.12. CONCLUSION

Fr Anthony E. Onyeocha

Whatever else the Church may achieve in Africa, she cannot be said to be truly planted until the Christian ideal of widowhood and mourning has taken root among the peoples, especially the uneducated masses in the village environment. Mourning is a family affair, a private affair, the widow should be left alone to organise it according to her taste and means. This in effect means that the Church should fight in order to help to definitively liberate these innocent women, “daughters of Abraham” from the shackles of this modern enslavement.

It is by no means my intention here to suggest that the Igbo discard their rich cultural practices; rather, my point is that they be prevailed upon to revisit and modify some of them, particularly those that offend the dignity of the widows. An author made this comment: Whilst these practices are traditionally considered as a form of rehabilitation, “some of them are cruel, degrading and traumatic for the victims and amount to a denial of their rights and should be dropped” (UNECA, 1984: 7). Francis Cardinal Arinze believes that: “The correct attitude is to review the Igbo culture in order to see what should be retained, what should be modified, what should be purified or elevated, and what should be rejected” (quoted in Ohale 127). This will open the way for the elimination of the cruel and unorthodox forms of the widowhood practices of the Igbo. Whatever offends human dignity is contrary to the Gospel and should be eliminated.

According to Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu, the President of Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference:, In Ghana, for example many Catholic dioceses have introduced Christian versions of the widowhood rites to replace the traditional ones. My question is: What is the Church in Nigeria doing? What are we doing in our different Church Provinces to combat these obnoxious practices imposed on our sisters and mothers? The African Synod I & II challenge us to fight for the rights of women in Africa. The widows are women. They are our mothers and sisters and girl friends. We owe it to them as a duty.

Thank you very much.

May God bless you!

May Jesus be to you a Jesus!

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