Catholic Archbishop in Sierra Leone Urges Realistic Sex Education Programs at Marriage to Curb “contraceptive culture”

Freetown, 29 June, 2025 / 8:11 PM

Archbishop Edward Tamba Charles of the Catholic Archdiocese of Freetown in Sierra Leone  has called for faith-based, realistic sex education programs targeting couples preparing for marriage.

Speaking at the 7th edition of the Strengthening Families Conference that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the West Africa Area organized, Archbishop Tamba lamented that the reported growing acceptance of “contraceptive culture” is eroding the moral foundation of family life.

The Sierra Leonean Catholic Archbishop decried the spread of contraceptive ideologies that, he said, separate sex from its procreative purpose and trivialize its sacred role within marriage, thus undermining moral values.

“These values are being undermined by the contraceptive culture that is being promoted in our land,” Archbishop Tamba said on the first day of the June 26-27 conference held at Bintumani Conference centre, Freetown.

He said that strong families must be founded on stable marriages rooted in moral and spiritual values that exclude the use of artificial family planning methods, including contraceptives.

To restore moral and spiritual values in marriages, the Catholic Archbishop urged religious institutions to “introduce realistic sex education programs at the marriage level and in their schools and organizations that highlight and emphasize the dignity of human sexuality.”

“Sex must be seen as an expression of intimate love between a married man and a married woman—that is, husband and wife—and open to creation,” Archbishop Tamba said at the two-day conference organized under the theme, “Building stronger families through women empowerment and child protection.”

He raised concerns over foreign gender ideologies and lifestyles, including lesbianism, homosexuality, and same-sex relations, which he said threaten the traditional family structure.

“These things must be highlighted. They are contrary to our cultural, moral, and spiritual values and threaten the fabric of our families,” the Local Ordinary of Freetown said in his address on Thursday June 26.

He further criticized a recently introduced curriculum in some secondary schools in Sierra Leone, which he said, promotes comprehensive sex education without respect for cultural and moral norms.

“Those who have studied it carefully tell us it is not intended to prepare students to be both husband and wife,” he lamented, adding that the controversial curriculum seeks “to sexualize them (students) and expose them to the modern gender ideology mentioned earlier.”

Archbishop Tamba urged religious and traditional leaders to evaluate such programs carefully and advocate for modifications that reflect African values regarding marriage and family life.

He also underscored the need for parents and guardians to lead by example, noting that family formation begins at home.

“Parenting begins first with the parents’ own example of self-reliance in their marriage commitments,” he said, adding that parents should take responsibility for teaching values such as forgiveness, responsibility, and cooperation.

The Sierra Leonean Catholic Archbishop recommended that churches develop robust marriage preparation programs that include instruction on responsible parenting, crisis management, anger control, and emotional maturity.

“These programs will help young couples understand the responsibility they assume in marriage and equip them to build lasting families,” he said.

Archbishop Tamba further urged the delegates at the conference to issue clear recommendations on protecting family life from moral threats and strengthening its foundation in faith and culture.