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Bishop in Southern Africa Decries rise in “invisible” Abortions among Teenagers

Members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC). Credit: SACBC

In South Africa, abortions are on the rise even though the vice is not being broadcast in public, the Bishop of South Africa’s Mthatha Diocese has said, and decried what he terms as “invisible abortions” in the country.

Speaking during the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) August plenary that is being held at Mariannhill Retreat House, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka urged the Bishops in the region to pay particular attention to the rise in cases of teen mothers and pregnancies among the populations they serve.

 “One visible consequence of the sexual activity of young people is that many girl children have babies. The other consequence, which is invisible and, therefore, difficult to determine its extent, is abortion,” Bishop Sipuka said on Tuesday, August 15 in his welcome remarks at the plenary.

The President of SACBC added, “I notice that the posters for backstreet abortion have virtually disappeared, certainly in the area where I come from. But that does not mean that abortion is not taking place.”

He expressed concern that new entries in baptismal registers in the region “continue to remain blank in the space where the baby’s father is supposed to be written.”

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In his remarks at the plenary that is scheduled to end on August 18, Bishop Sipuka expressed regret that that society has remained mute on abortion which he described as another invisible consequence of sexual activity among the youth.

“Since the Year of Mercy, I think that most bishops have stopped the practice of requiring the sin of abortion to be reported to the Bishop, and this makes it difficult to ascertain its prevalence among the faithful,” he said.

He continued, “Teenage pregnancy is an issue; we can see it. Is abortion an issue in our Dioceses? If yes, how do we deal with it pastorally?”

He said that the prophetic approach on abortion which he said contradicts the Church’s teaching on the sanctity and sacredness of life is necessary.

In South Africa, Bishop Sipuka said, “abortion is legal” and that “facts about it, in terms of statistics, are easy to obtain”.

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The Bishop underscored the need for the Catholic Church to challenge the situation by involving other like-minded institutions, saying, “Most Christian Churches and other faiths are also against abortion. Furthermore, some individuals and groups have made it their cause to oppose and mobilize against abortion.”

He added, “In assuming a prophetic stance against abortion, we would need to decide whether we are going it alone or in collaboration with other churches and interest groups. If we do it in collaboration with others, we would need to determine a common approach.”

He explained, “This is because while we agree with other churches and groups that abortion is wrong, we may not agree on a strategy for confronting it.”

Bishop Sipuka highlighted prophetic and pastoral approaches to the challenge of teenage pregnancy and abortion.

He said, “The pastoral approach would consider it from a catechetical and faith-formation point of view. On the other hand, the prophetic approach would consider it from a witnessing point of view, preferably in collaboration with other churches.”

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Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.