# 12 Communique from SAFCAM

# 12 Communique from SAFCAM                                                                        19 July 2020

Dear Subscribers

Thank you to Father Piero Gavioli (AFC) who responded to the last week’s communique - as you are all invited to do, even to ‘correct’ us, or comment on the topics, and above all to offer other useful avenues for formation. Formation not only of SDBs and members of the Salesian family, but of lay people and of young people and their families.

“For two years I have been preparing fiancés for marriage” writes Fr Piero who is a missionary in AFC for many years and presently at Bukavu. “Often I am sent those who have not yet been confirmed, or Protestants who want to become Catholics...

For the catechesis in preparation for the sacraments, I use some media available on the web:

1. www.3mc.org (it exists in French and in English): 70 catechetical lessons of 3 minutes each, which roughly follow the syllabus of the Youcat. It helps me as an introduction or synthesis.
2. www.TheoDom.org - a series of catechetical courses for the general public produced by the Dominicans. I find it very good, there are already 11 series published, accessible to all, including exercises or tests. (In French only).
3. I haven't used it yet, but www.croire-lacroix.com is worth exploring. (French only)
4. For ongoing formation in theology and philosophy, the themes offered by www.sinod.fr , produced by the Collège des Bernardins in Paris, is excellent. (French only)
5. For Pro-life issues, there are on YouTube several moving testimonies of Gianna Jessen, herself a survivor from a botched abortion.
6. For marriage preparation and Christian reflection with couples, the Family Life series from www.KTOTV.com is very good: there are over 200 documentaries of 5-6 minutes.” (Thank you P.G.)

This week’s comment:

Are we ‘woke’ (conscious enough) of the ‘radical liberal’ imperative to pressure governments to enforce their agenda on the world?

Have we noticed the five chief ‘prerogatives’ being imposed with the complicity of the media on all nations?

Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE),

Abortion on demand,

The homosexual LGBT+ agenda,

The promotion of the ‘Gender Theory’, that is the normalization of transgenderism and cancelation of the binary (2 genders) nature of humanity,

The redefinition of the family as we know it.

Religious believers who resist the efforts to implement these new ‘tenets’ are shamed into conceding that they have no right to inflict biblical or church doctrine on everybody. Bureaucrats and radical non-governmental organizations are holding conferences on how to combat Christian opposition. They recognize that the main resistance to their lobbying comes from religious believers and supporters of the traditional family. So they view religion and the traditional family as enemies, and both must either be deconstructed if not eliminated.

The WHO’s website (World Health Organization) declares as “essential” the “right” to “access to legal and safe abortion”, and whenever it refers to “sexual and reproductive health”, we need to be aware that those words are code for access to contraception and to ‘legal’, widespread, and cheap/free abortions.

In November 2019, the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) organized a “great” summit in order to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Nairobi. It was called ICPD-Cairo+25.

It was mainly a missed opportunity to strategize development and growth in the poorer countries around the world. Supporters of Nairobi summit had sponsored US$10,2 million to make the event possible:- Norway, Finland, Sweden and Ireland especially. The agenda turned out to chiefly seek promote access to “safe” abortion around Africa and the world. The UN agencies eventually did disclose at the “summit” that their real goal was not so much development, but to promote the decriminalization of abortion throughout the continent. And the main participants and organizers of the event showed that it consisted only of countries and organizations favourable to support and finance programs on ‘sexual health’ which include abortion.

Fortunately, their plan failed, due to some ‘resistance’ to their objectives. The summit did not manage to publish any officially recognised document, even between the carefully selected parties. But if you are interested, have a look at the statement of intent they did produce:

https://www.nairobisummiticpd.org/content/icpd25-commitments

There was nothing at all about development really. Everything in the statement is about ‘reproductive health’! So it is not surprising that within a week, a bill to legalize abortion was introduced to be discussed in the Kenyan parliament/senate again, and probably other parliaments around our continent! That is what we are up against, and we need to stay vigilant, because these lobby groups are the ones manipulating the legislators and influencing the youth with more resources than we could ever dream of.

The Reproductive Health Care Bill has already gone through the second reading in the Senate of Kenya. It advocates for “Legal and Accessible Safe Abortion”, adolescent-friendly “Family Planning” services, surrogacy, test-tube babies and Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for children.

Pro-abortion organizations such as IPAS are sponsoring this bill and have held numerous meetings with senators to monitor its progress. If passed, this will open the way for “back-street” abortionists and make abortion available on demand. Medical practitioners will also be expected to procure abortion even when it is against their religious beliefs or values. Failing to do so will incur a three-year jail sentence.

Surrogacy and IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) are also included as part of the bill. If it is passed as it is, Kenya will be the second African country to legalize these after South Africa. These proposals do not reflect the spirit of the Kenyan constitution and the values held by the majority of Kenyans. They ought to be put to the nation by referendum, and not stealthily passed by a few parliamentarians.

Have you noticed? Pro-lifers never get interviewed on radio or TV. Only the supporters of “Choice” (promoters of abortion ‘rights’) get the public spotlight.  Any country which does not ‘decriminalise’ abortion (and these are getting fewer each year) is treated with contempt, and gets accused of denying women the right to decide whatever they wish regarding their own body. It is considered discriminatory, forgetting that the baby in the womb is not part of the mother’s own body, but a new separate human life.

Speaking like this will attract accusation of supporting extreme-right-wing factions and will risk us getting branded as ultra-conservatives.  But as Salesians we have got to be Pro-Life, PRO-Truth, PRO-youth and their wholistic education, PRO-marriage, PRO-family, PRO-NFP, PRO-Church, PRO-Justice, PRO-Care of our environment, PRO-God,… If that means we get called names, so be it.

Let us be prepared for the battle.

God bless you all

Camiel and Francois