Catholic Bishops in Nigeria have frowned at the abuse of In Vitro Fertilization, IVF, treatment among couples, urging the Federal Government to regulate fertility clinics in the country.
The Catholic Bishops made the call at the opening session of the 2nd 2025 plenary of Bishops’ Conference at the Catholic Diocese of Ikot Ekpene, in Obot Akara, Akwa Ibom State, on Sunday.
In his address, the President of Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji highlighted four areas of concern to the Church which should be addressed.
He listed the areas to include erosion of education in the country, abuse of In Vitro Fertilization, IVF, treatment among couples, oil exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta as well as environmental degradation in the area.
Ugorji equally called on each diocese and religious congregation to benchmark their schools against the national minimum standards set by the Federal Government, establish their strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas for improvement.
He said, “Now that the government has issued a new national policy on non-state schools to set national minimum standards, we want to look into the erosion of educational standards taking place in miracle examination centers across the country, where examination malpractice is facilitated in the final examinations conducted by WAEC and NECO, respectively.
“These centers undermine the integrity of the education system in Nigeria and should be called to order.”
The Archbishop also called on the Nigerian government to regulate the proliferation and activities of fertility clinics in the country, saying though some of them are run by professionals, many are manned by unqualified and unlicensed practitioners, making clients who patronize them risk financial exploitation, medical complications, permanent infertility and even death.
“This situation urgently calls for government’s regulation and ethical guidelines,” he said.
Highlighting the moral implications of IVF treatment among Catholic faithful, Archbishop Ugorji regretted that even university students sell their eggs and sperms to fertility clinics as commodities for IVF procedures in the quest for money.
“It is therefore important to draw their attention to the teaching of the Church which considers IVF greatly immoral. Apart from its separation of the unitive and procreative aspect of the marital act, the Church teaches that each human being and each human embryo has an inherent dignity and a right to life and opposes any procedure that commodifies it or leads to its disposal or uses it for its verification,” he said.
On the environmental pollution and degradation in the Niger Delta region following persistent oil spillage, gas flaring and mining activities, the CBCN President called for intensive ecological education and government interventions for clean-ups and rehabilitation of impacted communities.
Earlier in his homily, the Catholic Bishop of Ikot Ekpene Diocese, Bishop Camillus Umo harped on the need for unity irrespective of different cultural backgrounds adding that with unity and love, issues of conflict and disharmony would be tackled in the country.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume, in his remarks acknowledged the role of faith leaders in moulding character and development of the society.
He called on them to continue preaching messages of peace and actively discourage extremism, hatred, and divisive tendencies among members.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio commended the Catholic Church for complementing the efforts of government especially in areas of education and health.
Akpabio, who was the chairman on the occasion, said through such collaboration, the Federal Government has widened access to education through the Student Loan Act.
In his goodwill message, the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Pastor Umo Eno urged the Church to maintain a united front for societal development even as he commended the Catholic Church for its commitment to humanitarian service beyond the scope of government.
“Catholic church can best be described as the single largest non-governmental investor in education, healthcare, and social support across the nation,” the governor noted.
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