Archbishop Tamba Charles Speaks

The Most Rev. Dr. Monsignor Edward Tamba Charles, the Archbishop of Freetown and Bo, recently returned from a Synod meeting in the Vatican where various Catholic Bishops from all over the world convened. Representing Sierra Leone, Archbishop Charles has returned with a new spirit for the country’s future. In this interview with Tatafway Tumoe, Archbishop Tamba Charles provides insightful and taught provoking answers to matters affecting the country in particular and Africa generally.

Sierra Express (SEM):You have just returned from a Synod of Bishops of  Africa  held in the Vatican under the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, can you give a brief insight into the nature and outcome of the meeting?

Archbishop Charles (AC): I went to Rome to attend the Synod of Bishops of Africa; the Synod is a conference that the Pope convenes on a regular basis to discuss matters, and consultations on issues pertaining to the life of the Catholic Church. This 2009 Synod was convened by Pope Benedict to call for reconciliation, justice and peace in Africa and the role of the Church in the service of peace and reconciliation in Africa.

I spoke in my intervention about the multinational companies and their exploitation of Africa’s rich natural resources.

244 Bishops attended, including helpers. Two Bishops from the Methodist Church from Tanzania and Uganda were also in attendance.

SEM: Did you have a private audience with the Pope, and what did you discuss?

AC: I had an encounter with the Holy Father but it was not private, I went as a group in one of the English speaking groups. We had a brief meeting during which we were received individually and our photographs taken, during which we were advised to identify ourselves to the Pope by name and country. That was all. It was not a time to discuss anything. However in April of 2010 we shall have the opportunity of having discussions with the Pope during our Al Lumini meeting in the Vatican.

SEM: The issue of HIV/Aids, and the fight to control its spread is now a matter that cuts across religious affiliations as well as political and racial differences. How has the Catholic Church contributed in fighting the pandemic?

Archbishop Charles: As a Church in Sierra Leone, we have been engaged in the sensitization of our people and those with whom we associate about the dangers of the disease. We have explained the mood of transmission and for those who are affected and infected, we have advised them to avail themselves of the antiretroviral drugs now available in the country. Outside of Sierra Leone in different parts of the world, the Catholic Church leads the fight against the disease. There are hospices specifically set up to deal with this. The Catholic Church has been criticised for not accepting the use of condoms as a way of stopping the spread of the virus. We are aware of that and I agree with the position of the Church that the use of condoms is not the answer. The undue dependence on condoms as a way of fighting the virus is rather simplistic. The virus is transmitted by blood transmission and other means and not just sex alone and people need to know that and even the experts are aware that condom use is not 100 percent full proof. Therefore there are other ways to stop the spread of the virus. We talk about abstinence which is not propagated by these agencies that want to distribute condoms. As a church, the Catholic Church is not in support of the use of condom.

The Catholic Church is leading the fight in providing help for those dying of aids. What we do not accept, is the use of condoms, and as you know, the use of condoms is not the only option; it is only one of three options.  We do not accept the use of condoms as an effective and proper method (to fight the AIV/AIDS pandemic) because we do not believe it harmonises with the theory of human sexuality. As a matter of fact in many of my homilies, I have spoken about AIDS, the modes of transmission and how to avoid it. That we do not endorse the use of condoms does not mean the Catholic Church is not involved in the fight in stopping the disease.

There are also other diseases that also need to be given considerable attention as they are also of concern in the world and should receive maximum attention. These include malaria, tuberculoses, and typhoid to name but a few.

SEM: The activities of several Churches in Sierra Leone, and the much accepted belief that they engage in taking money from the gullible public, and engage in the underworld and other supernatural activities, has become cause for concern in the country. What is your comment on this issue?

AC: As a Church leader myself, I do not condemn any church, besides we have a freedom of religion in the country so people are free to satisfy their spiritual thirst. My concern is the exploitation, as you say of the gullible public, and the doubtful practice of some of these Churches. As Christians we believe that Jesus is the only saviour, and that any activity that goes contrary to that is undermining the concept of Christianity. It is the responsibility of government therefore to ensure that Churches that claim to be ‘Christian’ act according to the laws of the country.

SEM: As Archbishop for Sierra Leone, what has been the challenges since assuming your seat of office? 

AC: My first challenge is the rehabilitation of our institutions after the war. Many of our institutions were destroyed and we have this daunting task of repairing them, in some cases of rebuilding them completely and we do not have the resources to do it, and this is a challenge for me. I also have the challenge of personnel. I need more priests, my diocese extends from Freetown to Sulima and  in some parishes there is only one priest. The other issue is finance, we use to get a lot of external support but this has been stopped due to donor fatigue and funds are now running dry.

SEM: Is there any chance for the Pope to visit Sierra Leone, considering the fact that the country has a significant Catholic population, being the largest Christian denomination in the country?

AC: There is a chance and we are going to make the formal invitation to the Holy Father when we travel to Rome for the Al Limina in the Vatican, In 1993, it was planned for John Paul II to visit Sierra Leone and Liberia. He came as far as Guinea Conakry the Gambia and Ivory Coast but never came here because of the war. We are going to make that as a case, we are going to appeal that now that the war has ended, we might be considered The only countries in Africa that have not received a papal visit are Sierra Leone and Liberia. We will be going on our Al Limina to Rome where we will have a private audience with the Pope and we will discuss matters concerning the Church in Sierra Leone. This meeting is slated for April of next year in the Vatican and we hope to make our case known to the Pope.

SEM: What is the relationship between the government and the Catholic Church in Sierra Leone?

AC: The relationship with the government is cordial. We are not a political party and we do not identify ourselves with any party. We collaborate with government in the areas of health, education social services and we have been doing that since the 1880s when the Church started in Freetown and later spread in the provinces. However there are areas of concern which cannot be overlooked.  We have realised that we are losing control of our schools. We made a representation to the Ministry of Education and we expressed concern but nothing has been done in the matter. We believe if we have no control over our schools we will not be able to control discipline and maintain standards, as shown in the past dismal results in schools. This is a matter of concern and we want to discuss it with the authorities at the opportune time.

SEM: What are the constraints the Church is facing in the country in your drive to propagate your doctrines and beliefs?

AC: Earlier in the interview I mentioned the challenges of the lack of personnel and the lack of resources, especially, money. In my estimation these are the two main constraints, in that we do not have enough personnel to cover from here to Sulima and we do not have the funding to do what we will want to do, If we had funding, for example, we do not have libraries as most were destroyed in the war. We would have loved to replace them but we do not have the resources. The problem of disseminating our ideas is the problem of illiteracy. This makes it difficult to even explain the basic Christian doctrines to the people. There is also a problem of poverty. Many of our church members are very poor, and even those employed earn very little. The cost of living is so high for many of our people, such that many cannot afford a major meal a day and this is a major concern to me and it is a challenge. 

SEM: What is the relationship between the Catholic Church and other religious denominations in Sierra Leone?

AC: Again, our country Sierra Leone is renowned for religious tolerance and as a Church we are committed to that. We relate well to all the churches and we are committed to promote religious tolerance. As a matter of fact we do have organisations in the country that bring together religious bodies of different kinds. Example is the Inter Religious Council of Sierra Leone, which was very influential during the war in bringing the various factions together for peace. We have revived it, and I have appointed Father Vincent Davies to deputise me in representing the Church.

We also relate well with other Christian denominations on a Church to Church basis, and in relation to the Christian Council of Sierra Leone. So the relationship is cordial and we look forward to greater collaboration especially related to matters of  peace and reconciliation and development.

SEM: What is your last word?

AC: For my last word I will like to refer to the theme of the last synod for Africa that is; Reconciliation Justice and Peace. It is a very relevant theme because our continent is expressing various conflicts of different kinds and we in Sierra Leone are just out of a war. Seven years ago the guns were blazing, and the wounds are still evident as seen by the amputees and the burnt out houses seen all over the country, so a theme like this is very relevant. As Sierra Leoneans we should do everything possible to avoid a recurrence of the same war, This means giving each person his or her due, we should listen to each other and where there is conflict we should resolve to solve it to make sure it does not recur. We should be peace makers not peace lovers. To use the now popular word we should use a change of attitude or attitudinal change.

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