By Matthew Jabby, Concord Times (Freetown) – A Catholic priest at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Freetown has urged members of the public to respect the sanctity and espouse the values of life, which he said should not be taken with reckless abandon by any person.
Reverend Father Vincent Davies was speaking to Concord Times in an exclusive interview on the controversial topic of abortion. He posited that the inviolability of life must be fundamental and upheld in the world, rather than being allowed to be violated with impunity.
Father Davies alluded to the fifth Commandment, which proscribes that ‘thou shall not kill’, and that anyone who goes against God’s sacred Commandment, such as to kill, shall be liable to judgment.
He said “to kill” is not only limited to direct death, such as with the use of a knife or gun, but also death could come about by way of abortion. He maintained that only God has the power to take life and nobody has the authority to take another’s life.
Father Vincent condemned abortion of any type, stressing that”there is no safe abortion” because the act involves the destruction of life. He said many hospitals and clinics have become “slaughter houses of humans in the name of abortion”.
Abortion is illegal in Sierra Leone, but the act is performed in many hospitals with mostly teenage school girls being the primary suspects. Recently, an American funded organization, IPAS, started a campaign to decriminalize abortion in the country. It remains to be seen whether the country’s lawmakers will heed to the call, as both the predominantly Muslim population and their Christian counterparts are opposed to the practice.
