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

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.”