Many ways to survive: Priest

By BERRY DINGHAN
PROSTITUTION cannot be justified as a means to make ends meet or to put food on the table as there are many other ways to survive, says Fr Ambrose Pereira.
He said the Catholic Church was strongly against prostitution.
“It is about what more will I be able to get? I need good meals, I need to dine in places that are exotic, I need clothes, I need gadgets, I need money to spend, I need to get food to eat and these are lustful minds leading people to prostitution,” Fr Ambrose said.
“PNG is very fertile, has water, food and shelter. We have markets and we have opportunities if we realise it.
“Making ends meet was everyone’s business as a family,” he said.
“They all need to work cooperatively together to put food on the table and meet other needs.”
Fr Ambrose said the government and police needed to work together to address prostitution.
“If prostitution is illegal then it is a criminal offence, if it is a social issue then the government has to step in.
“PNG cannot develop unless it effectively addresses its social issues to ensure there is safety for all people to walk freely and peacefully.’’
Fr Ambrose said the sixth commandment stood against prostitution as God had made males and females to be together in the sacrament of marriage.
“Anything else outside the sacrament is actually the negative view of what this possibility should be,’’ he said.
“In prostitution there is no companionship because it is only about body satisfaction and pleasure for a selfish personal gain.
“That aspects of marriage is destroyed in acts. Prostitution, adultery, extramarital affairs, premarital sex, which is a sin and against the court of law.”
Fr Ambrose said: “The Holy Father has stated that prostitution is in a way torturing women, lowering their dignity, bringing about a lot of inferior complex in women as you will see rejection, pain, sadness and abuse as there is no joy and happiness.
“It is only a performance and sadly we have lowered a scared act of communicating love, joy, happiness and peace into a dehumanising act of violence and abuse.
“We need to respect person as a person and not use them as objects for our on pleasure, manipulate their own emotions to our advantage.
“So the need for respect and dignity for every person is essential.”
The priest said there was a need for an organisational approach on the subject.
“We refer to PNG as a Christian country and yet we engage in practices that are not Christian, therefore opportunity for education and job needs to be increased in the country to provide opportunities to those causing social problems to live responsibly in communities.”