A cleric, Mike Ogbeh, says abusive marriages, like sex and child adoption, are hardly talked about by pastors in churches.

Mr Ogbeh, who made the call in an interview on Monday, said that some persons refused to leave abusive marriages because of fear of being stigmatised by the church they attend.

“There should be more sensitisation from the pulpit to stop the stigmatisation of people who leave violent marriages,” he stated. “It is a challenge to the church. It is just like the issue of sex. The church shies away from the issue of sex.”

The cleric urged his fellow pastors to educate their members on the need to stop stigmatising people who leave abusive marriages.

“It is not the fear of what people will say; it is more of what the church will say or what members will say that make people remain in such marriages,” he added. “People who seek divorce because of abusive marriages usually face stigma from the church, depending on the church’s denomination they attend.”

Mr Ogbeh said pastors shied away from telling couples about adoption because they were made to believe that the child must come from their womb.

Describing the recent happenings as a wake-up call for churches, the cleric advised victims of domestic abuse to speak out.

“But with one or two recent happenings, we have begun to see a great number of pastors say things along this line from the pulpit. It is being handled quietly, but I think with the recent happenings, pastors will be bolder to say some of those things publicly,’’ he explained.

However, the cleric advised would-be couples not to ignore warning signs and seek God’s direction before marriage.

(NAN)