. But what is more important is not to understand where God was, but what He wants to tell us with this incident.
For me, the Haiti incident makes me enter deep into myself, reflect on the deepest realities around me, the vanities in my life and above all, to think about my ultimate end of which I know not when, where or how. God does not want the suffering of His creatures. He is the giver and the sustainer of life, and always accompanies it against its different pains. God suffers with those who are suffering and the best assurance He gives us is that we are not alone. When the Haitians and the human world are suffering, God is neither in silence nor sleeping. He is always suffering with us and for us, sustaining us with His unseen love and transforming our pains into a joy of those who believe that alive or dead, they belong to Him. We can only conclude together with the pope and Auschwitz that despite all these, our hope remains in the Lord for He is our shepherd and there is nothing more that we shall want, even amidst the earthquake of Haiti and the many tragedies of our days.
*Joseph Mwaniki is a student at Urbaniana University in Rome

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

OPINION: Nigeria: Not in Their Names*

Bunmi Aina-Craiq
The good people of Jos are once again being terrorized by a handful of their idle, disenfranchised and obviously ignorant brothers and sisters. They conveniently tag the mayhem and anarchy 'religious'. There is absolutely nothing religious about killing and maiming your own people.
They real problem is social injustice, lack of opportunities, corruption, lack of planning and total failure of government administration.
When you have a system that does not invest in education, health care, community centres, youth centres and other viable ventures for the proper development and sustainability of your people you are bound to have these kinds of sporadic violent outbursts of frustrations and hopelessness which are then conveniently labelled 'religious riots.'
|The truth is that the people are frustrated; no jobs, no food, no hope, nothing; they just exist one day at a time. In such situations, death is not feared; anything is better than everything and life is not worth living.
Before a budget is allocated for yet another panel (which most government sycophants will now be positioning themselves to be on) to be set up to 'investigate' this most recent unfortunate, though inevitable occurrence, let the people who hold the peoples resources on trust examine themselves, for they know why these so-called religious riots keep reccurring.
The peoples' trustees need to invest in good education for ALL our young people and ensure that nobody is left on the margins of life as they cruise around town in their tinted motorcades raising dust on the supposed beneficiaries of the trusts they hold.
Every Nigerian child must be guaranteed proper education from the age of five up to the age of eighteen; the schools and colleges must be properly equipped and staffed with teachers whose welfare must be guaranteed.
Money meant for schools should be spent to build decent structures, proper classrooms with windows and fans, well equipped science laboratories, sport facilities, arts and culture facilities; not the dilapidated aberrations and run down shacks as we currently have. Students should not have to provide their own chairs and tables which they often carry on their heads as they walk barefooted to and from school every day.
Books ought to be provided for all Nigerian students up to the age of eighteen. They must be taught how to read and write, the HISTORY of their country and civil responsibilities too. Our young people should be given proper education in a conducive environment by teachers who are adequately trained and empowered to do the job.
The welfare of our young people also demand that we invest in community centres where young people can go for leisure activities such as sport and social interactions, libraries and IT centres.
Even in the so-called developed societies such as Britain and America where these facilities are available, they still have incidents of sporadic violence such as stabbings among young people (often fuelled by the abuse of alcohol and drugs). The difference is that those young people are educated and enlightened enough not to be brainwashed into pretending that the violence they are engaging in is religiously motivated. Those young people are a very tiny minority, not enough to cause a riot of any kind.
The core message of the two main religions in Nigeria is PEACE. The other messages include love of one’s neighbour, generosity, tolerance, humility, kindness, forgiveness and truth. Neither the Bible nor the Koran prescribes hatred, violence, theft of public funds, corruption and strife.
Indeed, our young people have been so disenfranchised that they have become ready tools in the hands of sadistic elements who brainwash them and send them out to unleash violence and anarchy on the society.
Let the custodians of our common wealth have an urgent re-think and start investing our funds judiciously so that we will have educated, enlightened and empowered people with access to available standard infrastructure. Let them provide standard schools, roads, hospitals, jobs, security, houses, and other social amenities.
As a society, our problems are self inflicted, we allow people we have not voted for, people who are not qualified to be leaders, people who have no clue about what they are doing and who obviously do not give a damn about our welfare to govern us and loot our resources. Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon Him), never preached intolerance or violence, so this recent mayhem in Jos is not in their names.
Bunmi Aina-Craig Esq. Abuja FCT
*This opinion was first carried by the Vanguard on Jan 31 2010.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this section do not necessarily represent the opinions of CISA.

Monday, February 1, 2010

OPINION: Mediating Compassion for Haiti?

Michael O’maera*

Facebook, Twitter, blogs, tv and radio news are full of the devastation. Our tears well unexpectedly as we watch heart rending scenes of the few pulled out from crumpled buildings. Anxiety builds when we realise some will use force to get whatever they want in the chaos. Governments promise, armies mobilise and crisis teams are activated.

Do we care about Haiti? If we do, how long will that feeling last given that it is one of the poorest countries on earth and any solution, if indeed there is one, will be a long time coming? And what if our level of interest is, more or less, fuelled by what is shown on the national news? How will we justify out disinterest if we wake on some distant night and realise that unbeknownst to us, we have forgotten that Haiti exists because we have not been reminded?

That was the reality for this beleaguered nation a few days ago, before the earthquake rumbled. No-one except the United Nations employees based there and a range of other aid agencies were the slightest bit interested in Haiti or its people. Yet now, because the media have brought vivid images into our living rooms, we feel compelled to act in the manner which seems to be demanded of us.

Tragedies come and go; indeed countless tragedies are unfolding around the globe but because we know nothing about them, we feel nothing and do nothing. Why then do we respond to calls for help in this situation? Is it just because we can't escape the image or the request? If we peel back the layers, perhaps we might see that the appeals are emotional blackmail. Give and you will instantly feel better yourself. It is, more or less, a self absorbed donation.

What if we recognised that these tragedies unfold within a web of complex interactions that are invisible to us at first glance? Haiti, like so many other small, poverty stricken nations, suffers from a load of impossible debt repayments. If we refused to give and instead demanded that wealthy lending countries forgo the debts owed to them and continued to give more, Haiti may have a chance. Without that kind of input, the existing level of poverty will increase, fuelled by the high levels of disability brought about by this disaster.

But more than that, what if we addressed our emotional need to 'do something' by focusing attention on changing our own way of living? What if we were prepared to stop buying endless stuff we do not need, lowered our standard of living and instructed our governments to give away substantial amounts of money to poorer nations like Haiti so they could build an infrastructure that at least gives a minimum standard of living to its people? No? I thought not.

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, "I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights."

Compassion is about walking in the shoes of others, not biffing a few dollars at them when we are emotionally blackmailed. I suspect we do not care at all about Haiti, but a self preservation button has been activated by the media and aid agencies that are so practised at doing so. After all, targets are waiting to be met and audience numbers need to be maintained.

*[CISA Editor]

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this section do not necessarily represent the opinions of CISA.