Christmas and New Year wishes from SECAM Secretariat!
We also wish all of you and your family members a joyful and spirit-filled Christmas and New Year, 2023.
Vœux de Noël et de Nouvel An de la part du SCEAM !
Nous vous souhaitons personnellement et également, à votre famille un Joyeux Noël et une Bonne Année 2023 remplie de joie et de bonheur.
Soyez assurés de nos prières pendant la saison et toujours.
Desejos de Feliz Natal e Próspero Ano Novo da parte do Secretariado do SCEAM.
Festas felizes também aos vossos colaboradores e familiares.
Estejais certos das nossas orações.
Rev. Fr. Rafael Simbine Junior
Secretary General of SECAM
Secrétaire Général du SCEAM.
Secretário-Geral do SCEAM.
The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) is overjoyed about the recent visit of Pope Francis to three African Countries, where he was enthusiastically welcomed by massive crowds that sometimes waited patiently, stretching into the distance from the early hours, especially, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The Holy Father himself said he was in Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius from September 4-10 2019, as a pilgrim of peace and hope, while drawing the attention of the people of the three countries (and indeed the whole of Africa) to Christ as the hope of the world, and his Gospel as “the most powerful leaven of brotherhood, freedom, justice and peace for all peoples” (General Audience a day after the visit, September 11 2019).
In Mozambique, a country that suffered so much in the past because of a protracted armed conflict, and was recently hit by two devastating cyclones killing many people, Pope Francis said, he went to “sow seeds of hope, peace and reconciliation”. This is a profound and consoling statement not just for Mozambique but other African countries in similar circumstances. And for a country preparing for elections, the Holy Father’s call for peace and reconciliation in Mozambique is timely and urgent, as expressed by Rt. Rev. Sithembele Sipuka, Bishop of Mthatha, South Africa, and 1st Vice President of SECAM.
To overcome conflict, the Holy Father encouraged the authorities of Mozambique to tow the path of peace, “urging them to work together for the common good”, while thanking all those who worked very hard in the peace process in country, which was signed on 1st August 2019. He similarly exhorted the young people, who gathered from different religious backgrounds to welcome him to contribute to the building of the country and the traditions of the elderly, to overcome pessimism and anxiety, and spread social friendship. In a related development, Pope Francis lauded the joy and enthusiasm of the Malagasy youth, reminding them (and all other young people in Africa) of God’s love for each of them and how precious everyone is to him. He encouraged them to look for, and strive after the good in them and in other people; to always avoid the temptations that can draw them and other people around them away from Jesus.
In Madagascar, a country rich in beauty and natural resources and animated by the traditional spirit of solidarity but marked by much poverty, Pope Francis urged the people to “overcome adversity and build a culture of development by combining respect for the environment and social justice”. Bishop Sithembele Sipuka was “glad that the Pope visited Madagascar”, which he said “is an isolated and a struggling country. It was good for the Holy Father to give his paternal attention to Madagascar. It is a lesson for us in Africa to be informed about the needful situation of neighbouring countries in Africa and to support each other”. All this invites us to step up efforts towards solidarity, which is primarly about valuing our fellow human beings and respecting who they are as individuals (Sollicitudo rei socialis, 1987).
In Mauritius, Pope Francis visited a “place of integration between different ethnic groups and cultures”. The Holy Father noted a strong inter-religious dialogue and friendship between the various faith communities, when he found a beautiful bouquet for him in the Bishop’s house sent by the Great Imam as a sign of brotherhood. Here the Pope described the Beatitudes as the identity card of Christ’s disciples, and an antidote to the temptation to selfish and discriminatory well-being. “It is also the leaven of true happiness, imbued with mercy, justice and peace”. In his meeting with the leaders of the country, the Holy Father appreciated their commitment to harmonize differences as a common enterprise and encouraged them to continue in their efforts to welcome people, and maintain and develop their democratic life. Another lesson for the entire Africa.
At the end of his visit (the second to sub-Saharan Africa), Pope Francis urged those present at the General Audience on 11th September 2019 to thank God and ask Him that the seeds sown in the apostolic journey may bring abundant fruit for the peoples of Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius (and we make bold to add, the entire Africa).
We on our part in Africa and its Islands continue to thank God for the success of the apostolic visit and entrust it to the maternal solicitude of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary so that it may bear enduring fruits for the continent. Amen
Pope Francis on 1st September 2019 released 13 names of prelates to be created Cardinals on 5th October 2019. Among them are 10 who will be eligible to vote in a future conclave and three others who are above the age of 80, and thus ineligible to vote in a conclave, but who, according to Pope Francis have distinguished themselves in service to the Church.
Two African Bishops among those to be made cardinals are Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, o.f.m. cap, of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Archbishop Cristóbal López Romero, sdb, of Rabat in Morocco.
The 1st Vice President of SECAM and Bishop of Mthatha in South Africa, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, has indicated following the nominations that, raising the Bishops to the rank of Cardinals, Pope Francis is creating an opportunity for them to be more visible and “a platform for them to be heard, and thus to be able to influence the direction of policies at higher levels of government”. He is thus optimistic that, the named Cardinals will play an important role in their countries which require the presence and participation of the Church at a higher level.
Others to be created Cardinals are: Bishop Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, mccj, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Archbishop José Tolentino Medonça, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo – Archbishop of Jakarta, Archbishop Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez – Archbishop de San Cristóbal of Habana, Archbishop Jean-Claude Höllerich, sj – Archbishop of Luxembourg, Bishop Alvaro L. Ramazzini Imeri – Bishop of Huehuetenamgo, Archbishop Matteo Zuppi – Archbishop of Bologna, Father Michael Czerny, sj – Undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald – Former Apostolic Nuncio of Egypt, Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevičius, sj – Archbishop Emeritus of Kaunas, Bishop Eugenio Dal Corso, psdp – Bishop Emeritus of Benguela.
It’s All about Helping Women Survive and Succeed: Nuns in Kenya-based Media Testify
Global Sisters Report (GSR) || By the Life Panelists || 30 July 2018
Christine Nasimiyu Masivo is a Missionary Sister of the Precious Blood. After formation studies in Tanzania and Canada, she worked at radio stations in Kenya and Uganda as a reporter, editor, news director, producer and news anchor. She is now with Capuchin TV and pursuing graduate studies in communication.
Many women in the slums of Kawangware in Nairobi, Kenya, are especially vulnerable because of their terrible life situations. Poverty and violence are the most common issues.
These women are single mothers or the wives of drunkards or husbands who do not care about their families. Some of the men were violently abusive toward them or drank so much they could not provide for their families.
The women who care about their children’s education struggle to keep them in school. This has led some of them to become involved in unhealthy practices that are very risky to their health, such as drugs and prostitution, for the sake of keeping their children in school.
Sometimes, the women seem not to know what to do because of the immense rate of poverty and the high cost of living in the country.
The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood live in this area and have been of great help and support to these women. For example, Sr. Anne Grace leads a team that tries to bring the women together to help them help themselves and live a decent life.
The concept of microfinance was introduced to these women, and they adopted it gratefully. They give 50 Kenyan shillings monthly to the group pot to become a member, then they are allowed to take out small loans that enable them to start small businesses.
A number of them have been faithful to this project and have started small businesses for selling fruit and vegetables. Now, they can provide food for the family and school supplies for their kids. We sisters provide the children with school fees and other educational expenses, which are very hard for them to meet. The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood in Kenya took this initiative because we thought helping the women was key to solving many problems.
Because of the abuse they suffered from their husbands, the women would end up neglecting their children, who would run away to the streets of Nairobi and eventually become victims of drug abuse and prostitution. By helping the women, we prevent a variety of social problems.
Adelaide Ndilu is a member of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Kenya. After careers as teacher, administrator and secretary, she studied mass communication. She now produces stories on church and justice topics for Radio Waumini, a Nairobi Catholic radio station.
Sometimes, I see desperation on people’s faces. In Kenya today, the talk all over the media is about the importation of sugar contaminated with mercury and copper, very harmful to humans. In early June, it was the corruption of the mighty and powerful in government, who took billions of Kenya shillings, leading to more poverty.
In such scenarios, women suffer most. According to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey of 2005-2006, poverty among women is higher in both rural (50 percent) and urban (46 percent) areas.
That is why the mention of Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters Celine and Marcel makes the women of Jasho D Block in the outskirts of Eldoret, Kenya, chuckle, nod and affirm, “hawa ni masister wetu” (“these are our sisters”) because the sisters came to their assistance in their time of need.
The women once led happy and contented lives as employees of the East African Tanning Extract Company in Eldoret until its closure in 2003. At once, their hopes were dashed, and they could do nothing but sit in small groups along the dusty road, waiting to be employed as casual workers for a day’s wage. Yet not even that was assured.
This is how Sisters Celine and Marcel found them: As the sisters walked from one homestead to another, the women all had one cry — no food, no school fees, alcoholic husbands, teenage pregnancies leading to early marriages and school dropouts, and a whole litany of suffering.
The sisters did not promise the women that bread would fall like manna from heaven. No! They promised them hard work and enrolled six of them in a six-month training course in knitting, tailoring, making baskets, and the like. The six returned and started training the others.
The sisters organized seminars for the women on hygiene and the importance of educating their children, which had never been a priority. The women now have a garden where they plant vegetables, and thanks to microfinancing, now they can boast of owning bank accounts.
The sisters also approached the county community and government leaders about getting the children back to school. The children, previously infected by jiggers because of unhygienic conditions, are now healed and able to go to school.
This is an example of how our congregation responds to women’s needs — through our own women like Sisters Celine and Marcel!
Source: Global Sisters Report…
Don’t Constitute Obstacles to Priests, Nigerian Archbishop Appeals to Laity at Ordination
CANAA || By Father Kuha Indyer, CSSp., Nigeria || 30 July 2018
Archbishop Valerian Okeke of Onitsha Archdiocese has called on the Catholic faithful not to constitute obstacles to priests but to help them be good priests by offering them pieces of advice when in need, praying for them and offering them material support.
The Archbishop made the appeal during the ordination of nine Spiritans and two Conceptionists on Saturday, July 28, 2018 at SS Peter and Paul parish, Aliade, Benue State, Nigeria. The Archbishop also ordained eight deacons, all Spiritans belonging to Province of Nigeria North-East.
In his sermon, Archbishop Okeke reminded the newly ordained of their status in the church – they are special friends of Jesus, people of the inner circle who are called to sacrifice their lives in the footsteps of Christ for the salvation of souls.
According to the Archbishop, friends have something in common, they share common interests. Therefore, as priests, they are configured in the person of Christ, as St Paul would say, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, thus the new priests were to consider themselves as dead to themselves but alive in Christ and should therefore act as Christ would in any situation.
“To be priests after the heart of Christ, you must imitate Christ who was chaste, poor and obedient, the Archbishop advised those he ordained, adding in reference to Jesus Christ, “Visit him in the Blessed Sacrament, read the scriptures as St Jerome says to be ignorant of the scriptures is to be ignorant of Christ, pray the office, engage in spiritual reading and be men of prayer.”
Using the image of an adapter that brings current to electrical appliances when connected to the source of power, Archbishop Okeke said unless the newly ordained are connected to Christ in prayer, they cannot be effective ministers.
Bishop Cautions Pastoral Agents against “temptation of materialism” and Corruption at Launch of SECAM Golden Jubilee
CANAA || By Father Don Bosco Onyalla, Nairobi || 30 July 2018
“As we launch the golden jubilee year of SECAM, there are a lot of troubling situations and conditions of need that characterise the continent of Africa, one of which is the temptation of materialism,” the second Vice President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha (South Africa) said Sunday, July 29 at the launch of SECAM Golden Jubilee in Uganda.
“Sadly, this crude materialism,” Bishop Sipuka cautioned during his homily, “is even manifesting itself among the pastoral agents, those at the forefront of missionary work.”
On Sunday, July 29, Bishops representing various regional and national conferences and other Church institutions in Africa graced the launching of SECAM Golden Jubilee at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lubaga in Kampala, Uganda, during a solemen Eucharistic celebration attended by a congregation of over two thousand including priests, religious men and women and lay faithful.
Bishop Sipuka expressed concerns about the seeming loss of traditional African values such as love, sacrifice, and service.
“The values of being a community of love, self-sacrifice, finding joy in serving others and having God as enough for us are gradually being replaced by individualism, self-seeking, love of money, power and comfort,” the South African Bishop lamented.
Africa that was described as the “spiritual lung of humanity” by Pope Benedict XVI because of having growing communities of witnesses of strong faith seems to be drifting away from this characteristic and “gradually becoming an infected lung,” Bishop Sipuka observed.
“The source of our joy is gradually shifting from the Gospel, the SECAM second Vice President said and explained, “Perhaps, that is why the hunger for corruption and power, with the consequent physical hunger and poverty for most of the people, have become a major characteristic of Africa.”
Bishop Sipuka based his homily on readings of the day, with the first reading (2 Kings 4:42-44) and the Gospel reading (John 6:1-15) presenting situations “of need to people who feel hopeless and even pessimistic about their ability to do something about their situation.”
The Church leader encouraged Church members in Africa including pastoral agents to take the example of the small boy who sacrificed his five barley loaves and two fish, ingredients for the miracle of feeding of a multitude.
“The lesson here is that the smallest cooperation with Jesus and willingness to give the very little one has, be it money, time, a smile, attention or a hug, can produce a miracle, even in our time,” Bishop Sipuka said.
Below is the full text of Bishop Sipuka’s homily at the launch of SECAM Golden Jubilee Celebrations
LAUNCH OF THE SECAM GOLDEN JUBILEE YEAR
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lubaga, Kampala: Sunday 29th July 2018
Bishop S. Sipuka: 2nd Vice President
Bishop of Mthatha (South Africa)
“There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all as much as was wanted.” (Jn 6:9-10)
Today’s first reading and the Gospel present a situation of need to people who feel hopeless and even pessimistic about their ability to do something about their situation. In the first reading, the prophet Elisha says to his servant “give the twenty barley loaves and fresh grain to the people to eat” But his servant replied, ‘How can I serve this to a hundred men?’
In the Gospel, Jesus and his disciples are faced with a similar situation of a very large and hungry crowd of people in a deserted place, and with totally insufficient means to provide food for them, both in terms of money and the actual food they had. And so, one can understand Philip’s surprise, if not also a slight annoyance, when Jesus asked where they could buy food to feed the people. Philip points out what he thought was obvious to any thinking person, that ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each,” don’t you understand that? Not fully convinced of it himself, Andrew mentions a possible solution, that “there is a small boy present here with five barley loaves and two fish”, but adds with a sense of pessimism “What is that between so many?’”
The servant of Elisha, Philip and Andrew have all given up and feel there is nothing that can be done about this situation of need. Twenty loaves of bread are nothing to feed a hundred men, two hundred denarii can only get a crumb for the multitude of people, and five barley of loaves is as good as nothing for the big numbers of people. In fact, in Matthew’s version of this scene, the disciples, looking the limited means they had, ask Jesus to let the people go to fend for themselves, “Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food”, (Mt 14:15). There is nothing we can do.
But what does Jesus do? He takes the five loaves from the boy, gives thanks over them and lets the disciples distribute them to the people. The result is well known, over 5000 men, not counting women and children were fed, and there were twelve baskets of left overs. One generous person became the solution for this problem. One person’s generosity gave Jesus the opening he needed to rescue the situation.
The lesson here is that the smallest cooperation with Jesus and willingness to give the very little one has, be it money, time, a smile, attention or a hug, can produce a miracle, even in our time.
We face daunting challenges in Africa which can be overwhelming. But today, as we launch the SECAM Golden Jubilee Year, we are encouraged by what we have heard from today’s readings. We are encouraged not to despair but generously do the little we can, and let God, as Jesus did with the few loaves of bread, do the rest. As John tells us, “he himself knew exactly what he was going to do” when he asked his disciples about how to get food. But Jesus could not have done what he did without the Apostles playing their part. On the other hand, without the presence of Jesus, the crowd would not have been fed. Without the presence of the small boy and his few resources the crowd would not have been fed.
In short, the Lord does not work in a vacuum; he needs our cooperation. As we launch the 50 years of the existence of SECAM, the Lord knows what he is going to do in the next 50 years, but needs our cooperation, he wants to do it with us. That is how much he respects us.
Jesus has seen the various circumstances of need, problems and challenges that we shall face during this Golden Jubilee and beyond, and he is saying to us; “don’t shy away from these needs, solve these problems, address these challenges”. It will be self-defeating to react like the servant of Elisha or like Andrew and Phillip, saying “this problem is too big for me, there is nothing I can do”. We should rather respond like the boy who gave away the little that he had, and Jesus did the rest.
The hunger that Jesus satisfied today is a metaphor for various forms of hunger such as hunger for food, for company, for shelter or a home in case of refugees and displaced people. It could be hunger for friendship, or for social justice. As we go back to our regions, our countries, our conferences and to our homes, let us identify, both at a personal and collective levels, the hunger that is there, which the Lord is wanting us to take care of with our cooperation. Jesus does not want anybody to leave from here undermining oneself that there is nothing one can do.
In the context of SECAM, as Archbishop Palmer Buckle habitually prefaces his interventions, “permit me”, to suggest a couple of hungers that the Lord can satisfy with our cooperation. There are many more that one could mention, but time would not permit that.
Let us work against materialism and corruption
As we launch the golden jubilee year of SECAM, there are a lot of troubling situations and conditions of need that characterise the continent of Africa, one of which is the temptation of materialism. While it is true that compared to Europe, Africa still has strong faith, which led emeritus Pope Benedict in his Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Africae Munus, to call Africa the “spiritual lung of humanity”. Unfortunately, Africa is gradually becoming an infected lung. The values of being a community of love, self-sacrifice, finding joy in serving others and having God as enough for us are gradually being replaced by individualism, self-seeking, love of money, power and comfort. The source of our joy is gradually shifting from the Gospel. Perhaps, that is why the hunger for corruption and power, with the consequent physical hunger and poverty for most of the people, have become a major characteristic of Africa.
Sadly, this crude materialism is even manifesting itself among the pastoral agents, those at the forefront of missionary work. Pope Francis, who is not afraid to tell it like it is, in his encyclical “The joy of the Gospel”, expresses sorrow about “many pastoral workers, including consecrated men and women” who are concerned more about “their personal freedom, which leads them to see their work as a mere appendage to their life and relaxation” (78), than about evangelisation. Pastoral workers “who fall into a lifestyle which leads to attachment to financial security, or to a desire for power or human glory at all cost, rather than giving their lives to others in mission” (80). If we are honest, we will realise that the Pope here is not only talking about Europe, this truth applies to us in Africa as well.
At the dawn of the next 50 years of the existence of SECAM, we are not to despair about this situation, but to continue with the little efforts we are making to work against corruption and inefficiency. We must carefully select and form the next generation of pastoral agents. The Lord will multiply these efforts and produce for us more good priests and religious and pastoral workers who will build Africa to be a truly healthy lung for humanity.
The clarion call of theme for the Golden Jubilee is to “proclaim Jesus Christ your Saviour”. We are called to proclaim him who is our joy, him who is our fulfilment and satisfaction. Yet, we are living in an age where we are being lured to find our joy and fulfilment in other things other than the values of Jesus Christ. Those who endeavour to live according to his values, are viewed as fanatics and made to feel unreal. This is particularly true for young people, who are being influenced by thoughts and ideologies that are contrary to Christ. How can we overcome these challenges? Pope Francis exhorts us to find joy in Jesus, which enables us to have a relationship with him, especially for those of us who are pastoral workers, who are specially called to lead people to Jesus.
Like Jesus let us help people to fight the real physical hunger
The presence of the Church in the whole of Africa, which is not only present but also growing, and which is not only growing but influential among people has made the Church in Africa, and therefore SECAM a body to reckon with. For this reason, because of our continental strength we can engage with the powers that be and other people of good will around the world. For this reason, we can engage with governments at national, regional and continental level on broad issues of human rights and environment. Thanks to our strength and principles, we can engage governments on issues of justice, economy, politics and other social concerns.
Presently, there is a problem of land grabbing, which is threatening livelihoods of many people. Yet even as there is a problem of land grabbing, most of us have a small piece of land behind our houses that we can use to grow basic food and feed ourselves, but most of us do not. We have been conditioned to buy instead of fending for ourselves, and thereby retaining our dignity. Being able to feed yourself is the beginning of development. As we enter this jubilee year, let us make the effort to feed ourselves with the little means and small piece of land we have, and do together what we cannot do on our own.
African Bishops invited to bring forward their five barley loaves
Finally, in relation to us as bishops of SECAM, today’s Gospel is teaching us that while we are not able to do everything we want to do because we do not have funds, if we combine the little monies we have, we can do wonders. If each bishop can make his contribution of five barley loaves every year in the form of five hundred dollars as a levy to SECAM, we would enable SECAM to do a lot more than it has been able to do in the past fifty years. As you know, each time we are to hold an event, we must go begging, because we do not all contribute our five barley loaves. We tend, for the most, to run programmes that donors want, and not those that we want to run because we do not have our own funds.
In this year of the Jubilee, we are invited to all bring forward our five barley loaves and allow the Lord, together with our cooperation as African bishops, to do the programmes that we think will take the Church of the African continent forward. This is not to say that we will not need the assistance of our partners and the larger church anymore. What it means is that when we bring our five barley loaves, the word partner will begin to have its true meaning, because now it is said out courtesy to avoid offence, but in truth we are not partners, we are beggars because we do not all bring our barley loaves to the party. Let us bring our few barley-loves and gain our dignity.
These are some of the hungers that will be eliminated, during and after the Jubilee if we all come on board, giving the little that we have. The Lord will surely add to our efforts.
Being in the place where 50 years ago SECAM was founded, Pope Paul VI, in his homily during the closing mass of the Symposium of Bishops of Africa, he challenged us to be missionaries to ourselves. He went on to give us sound advice, that the African Church, being a young Church, needed to embrace the two great forces that Christ had established to build up his Church, namely, the Hierarchy (which gives the Church its visibility) and the grace of the Holy Spirit, and wished that the Church in Africa will let these two forces work together with great intensity to move the Church in Africa forward.
“There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all as much as was wanted.” (Jn 6:9-10). Let eacn and all bring alone one’s five barely loaves forward and together with Jesus take the African Church to further hieghts
AMEN
Bishops in Africa Officially Launch Yearlong Golden Jubilee Celebration of their Association: Logo Unveiled, Prayer Recited
CANAA || By Father Don Bosco Onyalla, Nairobi || 30 July 2018
The Catholic Bishops in Africa on Sunday, July 29 officially launched the Golden Jubilee celebration of the establishment of their association known as the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) by unveiling the Jubilee Logo and reciting for the first time the Jubilee prayer.
SECAM President, Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi of Lubango presided over the official launch of the yearlong celebration at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lubaga in Kampala, Uganda.
Some two dozen Bishops representing various Regional Bishops’ Conferences in Africa graced the solemn launch, during which the Jubilee prayer was recited for the first time.
At the beginning of Holy Eucharist, Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga of Kampala welcomed representatives of the Bishops of Africa to his Cathedral, explaining the significance of the place of the Jubilee launch including having been the seat of the King of the Buganda Kingdom, having hosted three Popes, the first having been Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1969 when he inaugurated SECAM.
On his part, the President of UEC, Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu who spoke on behalf of the Bishops in Uganda, clergy, religious, and laity acknowledged with appreciation the presence of the various representatives of the various conferences and institutions of SECAM and said the place of Uganda in the history of the Church in Africa is a challenge to leadership in making the mission of SECAM spread.
SECAM Golden Jubilee logo was unveiled toward the end of the Eucharistic celebration, after being brought in front of the altar by two youth.
Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of Oyo diocese who Chairs the Committee of Bishops for Communications in Africa (CEPACS) explained the various symbols on the SECAM Golden Jubilee logo.
“The circle and the Africa map are merged together, to give the idea and the picture of Africa as a continental family; a family of pastoral collaboration, solidarity, showing Africa’s characteristics to the whole world. The circle reflects unity and oneness: May Africa remain one Africa,” Bishop Badejo revealed.
He continued, “The cross found in the middle of the African map is the same as the cross in the SECAM logo, but in this one, it reflects the victory of Christ over death and trials: May Christ be Lord over deaths and trials in Africa.”
“The open African map reflects that the Church in Africa is open to its Islands and to the rest of the world as it has always been and it shows the traditional warm welcoming of Africa, its hospitality, and true sense of community as we have witnessed today. May Africa remain welcoming and open to all the good things of this world,” Bishop Badejo went on to explain amid applauses from the congregation,
“The logo also depicts the theme of the Golden Jubilee: Church – Family of God in Africa! Celebrate your Jubilee, Proclaim Jesus Christ your Savior,” Bishop Badejo said, inviting the congregation to repeat after him the words of the Jubilee theme, adding, “The people in the logo, represent you and us, everybody; the people represent the larger family of Africa, in Africa, in Madagascar, in the Islands, in the diaspora, in the high seas, in the desert, wherever Africa may be and within the wider SECAM fraternity, which is celebrating the jubilee and proclaiming Christ.”
“The number 50 is designed in a free form to showcase and envisage a frame for a smooth-flowing celebration throughout the Golden Jubilee year,” he said.
“The colors used for the logo are the colors you find in the SECAM logo. The additional golden color brings out the celebratory nature of this celebration today and of the entire Jubilee Year, and it also represents the colors of the Holy See. Therefore, the Church in Africa is one with the universal Church; Africa and the universal Church remain one, with Christ we remain one. May our unity and peace be one day completely restored through Christ our Lord,” Bishop Badejo concluded, receiving a resounding Amen in song from the congregation of over 2000.
SECAM President then solemnly declared the Golden Jubilee officially and formerly open in the words, “For the glory of God, for the salvation of all His people in Africa and in the world, and for the growth of the Church, family of God in Africa, I hereby formerly declare the Golden Jubilee Year for the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar open, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
SECAM President then presented to the representatives of the various regional Bishops’ conferences “tools” that will be employed in celebrating the Golden Jubilee across Africa in parishes, devotional groups, homes, and institutions. Each pack contained hard copies of the Jubilee Logo, prayer, the working document, and a memory stick will soft copies of all the material, which can be distributed among clergy, religious and faithful in the various regions of the Church in Africa.
For the very first time, the Jubilee prayer was solemnly recited.
Below is the full text of the prayer to be recited across Africa during SECAM’s Golden Jubilee Year
Prayer for the Golden Jubilee of SECAM
God our Father, we praise you for your infinite goodness for the Church in Africa and Madagascar, particularly for the gift of SECAM. We thank you for the first missionaries. In your eternal wisdom, you have blessed our Continent with much human, spiritual and natural resources; for this we thank you and we glorify you.
As we celebrate fifty years of SECAM, we acknowledge our sins and pray for repentance from our failings of bad governance, corruption, violence and misuse of all your gifts.
Give us greater love for our continent; help us to celebrate its rich and natural resources with sincere gratitude in our hearts and help us to use it for the good and well-being of all the people of Africa and beyond.
Almighty God, send us a fresh outpouring of your Holy Spirit in this year of jubilee, for a veritable conversion and reconciliation among ourselves, in order to bear greater witness to Jesus Christ our Savior.
Mary Immaculate, Queen of Africa, pray for us! All you Holy Martyrs of Uganda and Saints of Africa and Madagascar, pray for us! Amen.
After Peace Agreement Eritrea’s First Step Must Be Helping Youth, Priest Says
Catholic News Agency (CNA) || By Hannah Brockhaus || 26 July 2018
After a peace accord signed this month ended 20 years of conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, an Eritrean Catholic priest said the country needs to focus on opportunities for youth, to stem the flow of emigration.
“Peace is the base. Now we need to start to build a better future for our youth,” said Fr. Mussie Zerai, a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder and president of Habeshia, an organization which helps immigrants and refugees in Italy.
A peace agreement was signed in July by Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed, formally ending a lengthy war between the two countries, which are located in the Horn of Africa.
Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war from 1998 to 2000, and intermittent border clashes have continued since then. The July 8-9 summit formally ended the border conflict, restored diplomatic relations, and opened the nations’ mutual border.
The priest told EWTN that the peace agreement has fulfilled 20 years of dreams and given people hope for the future, but should be followed by guaranteeing freedom, education, healthcare, and jobs, to “reduce the exodus of young people.”
Eritrea is a one-party state whose human rights record has frequently been deplored. Isaias has been president of the country since it formally gained independence in 1993.
Zerai, who was involved in the peace-building efforts, said he and others had been trying to promote dialogue as the solution for the two countries.
Religion, as well, had a role, he noted, since the prime minister of Ethiopia “invited all religious leaders” to become involved in preparing “the people for reconciliation and for tolerance and for good relations between neighboring countries” following the accord.
Religious freedom has long been a concern in Eritrea, which was highlighted in the U.S. State Department’s annual report on the state of international religious freedom, released May 29.
The report documented the arrest of hundreds of independent Protestant Christians in Eritrea, where the government reportedly coerced numerous individuals into renouncing their faith.
Catholics make up about 5 percent of the country’s population and Oriental Orthodox nearly 40 percent. The Eritrean Catholic Church uses the Alexandrian rite.
Zerai said the Catholic Church in Eritrea is very active in all aspects of society, including evangelization, charity, education, and healthcare, but faces government discrimination.
Authorities recently shut down eight free Catholic-run medical clinics, he explained, which prevented the Church from serving the poor people in those areas. Authorities said the clinics were unnecessary, because of the presence of state clinics, he said.
“Our hope is that with peace maybe the internal policy will change,” Zerai said, decrying the lack of rule of law over the last two decades.
“Now with peace I hope the country, the government, will start to build this important infrastructure and structure for the country.”
Source: Catholic News Agency…
Nigerian Archbishop Hopes Relic Will Help Heal Violence-stricken Country
Catholic News Service (CNS) || By Anna Weaver || 27 July 2018
For the first time, a relic of St. Marianne of Molokai has been given to a diocese outside of the U.S.
That diocese is Kaduna, in north-central Nigeria, and its leader hopes that sharing the story of St. Marianne will be a positive symbol in his war-torn country. The north and central regions of Nigeria in particular have experienced a rise in violence in recent years.
“On a daily basis, hundreds of people are being killed,” said Kaduna Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso. “Communities are being wiped out.”
Fighting has primarily been between farmers and nomadic herdsmen over land use. Lake Chad and grazing lands have shrunk with rising temperatures. Majority Muslim herdsmen compete with primarily Christian farmers for space.
Recent violence resulted in the killing of 19 people, including two priests, at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Ayar Mbalom, Benue state, on April 24. Fifty houses in the village were also burned.
“Human life has become like chicken life,” the archbishop told the Hawaii Catholic Herald, Honolulu’s diocesan newspaper. “We want the international community to know this is happening.”
“We are pleading on behalf of all Nigerians that are being killed today,” he said during a visit to Hawaii.
Archbishop Ndagoso and his fellow Nigerian bishops have called on President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military leader and Muslim who was elected president in 2015, to do more to stop the violence or resign.
“His duty is to make sure that he secures our country, to make every Nigerian, regardless of your religion, regardless of your tribe, feel secure,” the archbishop said. “Right now there is division. Where there is division, you need to bring healing.”
Archbishop Ndagoso visited Hawaii July 12-19. His trip included a July 14 stop with Honolulu’s Bishop Larry Silva to the Kalaupapa peninsula on Molokai.
There, Bishop Silva gave Archbishop Ndagoso a tour of the Hansen’s disease settlement. The archbishop also celebrated Mass to honor past and present Kalaupapa residents and the service of Sts. Damien and Marianne of Molokai.
During the pilgrimage, Sister Alicia Damien Lau, of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, presented the archbishop with a piece of St. Marianne’s coffin, a second-class relic, on behalf of her religious community.
On July 15, Archbishop Ndagoso took the relic to Sacred Heart Church in Pahoa on the Big Island (Hawaii Island) to celebrate Mass and meet families displaced by the Kilauea eruption.
St. Marianne’s coffin fragment relic was held in a reliquary made of native Hawaiian woods by craftsman Manny Mattos, a parishioner of Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio, Oahu.
“She’s a model of leadership that we can hold up,” said Archbishop Ndagoso of why he wanted to take the relic back to Nigeria.
He pointed out of her willingness, as the superior of the Syracuse, New York, Franciscan sisters, to come to Hawaii herself along with a group of sisters when called to help with nursing needs in the island. “She didn’t just ask others to go, she actually led them.”
Having St. Marianne’s relic will be a great example of that servant leadership, the archbishop said.
“Marianne and Damien, what they did in Molokai was to heal people, to bring them fullness of life, to give them their dignity.”
Mother Marianne Cope and six companion sisters arrived in Hawaii in 1883 from Syracuse to help care for patients with Hansen’s disease, or leprosy. She succeeded St. Damien de Veuster, a Belgian priest, in this health care ministry.
St. Damien, who died in 1889, was Kalaupapa’s first saint. He was canonized in 2009. St. Marianne died in 1918 in Kalaupapa and was canonized in 2012.
Archbishop Ndagoso came to Hawaii for the first time last year at the invitation of his friend and Hawaii resident Darlene Namahoe. Namahoe met the future archbishop in the late 1990s in Rome, when both were living in the city and attending Mass at Chiesa di San Patrizio.
Manny Mattos was his guide during his four-day visit in 2017, which included a stop at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu. There, Archbishop Ndagoso prayed in front of the relics of St. Damien and St. Marianne.
Mattos recalled the effect the cathedral visit had on the archbishop. “As soon as he walked out of the church, he said, ‘Manny, is there any way I can take a relic of Mother Marianne back to Nigeria?'”
Mattos spoke with Sister Alicia Damien, who worked on acquiring the coffin fragment for Archbishop Ndagoso.
With about 196 million people, Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and has the seventh highest population in the world, according to current U.N. statistics.
Church in Uganda Proud to be Part of History of 50-year-old Continental Bishops’ Conference, Kampala Catholic Archbishop Confirms
CANAA || By Father Don Bosco Onyalla, Nairobi || 27 July 2018
The Catholic Church in the East African country of Uganda is happy and proud to be part of the history of the existence of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), which will be 50 years old in July 2019.
This was confirmed by Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga of Kampala, Uganda on Friday, July 27 at the start of a workshop on the celebrating SECAM Golden Jubilee.
Church leaders representing regional conferences of Catholic Bishops in Africa are gathering in Uganda’s capital Kampala in view of launching a yearlong celebration of SECAM’s 50-year existence on Sunday, July 29.
As the host of the function of the launch of SECAM golden jubilee, speaking on behalf of the Catholic Bishops in Uganda, Archbishop Lwanga said, “I wish to welcome all members present. Thank you for coming; thank you for remembering Uganda. We feel happy and proud because we are part of the history of SECAM, since in 1969, when Pope Paul VI came over for the very first ever papal visit to Africa, he launched SECAM.”
“As we celebrate, we remember God’s goodness to us, beginning with the missionaries who evangelized us; we remember all people who have involved themselves in one way or another,” Archbishop Lwanga told CANAA in an interview on Friday, July 27 at the Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala, the venue of the workshop.
The Shepherd of Kampala said that SECAM’s Jubilee celebration will include remembering the different groups of people who have contributed to the progress of the Church in Africa.
“Let us not just focus on Bishops,” Archbishop Lwanga said, explaining, “Let us remember catechists, teachers, families, all the lay people who have been very instrumental, as well as the religious; we also need to remember the youth, the children, who are part of us, and are making sure that the future is bright.”
He called for a spirit of renewal during the yearlong celebration of the Church in Africa saying, “Whenever we celebrate jubilee, there is also the element of renewal. In this case, let us evaluate, whatever has been going well, we strengthen it; whatever has not been going well, we renew ourselves, and find better ways, new ways of proceeding with a new evangelization.”
During the interview with CANAA, the Archbishop also spoke about the need on the part of the Church leaders in Africa to provide visibility to SECAM at the various levels of the Church saying.
Referring specifically to the Bishops in Africa who are all members of SECAM, the Archbishop said, “We have the duty to disseminate information, because there is much that is being done that the people of God don’t know, and I think the blame is ours.”
“Africa has its own positive things, and one of them is the Catholic Church,” Archbishop Lwanga said and added, “If you consider the amount of work the Church has done, both spiritually and otherwise, it is immense – the schools, the hospitals, the parishes, all have contributed to the fundamental changes of people.”
So, let us feel proud of our Church; let us strengthen what has been started, and then pray God almighty blesses our work, so that eventually we get his life in its fulness.
“I pray to God almighty that He continues to bless us, that He blesses our continent,” Archbishop Lwanga concluded.
Some of the Bishops’ conferences represented at the Kampala SECAM workshop include the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC); Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa Region (ACERAC); Regional Episcopal Conferences of West Africa (RECOWA/CERAO); Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy of Egypt (AHCE); Regional Episcopla Conferences of North Africa (CERNA); Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA); Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA); Madagascar and Episcopal Conferences of Indian Ocean (CEDOI); and the host, the Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC).
Workshop Toward Launch and Yearlong Celebration of SECAM Golden Jubilee Kicks Off in Kampala, Uganda
CANAA || By Father Don Bosco Onyalla, Nairobi || 27 July 2018
A workshop organized to prepare for the launch of the yearlong celebration of the existence of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) kicked off Friday, July 29 in Kampala, Uganda with representatives from various Regional Bishops’ conferences and other continental institutions in attendance.
Some of the Bishops’ conferences represented include the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC); Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa Region (ACERAC); Regional Episcopal Conferences of West Africa (RECOWA/CERAO); Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy of Egypt (AHCE); Regional Episcopla Conferences of North Africa (CERNA); Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA); Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA); Madagascar and Episcopal Conferences of Indian Ocean (CEDOI); and the host, the Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC).
The workshop sessions, which were facilitated by SECAM’s Theological Committee (COMITHEOL) were preceded by a word of welcome from SECAM President, Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi of Lubango, Angola who also acknowledged with appreciation the initiative of the Church leaders in Africa to speak with one voice through SECAM.
Pope Paul VI inaugurated SECAM in 1969 in Kampala, the first ever papal visit to Africa.
Various facilitators provided the context of the Golden Jubilee, explaining the objectives and the calendar of the yearlong celebration to be marked with prayer sessions and particular actions in the local churches in Africa.
“As Christians, we are all in the context of the Jubilee year, a call to return to our ancestral roots, in our case, a return to our baptismal promises, proclaiming the gospel in thanksgiving for who we are, remembering the progress we have made in the last 50 years, naming what we are grateful for,” Sr. Teresa Okure, a member of SECAM’s COMITHEOL told delegates during the workshop sessions, adding that the jubilee celebration would include repentance for the messes “we may have been in, and then renewed commitment to witness to Christ in Africa and Madagascar.”
“Since it is a celebration of SECAM, the Bishops in Africa need to take the lead in evaluating itself, in terms of why it was formed and the extent to which the purpose has (or has not) been achieved,” Sr. Okure clarified, drawing delegates toward providing suggestions for a Kampala Document as part of the yearlong celebration of the Golden Jubilee.
A primary activity during the Jubilee celebration will be monthly prayer intentions to be guided by particular scriptural texts, which could be enriched by local examples and related concrete activities to be identified by and implemented in the local churches on the continent.
For August 2018, the focus will be on Church communities, with a proposed meditation that focuses on the example of the first Christian communities and rooted in the celebration of Holy Eucharist. This intention will be guided by Acts 2:42-47.
There is no theme for July 2019, because it is the concluding month when all the Jubilee intentions will be reconvened and reflected upon. In this regard, each month lived is not left behind but instead brought together progressively toward the climax of the golden Jubilee celebrations in July 2019.
COMITHEOL facilitators encouraged local Churches to take particular initiatives to live the monthly intentions, exercising creativity for the good of the people of God on the continent in celebrating the Jubilee as inserted in the universal Church, on which each monthly intension is grounded.
Bishop Mathieu Madega Lebouakehan of Mouila, Gabon who is the first vice President of SECAM and COMITHEOL Chair reiterated the need to engage the clergy, religious, and especially the laity in the activities of SECAM Jubilee explaining that such engagement of all Church members is a sure move toward the promotion of the growth and progress of the Church in Africa.
“Unity and collegiality is significant so that dioceses, national and regional conferences strive to have common activities in living through the jubilee year,” Bishop Lebouakehan emphasized.
The yearlong Jubilee celebration will be launched Sunday, July 29 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral at Rubanga in Kampala, Uganda, under the theme: Church – family of God in Africa; Celebrate your jubilee! Proclaim Jesus Christ your Savior.
Calling the Church out on its Inequality
Spotlight.Africa || By Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya || 20 July 2018
Sadly, the Equality Report produced by the South African Human Rights Commission in South Africa makes for dismal reading and calls on all of us to play our role in creating a more equitable and just society. Here, Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya calls the Church to its own ‘mea culpa’ in bringing inequality when it comes to one of society’s most basic needs – education.
It was hardly a “stop the presses” moment when the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) released its Equality Report 2017/18.
The SAHRC notes that “South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world measured in terms of both income and wealth. Poverty has increased in recent years, whereas economic growth has slowed to a point where the objectives set out in the National Development Plan seem unlikely”.
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone surprised or who disagrees with the finding that South Africa has for decades competed with India and Brazil for the most unwanted title of being the most unequal state in the world.
One must add that this is not for lack of trying, especially by the post-1994 state, to create better living conditions for all.
The latest World Bank country overview report states that “South Africa has made considerable strides toward improving the well-being of its citizens since its transition to democracy in the mid-1990s, but progress is slowing. Based on a poverty line of $1.90 per day at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), poverty fell from 33.8% in 1996 to 16.9% by 2008. Factors driving this included social safety nets, real income growth, as well as decelerating inflationary pressure on households, the expansion of credit, and growth in formal housing. Yet progress has slowed in recent years due to structural challenges and weak global growth since the global financial crisis of 2008. Poverty was 18.9% in 2015, having increased slightly since 2011. High unemployment remains a key challenge, standing at 26.7% in the last quarter of 2017. The unemployment rate is even higher among youths, close to 50%”.
The World Bank report further notes that South Africa remains a dual economy with one of the highest inequality rates in the world, perpetuating both inequality and exclusion.
“According to Statistics South Africa, the Gini coefficient, measuring relative wealth, reached 0.65 in 2014 based on expenditure data (excluding taxes), and 0.69 based on income data (including salaries, wages, and social grants). The poorest 20% of the South African population consume less than 3% of total expenditure, while the wealthiest 20% consume 65%.”
While making broadly the same finding as the World Bank, the SAHRC tells us why we must be bothered.
“The South African Human Rights Commission has simultaneously observed one of the manifestations of inequality in racism and hate speech,” notes the Equality Report.
“According to certain surveys, income inequality – not race – constitutes the most divisive feature of South African society,” notes the SAHRC.
Pope Pius VI’s famous words, “If you want Peace, work for Justice” find a special resonance in our times.
“Justice will bring about Peace” (Cf: Is 32:17). We repeat this today in a more incisive and dynamic formula: “If you want Peace, work for Justice”.
These words must stand uncomfortably among those of us who wish that “we all got along nicely”. Social peace is an outcome of social justice.
While there can never be any good excuses for crime, hate speech and racial bigotry and discrimination, Pope Pius suggested that unless we do something about the kind of society that brings forth such evils, we must work harder at creating a world where the opposite virtues are the norm.
“It is difficult, but essential, to form a genuine idea of Peace. It is difficult for one who closes his eyes to his innate intuition of it, which tells him that Peace is something very human. This is the right way to come to the genuine discovery of Peace: if we look for its true source, we find that it is rooted in a sincere feeling for man. A Peace that is not the result of true respect for man is not true Peace. And what do we call this sincere feeling for man? We call it Justice,” said the pope in his New Year’s Day message in 1972.
In our case today, justice must include comprehensive social and economic justice.
In the South African scenario, access to education – from the earliest possible date to skills forming post-school learning – remains one of the most reliable ways out of the inequality described by the SAHRC.
The Catholic Church, together with other Christian churches, has for the most part of its 200-year existence in South Africa been a key part of bringing quality education opportunities to those who otherwise would not have had them.
Today such education opportunities are enjoyed by the wealthy regardless of their skin colour. Whether by design or not, the church’s education system feeds and feeds off the system of the haves and the have-nots.
It is simply untenable that the Catholic Education system runs on the same parallels as the apartheid era Department of Education and Training (for black people) and the various provincial education departments serving white children and teachers.
There can be no illusion that the answers we seek will not come easily. But they have to be sought.
Pope Pius again: “It is an invitation which does not ignore the difficulties in practising Justice, in defining it, first of all, and then in actuating it, for it always demands some sacrifice of prestige and self-interest. Perhaps more greatness of soul is needed for yielding to the ways of Justice and Peace than for fighting for and imposing one’s rights on and adversary, whether true or alleged. We have such trust in the power of the associated ideals of Justice and Peace to generate in modern man the moral energy to actuate them, that we are confident of their gradual victory.”
Source: Spotlight.Africa…
Seeing ‘Africa’ with New Eyes
Global Sisters Report (GSR) || By Laura M. Leming || 23 July 2018
For the last three years, the Center for Social Concern at the University of Dayton, Ohio, has dedicated a portion of its Lenten almsgiving campaign to a small health center run by the Marianist Sisters in Kpatchilé, Togo. In May, I was blessed to visit this center in this small village in the savannah of Western Africa — “now my eyes have seen” (Job 42:5).
Those words kept ringing in me during the week that six other faculty colleagues and I traveled through Togo as part of our Global Education Seminar. Three weeks in Ghana and Togo were the culminating experience of a yearlong seminar aimed at developing deeper global firsthand knowledge that our faculty can bring into our teaching and research.
For me as a Marianist Sister, visiting Togo fulfilled a lifelong dream. I have been hearing about the Marianist family’s presence in Western Africa since I was a postulant. Being able to visit in person was both exhilarating and humbling.
The center of our ministry in Kpatchilé is a health clinic and maternity ward that make medical and childbirth assistance available in a part of the world where it was previously not accessible. Sr. Anne-Martine Diwizie is a physician’s assistant and supervises the clinic, while other sisters do the clinic bookkeeping, run a girls’ hostel to facilitate female education, and assist in nursing and pastoral care in the clinic and at the local parish.
It should be noted that health care was not a founding element of our Marianist mission. But our founders’ insistence on Mary’s words at Cana, “Do whatever he tells you,” has led us here — in Togo and more recently also in Ranchi, India.
It’s not likely that we will build and staff many hospitals, but when access to simple health care is the most urgent need of the people with whom we find ourselves, it ends up sounding like what he — and Mary — are telling us to do, despite our seeming inadequacy.
Like many villages in Western Africa, the only electricity available is solar. It is striking to be in rural Africa and see a few solar-driven streetlights and cell-charging hubs. But the simplicity of the maternity ward and birthing room are stark reminders of the many inequities, especially in health care, between overdeveloped parts of the world and those where people fight for meager resources.
The nurse on duty showed us a “recovery room” with only six wood frame beds with 4-inch plastic-covered foam mattresses and mosquito nets. But this simple room provides more space and opportunity to rest and bond with their infants than women would otherwise have — as well as someone to watch for any postpartum complication.
On the day I visited with one of my other seminar colleagues, there was a vaccination clinic for young infants in the area. We were welcomed into the “round house,” a sturdy building whose structure closely resembled the circular thatched shelters that typify West African village life. We counted 29 mothers with infants seated on the benches lining the walls, some nursing and soothing their children after their weight check and shot, some chatting with others as their children slept in their arms.
As they left, they tied their infants on their backs in the manner of West African mothers. A common feature of all the Marianist chapels in the five Togolese cities we visited is an African Madonna, where young Jesus is reaching out from his mother’s back or hip. Such a common sight on African streets!
In talking with Sr. Agnès Konlani, the hostel coordinator, about what she thought we should take back to the University of Dayton about life in rural Africa, she insisted on the need for quality education, especially for girls. The annual fee of 7,000 Congolese francs (currently, approximately $11) for public schooling makes it prohibitive for families to send all their children to school.
As in other parts of the world, it’s the girl children who are most often left behind. And early marriage is still a problem. Quality education is what Agnès wants us to join the struggle for — in her mind, the most effective intervention for grinding poverty, and the best path to development. That’s why everywhere else we visited in Togo, the Marianists had a school of some sort, from elementary to college prep.
Focusing here on health and educational needs, however, doesn’t do justice to the wonderful capacities we saw in Ghana and Togo. We marveled at the strength and dignity of a people who had been ravaged by the slave trade; the depth of the wisdom of local peoples handed on through generations; the beauty and color of the clothing that make our wardrobes in the U.S. and Europe seem drab by comparison; and most especially the vision and hope of so many young Africans we met — both students and young professionals in education and development work. They aspire to a great future and we witnessed the energy and enthusiasm they are investing to make that a reality.
This year of growth in my familiarity with Ghana and Togo has opened my mind and heart in many ways. For instance, I don’t think I was ever conscious that there are 55 countries in the African Union. That’s more than one-quarter of the countries in the world!
And yet so often in the West, we simply condense their immensely diverse and rich cultures to “Africa.” It is something small that I will work on as I move forward. I can’t speak for people of African descent, but I can share what I’ve learned about the people and cultures of Ghana and Togo.
I happened to change my seat on the plane leaving Accra, Ghana, to get a window seat (still economy!) on my flight to France. On boarding, I was seated alongside a young man. In conversation, I learned he was Ashanti and Catholic and studied economics.
After working in finance for a few years, he decided to dedicate his energies to strategizing for nongovernmental organizations on how best to meet the U.N. sustainable development goals. He was reading the memoir of a government minister (also Ashanti) because, as he told me, he thinks it’s important for young people “to be inspired by the wisdom of our elders to stay strong in the work for the people.”
It was such good fortune — which really struck me as providence — to be able to converse with him. Kofi and I exchanged contact information, and I sincerely hope he may be able to visit the University of Dayton someday, to share the wisdom he has gleaned, to strengthen our global friendships and expand our imaginations about the peoples of the African continent.
I also hope that we can return the gracious welcome and hospitality we received and to find more ways to work together to build a more just, equitable and loving world.
[Marianist Sr. Laura M. Leming is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Dayton and serves on the Board of Trustees of St. Mary’s University.]
Source: Global Sisters Report…
Pope Calls for Respect for Migrants amid Rising Number of Deaths at Sea
Catholic News Service (CNS) || By Junno Arocho Esteves || 23 July 2018
With the rising death toll of migrants and refugees attempting the treacherous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea, Pope Francis urged world leaders to act to prevent further tragedy.
“I make a heartfelt appeal to the international community to act decisively and promptly in order to prevent such tragedies from recurring and to guarantee the safety, respect for the rights and dignity of all,” the pope said July 22 after reciting the Angelus prayer with an estimated 25,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
According to the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrant Project, an estimated 1,490 migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year. The pope expressed his pain “in the midst of such tragedies” and offered his prayers “for the missing and their families.”
In Italy, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has barred several rescue ships from docking and has vowed to stop any foreign boats carrying rescued migrants into the country. The move has hampered rescue efforts of migrants trying to escape war, violence, persecution and poverty.
Before making his appeal, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading in which Jesus invites his disciples to rest after their first mission, but the gathering of a large crowd prevents them from relaxing and eating.
“The same thing can happen today as well,” the pope said. “Sometimes we don’t succeed in carrying out our plans because something urgent occurs that messes up our plans and requires flexibility and availability to the needs of others.”
In those situations, he continued, Christians are called to imitate Jesus who wasn’t upset but rather was compassionate toward the people because “they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
“Jesus’ gaze isn’t a neutral gaze or, worse, cold and distant because Jesus always looks with the eyes of the heart. And his heart is so tender and full of compassion that he is able to see even the most hidden needs of people,” the pope said.
The same compassion, he added, is the “behavior and predisposition of God toward humankind and its history.”
“With Jesus at our side, we can proceed safely, we can be overcome trials, we can progress in love toward God and toward our neighbor. Jesus has made himself a gift for others, becoming a model of love and service for each one of us,” Pope Francis said.
Family, Media, Youth, Migrants, Corruption, among Issues Addressed by Eastern Africa Bishops
CANAA || By Father Don Bosco Onyalla, Nairobi || 23 July 2018
The Catholic Bishops belonging to the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) on Sunday, July 22 concluded their ten-day Plenary Assembly held in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa by issuing a statement highlighting various issues that touch the lives of their ministry among the people of God within the Eastern Africa region.
Family and marriage, digital media, the youth, migrants, corruption are among the issues addressed in the Bishops’ 21-point communique.
“We are cognizant of the critical position of the family as the smallest unit of the Church and society,” the Bishops stated and added with regard to family and marriage and added, “A stable family is a foundation for positive vibrant diversity, equal dignity and peaceful unity in God in the AMECEA region and beyond.”
On digital media, the Bishops expressed awareness “of the very positive steps taken towards evangelizing through mass media” and commended “efforts made to invest on creation of interactive Catholic content in diocesan and parish websites as well as social media platforms, catholic radios, televisions and newspapers.”
The Church leaders acknowledged with appreciation “young people in their dynamism and diversity as citizens of the world” who “are equally transcultural and significant members of the Church.”
On migrants, the Bishops stated, “We acknowledge that AMECEA region is a home to many migrants, internally displaced persons and refugees. This is due to the lack of the respect for diversity, human rights and inclusive economic development.”
During the Plenary Assembly, the Bishops elected Bishop Charles Kasonde of Solwezi, Zambia, to head their nine-country association, succeeding Berhaneyesus D. Cardinal Souraphiel of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Bishops also appointed Father Anthony Makunde of Mbeya Diocese, Tanzania as new Secretary General of their regional conference, to take over from Father Ferdinand Lugonzo of Kakamega diocese in Kenya.
Rev. Prof. Stephen Mbugua who has been serving as the Vice Chancellor of Tangaza University College was appointed Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), succeeding Prof. Justus Mbae.
The Plenary Assembly was held under the theme, “Vibrant Diversity, Equal Dignity, Peaceful Unity in God in the AMECEA Region”.
Below is the full text of the Bishops’ communique at the conclusion of their Plenary Assembly
COMMUNIQUÉ
19th AMECEA Plenary Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
(13th to 23rd July, 2018)
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus…..”(Galatians 3:28)
The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), comprising of the Episcopal Conferences of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan/South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and the affiliate members of Djibouti and Somalia met for their regular quadrennial Plenary Assembly from 13th – 23rd July 2018 under the theme: “Vibrant Diversity, Equal Dignity, Peaceful Unity in God in the AMECEA Region.”
Preamble
To the family of God in AMECEA region and all people of good will.
We, the Catholic Bishops in the AMECEA region, together with our Patrons, their Eminences the Cardinals, greet you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Peace be with you!
APPRECIATING the spirit of Pope Francis on synodality of the Church and with prayerful thanksgiving to the spiritual guidance of the Holy Father.
ENCOURAGED by the presence and solidarity of the Apostolic Nuncio to Ethiopia – His Excellency Luigi Bianco; Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples – Most Rev. Protase Rugambwa which signified our communion and solidarity with the Holy Father, Pope Francis for which we are grateful; Secretary of the Dicastery of Integral Human Development – Msgr. Bruno-Marie Duffe, and His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Tobin, the Chair of the subcommittee for solidarity fund for the Church in Africa and representative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
INSPIRED by the vision of the AMECEA founding Fathers, we are determined and inspired to forge ahead with confidence and solidarity towards addressing pastoral and social issues of common concern in our region.
1. A Word of Gratitude
As Catholic Bishops in the AMECEA region, we express our sincere appreciation to the people of Ethiopia, the ‘Land of Origins’. We acknowledge with deep gratitude the Ethiopian Catholic Church: Bishops, Clergy, Religious men and women, Lay Faithful, the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and all Ethiopians of good will for accepting to host the 19th AMECEA Plenary Assembly and for all the highly appreciated preparations to host this event.
We also appreciate the support of all partners who made enormous contributions to the success of our Plenary Assembly.
Furthermore, we thank the outgoing Chairman, His Eminence Berhaneyesus D. Cardinal Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Ababa, the Patrons, the outgoing members of the Executive Board, the AMECEA Secretariat, the Ethiopia Catholic Bishops Conference (ECBC) and its Secretariat, the organizing committee of this Plenary for their support and active participation. May the Almighty God bless you all.
2. Vibrant Diversity of all People of God
AMECEA region is endowed with many good things which are not always similar. As AMECEA Bishops, we acknowledge this diversity as a positive thing to be cherished and not to cause divisions. This is in line with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which underscores that differences belong to God’s plan (Cfr. No. 1937). Differences among people should encourage mutual complementarity in the AMECEA region and beyond.
As Shepherds, we therefore, strongly condemn any form of manipulation of differences in our region that undermines the dignity of the human person. This is in line with what the Catholic Church teaches that “…all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1934).
We call upon the family of God in AMECEA countries to bear witness to this tenet of faith we profess and promote in our society. For this reason we strongly condemn negative ethnic diversity that divides our societies.
3. Equal Dignity
In the light of the above doctrine about human dignity, we AMECEA Bishops, affirm the teaching of Vatican II Council that “… although rightful differences exist between men, the equal dignity of persons demands that a more humane and just condition of life be brought about. For excessive economic and social differences between the members of the one human family or population groups cause scandal, and militate against social justice, equity, the dignity of the human person, as well as social and international peace” (Gaudium et Spes, no. 29). We appeal to all Catholics and people of good will to promote, defend and uphold the equal human dignity of each and every person created in the image of God (Imago Dei). Consequently, soci0-economic, political and cultural development in the society is intrinsically connected to human dignity.
4. Integral Human Development
As AMECEA Bishops, we uphold that integral human development cannot be limited to mere economic growth alone. In order to be authentic, it must first focus on the human person, should be holistic and cover all aspects of life of the human person and geared towards the common good.
Therefore, grounded in the principles of the Catholic Social Teaching, we commit ourselves to promote positive vibrant diversity, equal dignity of all people, peaceful unity in God for integral human development in the region.
5. Promotion of Peaceful Unity
We uphold and endeavor to promote the Church’s basic peace building plan which has four principles: recognition and defense of equal dignity of all members of the human family, promotion of integral human development, support for international institutions and forgiveness in AMECEA region. These peace building blocks are the basis for enhancement of human dignity that must be enjoyed by every human being through respect of human rights.
6. Solidarity with our Eritrean and Ethiopian Brothers and Sisters
During our Plenary Assembly in Addis Ababa, we have witnessed the coming together of Eritrea and Ethiopia breaking the barriers that divided the two countries for two decades. It is with great joy that these two countries have accepted the new steps for peace and dialogue. The Catholic Church in both countries had been raising their voice to denounce the fraternal conflict and war, prayed together and gave hope to the people throughout by remaining firm to solve the situation peacefully and showing solidarity with the peoples of both countries. We thank the AMECEA solidarity delegation which visited Eritrea in November 2017. As this process of reconciliation continues, the Catholic Church urges the stakeholders to ensure that justice and peace are restored and let the peoples of these countries be involved in the process, their voices heard and captives return to their families. The steps taken by the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea show that Africans have the wisdom to solve their own problems amicably.
7. Peace in South Sudan
Our hearts are gladdened by the progress in the South Sudan peace talks. We continue praying for the quick resolution of the conflict so as to alleviate the suffering of the people and end the loss of innocent lives. As Catholic Bishops in AMECEA region we are willing to offer any necessary help within our ability that will contribute to lasting peace in South Sudan.
We ask our Catholic faithful and people of good will to remember South Sudan in their prayers and to attend with a helping hand to their urgent needs.
8. Family and Marriage
We are cognizant of the critical position of the family as the smallest unit of the Church and society. A stable family is a foundation for positive vibrant diversity, equal dignity and peaceful unity in God in the AMECEA region and beyond. We note that the family is under siege because of various challenges including poverty, high unemployment rates, and inequalities in society.
As shepherds, we continue to support the development and implementation of pedagogy and programmes for on-going formation and catechesis for families through AMECEA institutions and National Conferences. We intend to collaborate with like-minded organizations to provide catechesis, formation and pastoral care of families at all levels.
9. Digital Media
We commend the formation of the new Dicastery of Communication at the Vatican and affirm our commitment to collaborate with it to bring the Gospel message to the region.
Aware of the very positive steps taken towards evangelizing through mass media, we commend efforts made to invest on creation of interactive Catholic content in diocesan and parish websites as well as social media platforms, catholic radios, televisions and newspapers as a means of evangelization and implementing the theme of this Plenary Assembly.
At the same time, recognizing the role of the media in the process of integral human development we exhort media practitioners to be responsible, credible and accurate in providing information to society.
10. Young People
We acknowledge and appreciate that young people in their dynamism and diversity as citizens of the world are equally transcultural and significant members of the Church. We undertake to continue developing effective youth pastoral care and programmes, focusing on faith, vocation discernment and morals, value based education and tackling challenges of youth unemployment, peaceful unity, leadership development, chaplaincy development and accompaniment.
11. Integral Ecology
In line with Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, we invite the AMECEA family to recognize and respect creation as a gift of God to mankind. We agree that all human beings are equally affected by the crises of climate change, misuse of natural resources, waste and pollution, and poverty. Everything is interconnected; we cannot understand the social or natural world or their parts in isolation.
While we admit that the use of natural resources cannot be avoided, we must be truthful; let no one hide or distort facts in order to gain selfish advantage. We must engage in honest, transparent, constructive dialogue based on the principles of solidarity, subsidiarity, working for the common good, universal destination of goods, and preferential option for the poor and for the earth. Let everyone knows that the mother earth is “our common home.”
12. Collaboration with other Agencies for integral human development
We appreciate our like-minded partners and collaborators in our mission as shepherds of the Church in AMECEA Region.
As AMECEA Bishops, we endeavor to position AMECEA as a key player in relevant activities on integral human development of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), United Nations and its agencies, African Union, the East African Community (EAC) and the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD). This is also important for the promotion of Good Governance and the realization of integral human development in our region.
We commit to strengthen Parliamentary Liaison Desks in all conferences to build capacity of Catholic Parliamentarians to champion laws that promote Integral Human Development and Preferential Option for the Poor in AMECEA countries.
13. Social Security Structures for the Clergy and Religious
As AMECEA Bishops, we appreciate the important role played by the Clergy and Religious men and women in evangelization and management of our institutions in AMECEA region. However, Catholic institutions where agents of evangelization do belong must collaborate with like-minded partners to establish social security measures and self-reliance initiatives to support the social security of the clergy and religious men and women.
14. Migrants, Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees
We acknowledge that AMECEA region is a home to many migrants, internally displaced persons and refugees. This is due to the lack of the respect for diversity, human rights and inclusive economic development.
In our collegiality, we support Pope Francis’ pastoral initiatives and ministry to migrants and refugees and their concerns. We commit to support the global compact on migrants and refugees as proposed by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. We call upon all people of the AMECEA family to exercise this moral obligation in the spirit of charity.
15. Catholic Universities and Institutions of Higher Learning
We are encouraged by the growth of Catholic institutions of higher learning in the AMECEA region. We recognize the pivotal role these institutions play in promotion of vibrant diversity. Catholic universities should be universities for integral human development through teaching the Social Teaching of the Church, through dialogues in research, exchange programmes among students, faculty and staff, continuous dialogue about the social teaching of the Church.
In this regard, we call upon all Catholic institutions of higher learning in AMECEA region to mainstream Social Teaching of the Church in their curricula. The curricula must integrate topics on human dignity, integral human development, integral ecology, unity in peace, justice, conflict resolution and good governance.
We urge Catholic universities and Theologians in AMECEA region to re-think about new academic areas in Theology that focus on issues of diversity, equal dignity, peaceful unity, integral human development and traditional African cultures that promote cohesion among the people in AMECEA region.
16. Accountable Management of Church Institutions
Our responsibility of stewardship requires us to demonstrate values of integrity, accountability and transparency in the management of all our Church institutions in AMECEA Region. Our intention is to have policies that promote proper governance of our institutions in the AMECEA Region.
In the spirit of collaboration with the laity and to tap from their valued talents, we commit to work towards building a regional network of Catholic professionals for sharing best practices in integrity, auditing, inclusion of the laity in governance and leadership of church institutions.
17. Religious Extremism, Radicalization and Terrorism
Aware of the continuous threat that faces the youth in relation to radicalization and terrorism and the effects it has on peace and security in the region, we commit to build capacity of pastoral agents to respond and care for these categories of young people.
While respecting human dignity and human rights, we will continue to support as well as collaborate with governments’ efforts on counter-violent extremism and deradicalization.
18. Corruption
The society continues to be disturbed by the rampant corruption in AMECEA countries. The vice of corruption undermines integral human development and peaceful unity. To foster increased integrity and accountability as ways of combating corruption in, we urge Pastoral agents to focus on formation of its Christians anchored on Catholic Social Teaching and formation of conscience to prepare them to become leaders of integrity in the society.
19. Synodality of the Church
We acknowledge Pope Francis’ magisterium on the synodality of the Church; a central theme of his pontificate, which he says is “a constitutive element of the Church”.
As shepherds, we undertake to be a listening Church in the AMECEA region because we believe in the contribution of every one of the faithful in attainment of the prophetic mission of the church. We remind the faithful that Synodality does not mean decentralization of the Church, but rather, must always be interpreted as being in full communion with Peter.
20. Safeguarding of Minors
We affirm the dignity of every human person and all minors. We strongly condemn abuses against minors and vulnerable persons. In conformity with the church’s policy on protection of minors and vulnerable persons, we appeal to all responsible persons and institutions under the leadership of the church to mainstream guidelines for protection of minors. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and AMECEA Pastoral Office are reference institutions to support the development of National Bishops Conferences policies for this regard.
21. New Evangelization
As AMECEA Bishops, we are saddened by the reality of the dissonance of the Christian faith and Gospel values among our Christians vis a vis all actions that undermine vibrant diversity, equal dignity, peaceful unity and integral human development. Mindful of the negative response to the gospel values we see the need of re-evangelization. The re-evangelization must be based on communion with God, must purify and evangelize culture and hence requires new methods and digital means.
Conclusion
We thank Almighty God, for bringing us together to share and experience vibrant diversity, equal dignity, peaceful unity in God in the AMECEA Region. As your shepherds, we assure you of our prayers and reiterate the words of St. Paul to the Philippians, “I constantly pray with you in every one of my prayers for all of you … because I hold you in my heart” (Phil 1:4, 7). We entrust you to the intercession and maternal care of our Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Our Lady of Africa.
Signed: Rt Rev. Charles Kasonde Date: 22 July 2018, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
CHAIRMAN AMECEA
Catholic Bishops in Eastern Africa Encouraged to Embrace Diversity as An Enriching Opportunity
AMECEA Online News || By Sr. Antoinette Jecinter Okoth, FSSA || 19 July 2018
AMECEA Bishops have been urged to bank on the diversity of their members within the region and beyond as an opportunity of enriching the world with goodness so as to manifest the divine greatness of God.
Speaking during a presentation (at the ongoing Plenary Assembly of AMECEA) on 18th July, 2018, the Vice Chancellor designate of Tangaza University College, Kenya Rev. Fr. Stephen Mbugua Ngari … emphasized that diversity was God’s creation and should be utilized positively to enrich the world with goodness so as to manifest the divine greatness of God.
He further explained that most AMECEA countries have been negatively affected and diversity has been used to divide and discriminate people in terms of race, gender, politics and even tribes.
In an interview with AMECEA Online News, Fr. Mbugua urged the Bishops to aspire changing the world view from micro to macro diversity where people see themselves as citizens of the world and as brothers and sisters.
He said that the Church must always look into the root causes of the negative diversity that destroy the society and come up with better resolutions.
“I would like the Catholic Church in AMECEA countries to constitute commissions that will identify the root causes of negative diversity, be it economic, political or social to help improve the integration of the people in the AMECEA region and beyond,” Fr. Mbugua said adding, “The curriculum in schools should include issues of universal citizenship, and AMECEA should also create avenues where people appreciate and integrate others.”
He said that diversity was created by God himself and that creation itself is diverse not only among human beings but among plants and animals too. “The whole creation is diverse,” he said.
Fr Mbugua said that diversity has affected the AMECEA region both negatively and positively, explaining, “Positively that we are one family who proclaims the word of God and it also gives us the identity as Catholics as a universal Church. Negatively, when diversity causes conflicts which lead to destruction and loss of innocent lives.”
Fr Mbugua wanted the Catholic Church in AMECEA to address the root causes of conflict in the region in order to solve the problem of the negative diversity.
Source: AMECEA Online News…
Church Leaders in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains Say They Support the People
Catholic News Service (CNS) || By Paul Jeffrey || 19 July 2018
Caught between a repressive government to the north and a civil war to the south, residents of the Nuba Mountains of Sudan face difficult choices as they ponder their future. What they can count on, Catholic leaders say, is that the church will continue to accompany them on whatever political path they choose.
“We live in the mountains because we fled from the Arabs who came here to make us their slaves. If the SPLA-North wasn’t militarily strong, the Arabs would have entered here and raped all the women and girls, killed all the men, taken all the property, and enslaved anyone who survived,” said Father Daniel Tutu Kuku, the parish priest in Heiban. He referred to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North, a rebel group that controls much of the Nuba Mountains, a small enclave inside Sudan along its border with South Sudan.
“We won’t be slaves. If Khartoum won’t give us our freedom, we will continue fighting. By peaceful means when possible, because the gun can’t win. It only destroys,” he said. “But it is the means by which we protect ourselves. We prefer peaceful means, but when they force us to use the gun, we use it.”
Despite decades of conflict, the future of the Nuba Mountains remains unclear. While the Nuba fought alongside other southerners against the North during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), their fate was set aside by the 2005 peace treaty that placed what became South Sudan on the road to independence. Instead, war dragged on for the Nuba, with the government in the capital, Khartoum, sending Russian planes to regularly bomb agricultural land, chasing farmers into caves in the hillsides and leaving the population short on food. While Khartoum stopped the bombing in 2016 during a diplomatic offensive to convince the West to end sanctions, its military standoff with the liberated enclave has continued.
U.N. agencies refuse to enter the Nuba Mountains, unwilling to antagonize the Sudanese government. A handful of international aid groups, insisting on anonymity, provide some humanitarian assistance, but all have problems with access. For years the Catholic Church flew cargo planes of food and medical supplies into the region, but halted those after Khartoum started targeting the flights.
Talks to allow greater humanitarian access have gone nowhere, with Khartoum insisting that all aid be channeled through the North, and the SPLA-North demanding a humanitarian corridor from the border with neighboring South Sudan.
Dr. Tom Catena, a Catholic lay missionary from the United States, said any aid that comes from the North would automatically be suspect.
“When you’ve lived here during the attacks, you’re not going to trust anything from Khartoum. You assume it’s poisoned. You’re going to assume that any vaccines they send are to sterilize the people. It’s not something that’s negotiable,” said Catena, who directs the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel. “That’s the position of the SPLA leadership, and most people agree. I wouldn’t trust them, either. They’ve tried to kill us with bombs, so what’s to stop them from killing us in other ways?”
Comboni Sister Angelina Nyakuru, a Ugandan who serves as head nurse in the hospital, said the people of the Nuba will never surrender. “They are fighting for their liberation. They’ve had it with the North and want to be free,” she said. “They already have their own national anthem. And people in Gidel came to us sisters for cloth to make their own flag. We didn’t have all the colors they needed, but we gave them what we had.”
No one here proposes unifying with South Sudan, which has been plagued by civil war since 2013. With both merger and independence off the table, Catena said some sort of semi-autonomous status might work.
“We had high hopes for places like Kurdistan, but it’s kind of collapsing. So I don’t know how it would work. The Nuba is landlocked and poor. On the other hand, the people don’t need much. They’ll farm, and there’s gold here and there. They’ll find their way. But at the moment, I don’t see any viable political solution,” he said.
Catena said he urges his neighbors to think beyond war to achieve their ends.
“Fighting and killing Arabs isn’t going to solve their problems,” Catena said. “They should prepare themselves to be better than them. Get their revenge that way. Become so excellent in medical care that the Arabs will come here for medical care. Is an Arab guy going to think that he’s better than you when he sees you standing over him with a knife about to operate?”
What’s clear to church leaders is that they must prepare people for whatever political future emerges. One key element is education. Besides health care, a primary emphasis of Catholic work in the region has been opening and operating schools throughout the Nuba Mountains, as well as a teacher training institute in Kauda.
The schools have been largely financed by a Nairobi-based foundation run by Bishop Macram Max Gassis, the retired bishop of El Obeid. For years he has run church operations inside the Nuba Mountains on behalf of the Sudan-based diocese, whose current bishop is not allowed by Khartoum to enter the rebel enclave.
Yet runaway inflation — the Nuba use the troubled South Sudan pound as their currency — coupled with financial shortfalls in Nairobi have pushed several school directors in the Nuba Mountains to attempt to raise school fees this year, a move opposed by most parents. The church has now trained sufficient local teachers that there’s almost no need to import costly foreign teachers from Kenya and Uganda, as has been the practice for years, but the schools still face difficult financial challenges.
“The church puts effort into education because the church looks ahead. It looks to the future,” said Father Zacharia Osman, the parish priest in Lugi. “Without education, nothing good will happen. It’s how we’re creating our leaders for the future. The Arabs in the North educate themselves but don’t care about the education of people here. So we need to do it ourselves.”
US Bishops’ Conference Approves Project Funding for Africa, Eastern Europe
Catholic News Agency (CNA) || 19 July 2018
Subcommittees at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have approved more than $6 million for pastoral projects in Africa and Central and Eastern Europe.
The grants partner with local bishops’ conferences and Church organizations in dozens of countries to respond to specific needs within the communities.
“The Catholics of the United States show that we stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Africa and recognize their courageous commitment to peace, justice, reconciliation, and Christian hope throughout the continent,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, who chairs the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa.
The subcommittee recently approved 54 grants providing $1.4 million for pastoral efforts in Africa, which include religious formation, seminarian and lay leader education, evangelization, and family ministry. Money for the grants comes from the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa.
Among the projects funded by the grants will be the establishment of child protection measures in the Diocese of Wa, Ghana. The new Child Protection Office in the diocese is organizing training sessions on the protection of children and vulnerable adults, safe environment creation, policy development and collaboration with government agencies.
Funding will also be given to the bishops’ conference in Rwanda, which is continuing its peace and reconciliation efforts after the 1994 genocide in the country by translating conflict prevention resources for use in local Catholic schools.
In Lesotho, a grant from the U.S. bishops’ conference will support Radio Maria in establishing three new transmitting stations, so that their educational faith programs can reach the entire national population.
In addition, the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe has approved $4.9 million in funding for 209 projects in 22 countries. Used to support the Church in nations that previously saw oppression under communism, the funding will go toward construction projects, formation of Church leaders, and education and evangelization efforts.
These include a seven-week formation program to help develop youth ministries in Romania, where only one-third of the parishes in the Archdiocese of Alba Iulia currently have youth programs, and the expansion of a homeless day center run by Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Rijeka, Croatia.
A rehabilitation center for children with cancer in Minsk, Belarus, will also receive a grant. The facility, run by Caritas, offers free housing and psychological support for poor families whose children are going through cancer treatment.
Youth summer camps for children internally displaced by war in East Ukraine will also receive funding. Caritas Donetsk will host two summer camps for 100 young people, who will be offered medical health care from professionals and spiritual care from priests.
“As the people of Central and Eastern Europe continue to build a new future after decades of repression, we are all inspired by the example of great hope they give to the world that it is possible to bring healing to the wounds of the past,” said Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.
“We can take pride that our steadfast support makes a significant contribution to all their efforts in renewing their communities and passing on the faith of their ancestors to the next generation,” he said.
The grants are funded by the annual Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, which is generally collected in churches throughout the U.S. on Ash Wednesday each year.
Source: Catholic News Agency…
Bishops in Africa Set to Launch Yearlong Golden Jubilee Celebration of Continental Conference in Uganda
CANAA || By Father Don Bosco Onyalla, Nairobi || 19 July 2018
Catholic Bishops in Africa under their umbrella body of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) are later this month set to launch a yearlong golden jubilee celebration to mark the establishment of their continental conference.
The five-day event to be hosted by the Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC) is set to take place in the outskirts of Uganda’s capital, Kampala, at Speke Resort Hotel and Conference Centre, Munyonyo from Thursday, July 26 through Monday, July 30.
“The church in Africa, 50 years ago, took the historical initiative to constitute herself as the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) at Kampala in 1969,” reads in part SECAM Golden Jubilee Instrumentum Laboris (Working Document) shared with CANAA ahead of a series of planned activities.
The objective of SECAM Golden Jubilee is “to celebrate in thanksgiving God’s wonderous deeds, His gift of baptism and of the Church; to reflect on the progress made so far, with the aim of deepening our faith, rooted in Christ, and to resolutely engage ourselves in the mission of proclaiming the gospel in words and actions”.
Some of the activities planned during the five days include prayer sessions, a series of workshops on Instrumentum Laboris divided in six sessions, a meeting of SECAM Presidency, Treasurer and Secretaries General, an extraordinary meeting of SECAM Standing Committee, a meeting of staff from SECAM and UEC Secretariats, among other activities.
The Eucharistic celebration to officially mark the launch of the Jubilee celebrations has been planned for Sunday, July 29 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Rubanga.
The Golden Jubilee will be launched under the theme: Church – Family of God in Africa, Celebrate your Jubilee, Proclaim Jesus Christ your Savior.
Participants will have time to visit the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine at Namugongo, where they will have their evening prayers on Sunday, July 29.
Those set to take part in the five-day program include members of SECAM Standing Committee, representatives from Regional Bishops’ Conferences, UEC, CARITAS Africa, staff from the Accra-based SECAM Secretariat, COMMITHEOL facilitators, SECAM Canonist, members of the media, and a team of translators.
“In celebrating the Golden Jubilee of SECAM, each faithful, every Christian community in Africa and Madagascar, is invited to let the call to this mission resonate in him/her and respond to it with zeal,” the Working Document reads.
On the occasion of the establishment of SECAM in Kampala in 1969, “Pope Paul VI came and confirmed the Church in Africa in her faith, and declared: You Africans, you are now your own missionaries; You can and ought to have an African Christianity.”
Below is a summary of the year-long SECAM Golden Jubilee list of activities contained in Instrumentum Laboris
SECAM Golden Jubilee Activities
Thanksgiving for:
- The Church-Family of God, community of faith.
- Our identity as baptized people and our mission as witnesses to the Gospel.
- The gift of the Eucharist which brings us together, sanctifies, strengthens and commits us to become “Eucharist” so that others through us may have life in fullness.
- SECAM and all the other structures and ecclesial institutions within Church for the past 50 years.
- The pastoral and social works that have enabled the Church to be close to those in need: (Mt 25:31-46)
- Cultural and educational works.
Memories of the accomplished path
Identifying the initiatives or activities of the Church-Family of God at all levels: personal, family, parochial, diocesan, national, regional and continental (successes, failures, joys and difficulties encountered).
- How do we, in our families, parishes, religious congregations, nations, regions, and continent, acknowledge the progress made by the Church-Family of God?
- What measures have we put in place to promote justice, reconciliation, peace and development and to help internalize, assimilate and testify truly that we are God’s Family?
- What mutual support do we offer each other in response to the fact that we are the Church-Family of God?
- What kind of spiritual and material resources do we dispose of?
Repentance and Conversion
- Identify the activities to be undertaken towards the way of repentance and conversion in our daily life
- Promote personal and community approaches of forgiveness,
- To be aware of our shortcomings and negligence in acknowledging and developing the immense human and natural resources of Africa in favour of our populations.
- Recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the methods of evangelization used till today and to update the necessary pastoral initiatives.
- Develop activities for reconciliation and unity at all levels: family, Christian communities, villages, regions, countries and continent.
Renewed commitment to bearing witness to Christ
- Renewing our life with Christ
- Strengthening the sense of personal responsibility to the Gospel among the lay faithful, the Religious and the pastors.
- Organizing formation sessions to deepen our knowledge of Christ and his Gospel
- Identifying socio-cultural and economic barriers to responding to the demands of the Mission.
- Rethinking and promoting the involvement of Christians in political life.
- Developing, in institutions of formation (universities, seminaries, novitiates, and associations), initiatives of communion and action for deeper evangelization and transformation of society.
- Promoting an organic solidarity among ecclesial service structures in a spirit of subsidiarity and complementarity (cf. Pauline image of the church as body of Christ).
- Promoting some pastoral actions or strategies, according to the Social Doctrine of the Church, proper to different groups and associations as well as socio-professional institutions (family businesses, cooperative structures, community groups for economic purposes, etc.), in view of integral human development.
- Recognizing and promoting the roots and cultural values of Africa to meet the major challenges for her transformation.
- Indicate the commitments to be promoted in order to further respond to the mission of the Church-Family of God.
- Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Church-Family of God, as well as the opportunities and threats for a far-reaching evangelization.
- Stimulate and encourage ecumenical actions and Interreligious Dialogue.
- Remember that the grace of God is gratuitous and dismiss any aspects of simony in the celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals.
- Create awareness for pastoral care of the needy (sick, old, prisoners, refugees, migrants, etc. (Lk 6: 17-19).
- Strengthen pastoral care for the children and the youth
‘If you want to go far, go together’: Sister of Mercy’s Memories of South Africa
Global Sisters Report (GSR) || By Sr. Jean Evans || 16 July 2018
If you want to learn about a culture, read its proverbs. You can understand a lot about a particular group of people by getting to know their sayings. One brief sentence can illustrate a certain mindset or approach to life.
In the U.S., we have proverbs collected in Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac. Many of them reflect our Puritan heritage praising personal industry, thrift and wealth: “A stitch in time saves nine.”
Pithy sayings were a part of our family, too. My dad often quoted Ben Franklin to us as children: “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man [sic] healthy, wealthy and wise.” Moreover, from Grandpa Evans we often heard, “No friend so true as a buck or two.”
Proverbs or witty sayings, indicators of mindset, approach, values, were also very much a part of the South African cultures that I experienced.
I remember one in particular that shines a light on African culture: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This proverb speaks to me, and contrasts with our American culture.
It’s true. We Americans can often go very fast by ourselves, though at times we may end up going in the wrong direction without a little help from friends. Bred as intrepid individualists, we forge ahead in spite of many obstacles to win the race, to achieve the goal, to reach whatever seems to be our Everest.
However, in Africa, where community, not individual achievement, is a paramount value, this is not the case.
It may be difficult for us in the U.S. to appreciate this emphasis on group effort, but history shows that significant achievements are rarely the work of individuals.
New Zealander Edmund Hillary topped Mount Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. United States astronaut John Glenn stepped onto the moon’s surface with the whole of NASA behind him, many of them African-Americans as we saw in “Hidden Figures.” Yes. If you want to go far, go together.
In 1964, Nelson Mandela was put on trial for treason in the South African High Court. His crime: attempting to overthrow the South African government because of its unjust racist policy of apartheid, separate development.
Mandela recounts his trial and imprisonment in his book Long Walk to Freedom. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Mandela began serving his sentence on Robben Island, situated several miles off the coast of Cape Town — South Africa’s version of Alcatraz.
During the “winter months” of June and July (Southern Hemisphere seasons are the reverse of mine in the U.S.) on the Cape of Storms, the weather on the island is inhospitably cold, windy and wet.
As a punishing indignity, authorities did not allow African prisoners to wear long trousers like their white counterparts did. It was only in 1974 that this practice was discontinued, when Helen Suzman, the only woman member in the South African Parliament, visited Robben Island and reported this inhumane treatment to the International Red Cross.
The prisoners spent their days performing mindless labor like breaking rocks in the lime quarry on the island, resulting in many eye problems due to the harsh glare of the sun, the sea and the limestone.
However, this did not stop Mandela and his co-accused from “going together.” During their time on Robben Island, they began an informal and unsanctioned school where the more educated among the prisoners took turns teaching young freedom fighters with little or no education. Using hollowed-out alcoves, mere niches in the walls of the limestone quarries, prisoners avoided the guards’ watchful eyes and shared their knowledge and skills with fellow inmates. Their motto was “Ngamnye ufundisa omnye,” that is, “Each one teach one.”
Ultimately, many young members of the African National Congress completed their high school educations. Some went on to graduate with baccalaureate and even law degrees by taking correspondence courses from the University of South Africa. “If you want to go far, go together.”
Nelson Mandela served 27 years of his life sentence for treason, and when released from prison joined the country’s political leaders in negotiating a settlement for a new non-racist government.
In 1994, Mandela was elected the first president of the new South Africa. His was a long walk, a slow walk, lonely at times to be sure, but not solitary. Despite many adversities, Mandela went on to lead South Africa into a new democratic dispensation, but he did not go alone. He went as a loyal and disciplined member of the African National Congress.
He went with the support of anti-apartheid activists and churches throughout the world whose insistence on international sanctions on South Africa affected the economy so significantly that the apartheid government was forced to negotiate.
Though Mandela may have felt alone, the whole world was with him, supporting him and all South Africans in their struggle for liberation. “If you want to go far, go together.”
Before I went to South Africa, I had an intuition that God was weeping over the suffering of Africans there. I asked my community if I could go volunteer for one or two years with the Sisters of Mercy in Johannesburg.
When I arrived in South Africa in 1984, I was not prepared for what I saw: structures and laws that made ordinary life for most people extremely burdensome and degrading.
Africans could not use the same entry into post offices or liquor stores as whites. They could not dine in restaurants or go to cinemas. Interracial marriage was illegal. Schools were strictly segregated according to race: white, “coloured” (mixed-race), Indian and Bantu (a derogatory term for Africans).
Black South Africans could not be treated in whites-only hospitals; they rode in separate public bus systems and went to work in segregated railcars. They could not live where they wished, nor could they own property until 1989. Their old-age pensions were only a percentage of what white South Africans received.
The policy of apartheid imposed untold suffering on the individuals, families and communities who made up 87 percent of South African’s population.
A state of emergency was declared in the country from 1985 to 1994. There were many dark nights and days in Soweto, when army and police patrolled in militarized vehicles. Children came home from school and found one or both parents missing. It was a dangerous time for all.
During the school boycotts and unrest in the township, we ministered as best we could — offering retreats to the teachers, working in parish and catechetical ministry at Regina Mundi Parish, visiting the hospital and prison, doing outreach in outlying communities south of Soweto.
Despite the frustration and fear, it was our great privilege to be with the people in their struggle for full human dignity and freedom. Though it seemed we did not go very far, we never felt alone.
In a few years, at Mandela’s election, we rejoiced with millions of South Africans in celebrating the rainbow nation coming together in its first democratic election. “If you want to go far, go together.”
[Jean Evans is a Sister of Mercy from California who ministered for 28 years in South Africa, where she worked in Johannesburg with victims of the apartheid regime. Back in the U.S., she is currently doing vocation ministry, substitute teaching, spiritual direction and grant writing.]
Source: Global Sisters Report…
Bishops of Central African Republic ‘outraged’ by Threat against Muslim Population
Crux || By Crux Staff || 16 July 2018
Catholic leaders in the Central African Republic are “outraged” over the calls by a self-styled Church defense group for Christians to carry out revenge attacks on Muslims.
The spokesperson of the self-appointed League for the Defense of the Church, François Nzapakéyé, signed a communiqué July 7, calling on Christians to engage in revenge killing against Muslims.
“Since the beginning of the war, the Church has never stopped from being the target of attacks,” the communiqué reads, and blasted the head of the Catholic Church in the country, Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga and the government for failing to address the continued killing of Church leaders in the conflict-ravaged nation.
“Priests and pastors are systematically assassinated,” they said in the communiqué, and cited Father Paul Emile Nzalé, murdered during an attack by 200 armed men who struck the Notre Dame of Fatima Church on May 2.
“The priest was assassinated like a dog,” the “league” statement said.
The statement also mentioned several other Christian clergymen killed in the country over the past year.
“We, Christians of the Central African Republic want the national and international community to know that we will avenge the killings of the many Church leaders and men of God, killed in the exercise of their functions. Muslims or Christians, we shall see,” the “league” threatened.
The bishops responded by condemning the organization, and said they were involved with “anti-Christian activities.”
They called on the faithful not to give into faith-based manipulation and incitement to hate.
“The Bishops of the Central African Republic want Central Africans to be vigilant. There are always enemies of peace who want to create a conflict between Christians and Muslims to show that Christians and Muslims cannot live together in the Central Africa Republic,” the bishops said.
“We believe in Jesus Christ, the face of the Father’s mercy, who saves us from sin and its consequences…He came to unite men and women with God and bring them together in a big spiritual family. He distinguishes himself from over-zealous nationalists by preaching non-violence and love of the enemy,” the bishops’ statement continued.
Government institutions have also joined religious bodies in condemning the incitement to hate. On July 10, the Higher Communication Council of the Central African Republic brought together ecclesiastical authorities, the association of Central African bloggers, the collective of Central African Muslim organizations (COMUC) and many other structures to unanimously denounce that message of hate.
“We, leaders of the media and the civil society in the Central African Republic, insist that the statements of this so-called ‘League for the Defense of the Church’ which denounces what it considers the lethargy of Church leaders as well as national and international institutions in the face of the crimes committed in the Central African Republic are erroneous and unfounded, and are intended to sow trouble among the population, divide the people and stall the efforts made in the interest of peace and living together.”
The country has experienced instability since 2013, when Seleka, a Muslim-majority militia movement, overthrew the government. The Christian-dominated Anti-Balaka militia then formed to fight the Seleka. French and African peacekeepers were deployed in January 2014 and drove the Seleka forces from the capital, Bangui.
With the government unable to exert authority beyond Bangui, armed groups and militias have taken control of more than 70 percent of the country.
The United Nations says the conflict has left at least 1.1 million people destitute and homeless, with about 2.5 million people – more than half of CAR’s four million inhabitants – now in need of humanitarian assistance.
Pope Francis visited Bangui in 2015 and met with Muslim leaders, emphasizing the need for inter-religious peace and dialogue.
Christians make up about 80 percent of the population of the Central African Republic, and Muslims about 15 percent.
The Muslim population is concentrated in the north of the country that touches on the Sahel region of Africa, although there are many Muslim traders in the south.
The country’s religious authorities have long sought to avoid painting the conflict as religion-based, and blamed external forces for trying to divide the country.
The country’s bishops have emphasized the need to “correct the confusion propagated by some national and foreign media giving the impression that the conflict has to do with religion, whereas it is above all else, a political and military conflict.”
Source: Crux…