News: Message of Hope in the Midst of the Hiv/Aids Pandemic

National Catholic Bishops Conference's Statement on Current Situation

The opening sentence from the Vatican II document the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World says: "The joys and hopes, the grief and anxieties of the people of this age, especially the poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, grief and anxieties of the followers of Christ. "The present economic and political situation, not only of Namibia, but the entire world, impels us to speak out as the National Catholic Bishops Conference. Our people, especially the poor, are in the midst of a deep and painful economic crisis. The causes are complex and many, and it is not our purpose here to offer an economic analysis: some of the factors are indeed, beyond our control; for example the price of petroleum products; others, if we are honest perhaps indicate a certain malaise in our own economy. In any event, the price of basic commodities, food and water, and now compounded by a looming crisis in energy, electricity, etc., are impacting negatively on our people. What is worse, it would seem that things will only get worse, at least in the short term. We as Christians cannot be insensitive to the pain of our people. We urge the government to do all that is humanly possible to alleviate the plight of the most vulnerable of our citizens. The private sector too, indeed, all of us, need to look into our hearts and minds for ways and means to make sure that all our people may receive their fair share of the basics for life, and living it to the full. (John 10:10)

However, honesty impels us to state that the present crisis is not entirely due to the world situation. We need to examine our own conscience. Government alone cannot solve the present and all encompassing crisis. We are told that our national productivity is low; there is a need to review our personal and societal work ethic. It is not enough, though laudable, to endeavour to share the economic pie more justly; we must also grow the economy in order to have more to share. This is true poverty reduction. Each of us must examine our attitude toward work and contribute positively to enhancing the productivity of the nation for the good of all.

There is another issue that urgently demands our attention. Happily, other Church leaders have addressed this issue in the recent past. We add our voice to theirs. True democracy invites, indeed demands, a level of political tolerance, transparency and openness. Respect of the other is at the heart of political tolerance. It should be said that spirited and robust debate between competing visions for the way forward in any society is not a sign of weakness, but of strength and democratic maturity. In fact, a monolithic political dialogue is actually a sign of weakness in a society. Respect for others who may hold views for governance, direction of the economy, etc. is at the heart of a successful society, a progressive nation. We must avoid derrogratory comments on the integrity of others in our political discourse which could prove to become an incitement to violence.

Indeed, these are challenging times. As Roman Catholic Bishops we wish to walk with our people, especially the poor and vulnerable, and share their pain. We must also state unequivocally that if we stand together we can resolve these challenges to the betterment of our people. Let us take time to pray and ask for the blessing of God as we roll up our sleeves to tackle these immense problems.

On behalf of the Namibian Catholic Bishops Conference,

Archbishop Liborius Nashenda, OMI
President 17.06.2008