Cardinal Ambongo sets out roadmap for polygamy text
Ambongo, the Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, noted that polygamy appeared in two forms: polygyny, the marriage of a man with several wives, and polyandry, the marriage of a woman with several husbands.
He said the practice also varied in scale, from two to three wives, to more than 10 wives, in the case of traditional chiefs.
On the other hand, in modern Africa, we are witnessing the emergence of new forms of polygamy through new forms of cohabitation involving children recognized as legitimate, he noted.
The cardinal underlined that the Catholic Church in Africa upheld monogamy. However, affirming the doctrinal elements is not enough, he said. Pastoral accompaniment for polygamists is urgently needed.
Why you would ever want more than one wife is beyond me. If you like your wife now, you won’t after you acquire another one. If you don’t, it surely is the triumph of hope over experience. Africa must hold people in the grip of extreme environmental pressures.