Martins Restates Catholics' Opposition to Abortion

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins, has restated the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion. In an address to the 2013 edition of the Annual Vigil in Reparation for Abortion held recently at the Lagos Archdiocesan Marian Shrine inside the grounds of St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos, Archbishop Martins declared that the right of the human person to life comes from God and it is an inalienable right.

Martins noted that only God could determine when and how to end a life, and added that no one else has the right to take over this power from God.

The archbishop also contended that abortion remains a grave moral evil. He therefore challenged parents not to shirk their duties in this regard. "I consider it a serious duty for parents and those in charge of teaching young people to communicate to them the gravity of ending a human life for any reason whatsoever and the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death through abortion".

Also speaking at the event which was jointly organised by the Knights of Saint Mulumba (KSM) Lagos Metropolitan Council and the Marriage, Family and Human Life Unit of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, the Keynote Speaker, Rev. Fr. James Olubiyi emphasised that choosing to live chastely is a sign of faith in God's word and in the teaching of the Church.

He said only chaste living can permanently reduce the rising number of abortions and foster respect for the human dignity of all men, women, children and the unborn. In his valedictory speech, Mr. Egbert Imomoh, Deputy Metropolitan Grand Knight Lagos KSM, expressed the hope "that the experience which we have gathered from the talks and prayerful experience of this vigil will strengthen us all in the fight against abortion and the use of contraception."