Synod 2024: Church faces challenges in its approach toward polygamy

(OSV News) -- The ongoing synodal conversations leading up to the Synod on Synodality has engaged church leaders in Africa on various issues, including the Catholic Church's approach toward Christians living in polygamous situations.

The "instrumentum laboris" for the monthlong second assembly of the synod in October, published July 9, said that "following the request" of the first session, on April 25 the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, known as SECAM, "announced the establishment of a special Commission to discern the theological and pastoral implications of polygamy for the Church in Africa."

A 2022 synodal document in a section titled, "Listening to Those who Feel Neglected and Excluded," pointed out that "among those who ask for a more meaningful dialogue and a more welcoming space we also find those who, for various reasons, feel a tension between belonging to the Church and their own loving relationships, such as: remarried divorcees, single parents, people living in a polygamous marriage, LGBTQ people, etc."

"Reports show how this demand for welcome challenges many local Churches: 'People ask that the Church be a refuge for the wounded and broken, not an institution for the perfect. They want the Church to meet people wherever they are, to walk with them rather than judge them, and to build real relationships through caring and authenticity, not a purpose of superiority," the document stated.

In another section, the text explained: "Many summaries also give voice to the pain of not being able to access the Sacraments experienced by remarried divorcees and those who have entered into polygamous marriages. There is no unanimity on how to deal with these situations."

For the Catholic Church, the subject of polygamy is far from new. While there are plenty of Old Testament stories on those who practiced polygamy, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the observance of the practice by biblical patriarchs and kings was "developed under the pedagogy of the old law" and that while polygamy was not explicitly rejected, the law handed to Moses aimed at "protecting the wife from arbitrary domination by the husband."

The church's "non placet" ("not acceptable") on polygamy is also inspired by Jesus' words -- who in turn cites the Book of Genesis -- in response to the Pharisees' question regarding the matter of divorce: "For this reason a man shall leave (his) father and (his) mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."

The church, however, acknowledges "the predicament of a man who, desiring to convert to the Gospel, is obliged to repudiate one or more wives with whom he has shared years of conjugal life, is understandable."

The catechism also states that a Christian "who has previously lived in polygamy has a grave duty in justice to honor the obligations contracted in regard to his former wives and his children."

Nevertheless, the catechism affirms that polygamy "is not in accord with the moral law" and "negates the plan of God" because it is "contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who in matrimony give themselves with a love that is total and therefore unique and exclusive."

Even St. Thomas Aquinas, in the supplemental section of his "Summa Theologica," weighed in on the issue of polygamy, arguing that while it was "not contrary to the natural law to have several wives," the practice negates the sacramental aspect of marriage "because as Christ is one, so also is the church one."

"It is therefore evident from what has been said that plurality of wives is in a way against the law of nature, and in a way not against it," St. Thomas wrote.

In his apostolic exhortation "Familiaris Consortio" on the role of the Christian family in the modern world, St. John Paul II said polygamy contradicts the communion established by man and woman, who in marriage "are no longer two but one flesh."

Polygamy, he wrote, "directly negates the plan of God which was revealed from the beginning, because it is contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who in matrimony give themselves with a love that is total and therefore unique and exclusive."

Yet, for those belonging to cultures, particularly in Africa, who adhere to the traditional practice of polygamy, the requirement to unite with only one woman -- and in the case of converts to end relationships with other spouse(s) -- can be a tough pill to swallow.

During a recent webinar, Justine Gimingakpo from South Sudan shared his experience. Despite having two wives and 12 children, he and his family remain active members of the Catholic Church.

"My two wives are all Catholics. One is in the charismatic renewal movement. The other one is in the Sacred Heart group. They do most of the services in the church," he said.

"My elder son is the head of the Catholic band. My young girl is the head of St Monica. St. Monica is a group of young girls who dance in the church. Others are the altar servants in the church," he explained.

As an ex-seminarian, he founded an association for fellow ex-seminarians and ex-aspirants, overseeing various church projects. He said his trustworthiness earned him assignments from Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of the Tombura-Yambio Diocese.

"It simply means that though I am a polygamous man, I'm still very important and vital to the church," Gimingakpo said.

"Let me say this: polygamy is the foundation of faith in the church in Africa," he declared, linking Christianity to the fundamentals of African culture.

"Belief is religion, religion is culture, and our culture is polygamy," Gimingakpo explained. "We, as Africans, believe that polygamy is pride. Polygamy is a moral value; it is a way of moral life. Polygamy is a blessing. Polygamy is wealth. Polygamy is our strength. And we are happy in our marriage."

He recalled that when the early missionaries came to his community in South Sudan, they relied on his polygamous grandfather for guidance and help.

"My grandfather had seven wives and 45 children and when the missionaries came to our diocese in 1912, my grandfather was the one who helped them to establish the church in our diocese. He was trained as a catechist and then he was teaching catechism in the
church with all his seven wives and 45 children. One of his children eventually became a priest. … It simply means polygamy is part of our culture, it's part of our value system."

He also argued that if the Catholic Church fails to recognize polygamy as a valid form of marriage, then there is the risk that the entire continent could be "Islamized, because Muslims promote polygamy."

According to a 2020 Pew Report study, 2% of the world's population, or some 153 million people, lived in polygamous households in 2019. The figures are much higher in Sub Saharan Africa, especially West and Central Africa.

In Burkina Faso, more than 1 in 3 people live in a polygamous household, including 24% of Christians. In Chad, 21% of Christians live in a polygamous home, in Mali, 14%.

The Pew Report study said there are six African nations in which at least 10% of Christians live in a polygamous household and another six in which at least 5% of Christians live in a polygamous household.

By comparison, the study said, a rather high percentage of Muslims tend to live in polygamous situations than Christians in sub-Saharan Africa and West and Central Africa, 25% of Muslims are more likely to live in polygamous relationships compared to just 3% of Christians.

However, the Pew Report study also noted that polygamy is "banned throughout much of the world, and the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which has said that 'polygamy violates the dignity of women,' called for it to 'be definitely abolished wherever it continues to exist.'"

That sentiment is not only one of the Catholic Church's main concerns, but also by African researchers who have studied the cultural aspects of the practice.

In his 2013 paper, "Critical reflections on polygamy in the African Christian context," African theologian Elijah M. Baloyi noted that for its adherents, polygamy is held in high regard in African culture for several reasons, including the belief that "the more wives a man has, the more children he is likely to have, and the more children, the greater the chances that the family will enjoy immortality."

Other reasons that some cultures in Africa use to justify the practice range from it serving as a "remedy for the problem of infertility" to the "fulfillment of the desire for a male heir."

However, Baloyi, citing the works of several African scholars, argued that a critical evaluation of polygamy revealed "that not only does it encourage the treatment of women as inferior beings, but it also foments rivalry between wives and forces many women to share already scarce resources with co-wives and their children."

He also stated that "it is very difficult to defend polygamy in modern times" and that "the modern African woman is assertive of her marital rights and her right to equality and dignity, and is no longer prepared to live out her life in perpetual sexual slavery in a patriarchal system in which polygamy is used as an oppressive practice."

The Christian Church, Baloyi wrote, "needs to take a decisive stand with regard to polygamists who want to join the church. Faith is the responsibility of an individual, but church is the responsibility of people, and faith manifests itself in the church."