Rev. Valentine Koledoye, 56, was born and ordained a priest in Nigeria.
He is presently a de facto Vicar General (formal title: "Bischofsvikar")
for a part of the diocese of Basel (1 million Catholics), Switzerland.
On
24 October he told the anti-Catholic website Kath.ch that the Church in
Africa "discriminates against polygamous believers" (sic).
For
him, polygamy is part of African "culture". This phenomenon is "linked
to labour-intensive agriculture" because "in the past, it was important
to have a large family in order to cultivate one's own land without
slaves", he makes up stories.
It doesn't occur to Koledoye that
the sex ratio in Africa is 101 men to 100 women, which means that
polygamy must be a very exceptional situation that only a few rich men
can afford.
"Unlike Islam, pagan traditions in Africa do not limit the number of wives a man can 'marry'," he says.
The number of concubines depends on the man's financial means, and the first wife must (sic) consent to further concubinages.
Koledoye,
who has been living in Switzerland since 2008, says he is familiar with
polygamy in West and East African countries, where polygamy was
reportedly "still widespread" among the Catholic population until the
1960s and 1970s [over fifty years ago...], but this has changed since
the 1980s.
Today it is much less common for men to practice polygamy, which is "now considered an old-fashioned family model".
Nevertheless,
during the ex-synod, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa made a big
fuss about "polygamy", calling it a "challenge".
For Koledoye,
the fact that "the Roman Catholic Church [= Jesus Christ] does not
accept polygamy as a way of life and strictly preaches monogamy" is
"still discriminatory today".
"To this day, Catholics who live in polygamy are discriminated against by the Church," Koledoye rambles.
A
polygamous man "is not allowed to receive communion" [because he is
living in mortal sin] and "the same goes for his wives" [= concubines],
except for his legitimate wife.
Accordingly, "when they die,
their corpses may not be brought into the church for the requiem"
because, as Koledoye explains, "it is assumed [sic] that the deceased is
outside the ecclesial community".
Burial in a Catholic cemetery, however, is possible.
Koledoye
believes it is impossible for a man living in a polygamous relationship
to receive communion. But the reasons for this are merely sociological,
Koledoye believes: "Polygamy cannot be kept secret."
A
polygamist must also give up church duties and offices, and is no longer
allowed to be a catechist, president of a men's association or
sacristan.
Picture: Screenshot Bistum Basel, #newsSsitexcxpg