exploitation

Bishops’ commission considers social, cultural, and pastoral factors behind polygamy in Africa #Catholic NAIROBI, Kenya — In addition to theological reflections on marriage and the sacraments, the final report addressing the pastoral challenge of polygamy in Africa, which members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) issued on March 24, draws attention to a wide range of social, cultural, and pastoral realities shaping the practice across the continent.While reaffirming the Christian ideal of monogamous marriage, the 25-page report compiled by the SECAM commission — made up of selected theologians and professionals from relevant ecclesiastical disciplines — emphasizes that understanding the persistence of polygamy requires careful analysis of social change, legal frameworks, gender relations, and pastoral strategies within African societies. SECAM president Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo. | Credit: ACI Africa The report is a direct response to the mandate that the multiyear XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops — known as the Synod on Synodality — gave Catholic bishops in Africa: “to promote theological and pastoral discernment on the issue of polygamy.”Polygamy in a changing African social landscapeIn the report, the SECAM commission members note that polygamy cannot be understood solely through the lens of traditional culture. African societies have undergone profound transformation in recent decades.“The traditional environment has crumbled,” they said, leading to a climate in which many long-standing institutions and values are increasingly questioned. This transformation has also affected the dynamics of marriage and family life. Sociological studies cited in the report identify infertility as one of the principal motivations behind contemporary polygamy, though the report emphasizes that the reasons are complex.Despite modernization and evangelization, it notes that the practice of polygamy has not disappeared. Instead, “it remains alive and well” and, in some contexts, has even regained popularity.One notable development the SECAM commission members highlight in the report is the changing role of women in African societies. They observe that women increasingly occupy key economic roles, particularly within the informal sector.Legal frameworks across AfricaIn the report, commission members also highlight the legal status of polygamy across the continent.They note that roughly 30 African countries have legal frameworks that permit polygamy — either through civil law, customary law, or religious legislation. The list includes countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Morocco, and South Africa.However, the report points out that legal recognition of polygamy does not necessarily indicate broad societal consensus. In many countries, women’s movements have increasingly challenged these laws.“More and more women are speaking out against legislation in favor of polygamy, which is considered unfair and disrespectful of gender equality,” the report says. Members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) meet at the 20th Plenary Assembly held in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 30 to Aug. 4, 2025, under the theme “Christ, Source of Hope, Reconciliation, and Peace.” | Credit: ACI Africa This tension between cultural tradition, legal frameworks, and evolving social values forms a significant part of the pastoral context in which the Catholic bishops in Africa must address the issue of polygamy, the SECAM commission says in the report.The question of women’s dignityA central theme in the report is the dignity of women within both cultural and ecclesial contexts.Pastoral responses to polygamy must explicitly seek “to enhance the dignity of women,” the report says. The report acknowledges that women sometimes choose polygamous arrangements for practical or cultural reasons — however, it raises theological questions about whether such choices correspond to God’s plan for human relationships.From a biblical perspective, polygamy “does not promote the development of women as intended by God,” according to the report. Therefore, pastoral strategies that help Christian communities reflect critically on cultural assumptions about gender roles and marriage are important.Economic vulnerability and the practice of polygamyThe report also links polygamy to economic vulnerability, particularly among widows.One example the SECAM commission members highlight is the traditional practice of levirate marriage, in which a widow marries a relative of her deceased husband in order to secure protection and support for herself and her children.While acknowledging the social security function of this practice, the report questions whether it can also lead to forms of exploitation and whether such arrangements risk reducing women to objects of exchange within family structures.For this reason, the commission members highlight the importance of pastoral care directed specifically toward widows. Ensuring their “material and moral security” can help prevent situations in which women feel compelled to enter polygamous relationships for survival, the report states.Hidden or ‘veiled’ forms of polygamyAnother issue raised in the report is what the SECAM commission members call “veiled polygamy.”This term refers to situations in which individuals maintain multiple sexual relationships outside formal marriage, resulting in families in which children are born to parents who are not married to one another.Although such situations do not present the same doctrinal challenges as formal polygamy, the commission members say they consider this harmful both to society and to the Church.One difficulty, they note, is that social stigma often falls disproportionately on women raising children outside marriage. The absence of fathers also raises concerns about the well-being of children.In response, the report calls for stronger pastoral formation within Christian communities so that believers can accompany families facing these realities with maturity and responsibility. Members of the SECAM in 2025 | Credit: ACI Africa Preparing couples for Christian marriageThe commission members in the report repeatedly emphasize that prevention is as important as pastoral accompaniment.Many cases of polygamy among baptized Christians arise from cultural expectations about fertility. In many African contexts, the inability to bear children can place intense pressure on a marriage, the report notes.Therefore, the report calls for rigorous marriage preparation programs that help couples understand the Christian meaning of marriage. While the desire for children is recognized as a legitimate cultural value, the reports stresses that biological fertility is not essential to the sacramental reality of marriage.Christian marriage, the SECAM commission members state, must be understood primarily as a covenant of love and fidelity rather than simply a means of producing offspring.A broader question of inculturationThroughout the report, commission members frame the issue of polygamy as part of a broader challenge of inculturation — the process of expressing Christian faith within diverse cultural contexts.They acknowledge that the Church’s engagement with African cultures has evolved significantly since the missionary era.While earlier pastoral approaches often treated polygamy primarily as a moral problem to be eliminated, today the Church must combine fidelity to the Gospel with attentive listening to cultural realities.In their concluding reflections, SECAM commission members call for continued dialogue among Catholic bishops in Africa, theologians, and pastoral workers to evaluate existing pastoral models and, where necessary, “propose other paths, with the aim of offering to all the possibility of an encounter with Christ and his Gospel.”In this way, the issue of polygamy is not simply a disciplinary question but part of the broader task of shaping an authentically African expression of Christian family life.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
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Bishops’ commission considers social, cultural, and pastoral factors behind polygamy in Africa #Catholic NAIROBI, Kenya — In addition to theological reflections on marriage and the sacraments, the final report addressing the pastoral challenge of polygamy in Africa, which members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) issued on March 24, draws attention to a wide range of social, cultural, and pastoral realities shaping the practice across the continent.While reaffirming the Christian ideal of monogamous marriage, the 25-page report compiled by the SECAM commission — made up of selected theologians and professionals from relevant ecclesiastical disciplines — emphasizes that understanding the persistence of polygamy requires careful analysis of social change, legal frameworks, gender relations, and pastoral strategies within African societies. SECAM president Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo. | Credit: ACI Africa The report is a direct response to the mandate that the multiyear XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops — known as the Synod on Synodality — gave Catholic bishops in Africa: “to promote theological and pastoral discernment on the issue of polygamy.”Polygamy in a changing African social landscapeIn the report, the SECAM commission members note that polygamy cannot be understood solely through the lens of traditional culture. African societies have undergone profound transformation in recent decades.“The traditional environment has crumbled,” they said, leading to a climate in which many long-standing institutions and values are increasingly questioned. This transformation has also affected the dynamics of marriage and family life. Sociological studies cited in the report identify infertility as one of the principal motivations behind contemporary polygamy, though the report emphasizes that the reasons are complex.Despite modernization and evangelization, it notes that the practice of polygamy has not disappeared. Instead, “it remains alive and well” and, in some contexts, has even regained popularity.One notable development the SECAM commission members highlight in the report is the changing role of women in African societies. They observe that women increasingly occupy key economic roles, particularly within the informal sector.Legal frameworks across AfricaIn the report, commission members also highlight the legal status of polygamy across the continent.They note that roughly 30 African countries have legal frameworks that permit polygamy — either through civil law, customary law, or religious legislation. The list includes countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Morocco, and South Africa.However, the report points out that legal recognition of polygamy does not necessarily indicate broad societal consensus. In many countries, women’s movements have increasingly challenged these laws.“More and more women are speaking out against legislation in favor of polygamy, which is considered unfair and disrespectful of gender equality,” the report says. Members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) meet at the 20th Plenary Assembly held in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 30 to Aug. 4, 2025, under the theme “Christ, Source of Hope, Reconciliation, and Peace.” | Credit: ACI Africa This tension between cultural tradition, legal frameworks, and evolving social values forms a significant part of the pastoral context in which the Catholic bishops in Africa must address the issue of polygamy, the SECAM commission says in the report.The question of women’s dignityA central theme in the report is the dignity of women within both cultural and ecclesial contexts.Pastoral responses to polygamy must explicitly seek “to enhance the dignity of women,” the report says. The report acknowledges that women sometimes choose polygamous arrangements for practical or cultural reasons — however, it raises theological questions about whether such choices correspond to God’s plan for human relationships.From a biblical perspective, polygamy “does not promote the development of women as intended by God,” according to the report. Therefore, pastoral strategies that help Christian communities reflect critically on cultural assumptions about gender roles and marriage are important.Economic vulnerability and the practice of polygamyThe report also links polygamy to economic vulnerability, particularly among widows.One example the SECAM commission members highlight is the traditional practice of levirate marriage, in which a widow marries a relative of her deceased husband in order to secure protection and support for herself and her children.While acknowledging the social security function of this practice, the report questions whether it can also lead to forms of exploitation and whether such arrangements risk reducing women to objects of exchange within family structures.For this reason, the commission members highlight the importance of pastoral care directed specifically toward widows. Ensuring their “material and moral security” can help prevent situations in which women feel compelled to enter polygamous relationships for survival, the report states.Hidden or ‘veiled’ forms of polygamyAnother issue raised in the report is what the SECAM commission members call “veiled polygamy.”This term refers to situations in which individuals maintain multiple sexual relationships outside formal marriage, resulting in families in which children are born to parents who are not married to one another.Although such situations do not present the same doctrinal challenges as formal polygamy, the commission members say they consider this harmful both to society and to the Church.One difficulty, they note, is that social stigma often falls disproportionately on women raising children outside marriage. The absence of fathers also raises concerns about the well-being of children.In response, the report calls for stronger pastoral formation within Christian communities so that believers can accompany families facing these realities with maturity and responsibility. Members of the SECAM in 2025 | Credit: ACI Africa Preparing couples for Christian marriageThe commission members in the report repeatedly emphasize that prevention is as important as pastoral accompaniment.Many cases of polygamy among baptized Christians arise from cultural expectations about fertility. In many African contexts, the inability to bear children can place intense pressure on a marriage, the report notes.Therefore, the report calls for rigorous marriage preparation programs that help couples understand the Christian meaning of marriage. While the desire for children is recognized as a legitimate cultural value, the reports stresses that biological fertility is not essential to the sacramental reality of marriage.Christian marriage, the SECAM commission members state, must be understood primarily as a covenant of love and fidelity rather than simply a means of producing offspring.A broader question of inculturationThroughout the report, commission members frame the issue of polygamy as part of a broader challenge of inculturation — the process of expressing Christian faith within diverse cultural contexts.They acknowledge that the Church’s engagement with African cultures has evolved significantly since the missionary era.While earlier pastoral approaches often treated polygamy primarily as a moral problem to be eliminated, today the Church must combine fidelity to the Gospel with attentive listening to cultural realities.In their concluding reflections, SECAM commission members call for continued dialogue among Catholic bishops in Africa, theologians, and pastoral workers to evaluate existing pastoral models and, where necessary, “propose other paths, with the aim of offering to all the possibility of an encounter with Christ and his Gospel.”In this way, the issue of polygamy is not simply a disciplinary question but part of the broader task of shaping an authentically African expression of Christian family life.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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The final report addressing the pastoral challenge of polygamy in Africa draws attention to a wide range of social, cultural, and pastoral realities shaping the practice across the continent.

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Holy See calls on UN to eradicate surrogacy ‘in all its forms’ #Catholic The Holy See has reaffirmed its position against surrogacy in a statement to the United Nations, urging the complete eradication of the practice and calling for the protection of women and children from exploitation.Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the U.N., highlighted the urgency and sensitivity of the issue, lamenting that “technology and practice have run laps around the law and ethics.”Although he acknowledged that many view surrogacy “as a compassionate solution for those wishing to be parents,” he urged the adoption of measures that respect the dignity and rights of women and children.Women choose it due to financial needCaccia lamented that because of financial need, many women agree to carry a child in their womb and subsequently hand the child over to others for money. This situation could be remedied through the development of “social protection, education, and economic opportunities,” he said.The statement asked whether the surrogacy industry could survive if poverty were eradicated. It warned that the demand for this practice “already exceeds the supply” and that many women who do not wish to participate may find themselves pressured or even coerced into doing so by family members.The text also addressed the rights of children, who are reduced to an item to be ordered “within an industrial and dehumanized logic.” The statement from the Holy See also denounced the commodification of babies and the fact that many are considered “a defective product” when they have a disability.This attitude “runs contrary to a just society in which children can grow and flourish. Children, in fact, possess rights and interests that must be respected, beginning with “a moral right to be created in an act of love,” as well as the right “to know their parents and to be cared for by them,” according to the statement.Although the Holy See acknowledged the “very real and understandable desire to have children,” it maintained that these issues cannot simply be resolved through the regulation of surrogacy. The Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the U.N. commended the decision of the Hague Conference on Private International Law not to proceed with the drafting of a convention on legal parentage in cases of surrogacy.Caccia also recalled the words of Pope Leo XIV, who affirmed that, by transforming gestation into a negotiable service, one “violates the dignity both of the child, who is reduced to a ‘product,’ and of the mother, exploiting her body and the generative process, and distorting the original relational calling of the family.”The Holy See urged that new steps be taken “toward ending this practice in all its forms and at all levels,” with the aim of protecting women and children “from exploitation and violence.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Holy See calls on UN to eradicate surrogacy ‘in all its forms’ #Catholic The Holy See has reaffirmed its position against surrogacy in a statement to the United Nations, urging the complete eradication of the practice and calling for the protection of women and children from exploitation.Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the U.N., highlighted the urgency and sensitivity of the issue, lamenting that “technology and practice have run laps around the law and ethics.”Although he acknowledged that many view surrogacy “as a compassionate solution for those wishing to be parents,” he urged the adoption of measures that respect the dignity and rights of women and children.Women choose it due to financial needCaccia lamented that because of financial need, many women agree to carry a child in their womb and subsequently hand the child over to others for money. This situation could be remedied through the development of “social protection, education, and economic opportunities,” he said.The statement asked whether the surrogacy industry could survive if poverty were eradicated. It warned that the demand for this practice “already exceeds the supply” and that many women who do not wish to participate may find themselves pressured or even coerced into doing so by family members.The text also addressed the rights of children, who are reduced to an item to be ordered “within an industrial and dehumanized logic.” The statement from the Holy See also denounced the commodification of babies and the fact that many are considered “a defective product” when they have a disability.This attitude “runs contrary to a just society in which children can grow and flourish. Children, in fact, possess rights and interests that must be respected, beginning with “a moral right to be created in an act of love,” as well as the right “to know their parents and to be cared for by them,” according to the statement.Although the Holy See acknowledged the “very real and understandable desire to have children,” it maintained that these issues cannot simply be resolved through the regulation of surrogacy. The Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the U.N. commended the decision of the Hague Conference on Private International Law not to proceed with the drafting of a convention on legal parentage in cases of surrogacy.Caccia also recalled the words of Pope Leo XIV, who affirmed that, by transforming gestation into a negotiable service, one “violates the dignity both of the child, who is reduced to a ‘product,’ and of the mother, exploiting her body and the generative process, and distorting the original relational calling of the family.”The Holy See urged that new steps be taken “toward ending this practice in all its forms and at all levels,” with the aim of protecting women and children “from exploitation and violence.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, laid out the economic reasons surrogacy exists, the harm it does, and why it is wrong.

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