General News
A Catholic Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Caritas Nigeria, has encouraged women to love themselves and embrace their roles as sources of life and peace in the society.
The Executive Secretary, Caritas Nigeria, Rev. Fr Uche Obodoechina, made the call at an event to mark 2024 Internation Women’s Day (IWD) and the official inauguration of the Catholic Social Teaching (CST) Certification Programme.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IWD is an occasion used to celebrate the achievements of women worldwide and to acknowledge their progress towards gender equality.
NAN also reports that the day is also used to reaffirm the commitment to furthering the empowerment of women in all spheres of life.
According to him, the programme seeks to reduce conflicts and promote unity among women, emphasising their value as precious creations of God.
The initiative according to him, aims to highlight the importance of recognising women as human beings made in the image and likeness of God.
The cleric emphasised the church’s role in the society, through promoting human rights, solidarity, and inclusivity for all individuals, regardless of gender, race, or age.
He revealed that the CST programme launched would educate and empower individuals, starting with a pilot project involving 17 participants from various institutions.
He further explained that the programme would be funded by Caritas Nigeria, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and other partners, through providing training and certification to participants, with the aim of promoting solidarity and subsidiarity for the common good of the society.
The Deputy Secretary General, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Rev. Fr Michael Banjo, emphasized the need to promote complementarity between men and women, recognising their equal dignity and natural differences.
Banjo in his message to mark 2024 Women’s Day emphasised that while equality between men and women was crucial, the natural differences between them must also be recognised.
“As Caritas Nigeria joined the world to celebrate ‘International Women’s Day’, the importance of recognising the dignity of each human person, regardless of gender is critical.”
The priest, expressed the Catholic Church’s stance against gender theory, which denied the inherent differences between men and women.
He stressed that men and women were naturally different, possessing unique qualities and skills that complement each other.
“It is worthy to note that the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria’s celebration of International Women’s Day aims to promote a deeper understanding of gender equality and complementarity, in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church,” he said.
The event is with the theme: ”Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress- Women Inclusion at Workplace in Light of the Catholic Social Teaching.”
The panelists, Dr John Okoh and Amaka Onyema all advocated a level playing grounds for women in work place.
They also recommended that cases of decriminalisation against women in work place should be handle with all seriousness, adding that when offenders were punished, that would serve as deterrent to other similar offenders. (NAN)
9th March, 2024.
C.E
Tags: Caritas Nigeria
