Benedict Daswa: Possible South Africa’s First Saint

Vatican Radio || By Linda Bordoni || 09 December, 2014

Not many people at all know—or even know of—the tiny village of Mbahe in a remote Northern area of South Africa.

It’s making a place for itself on the map as recent reports tell of “foreigners” crossing the dry “veld” North of Polokwane to visit and to pray on the grave of Benedict Daswa, the man who could become South Africa’s first Saint.

Vatican Radio's Linda Bordoni had a chat with Bishop Joao Rodriguez of Tzaneen about Benedict Daswa and about the significance of his sainthood for the Church in South Africa.

Benedict Daswa, who was born in Mbahe, was a Catholic school principal and family man. Bishop Joao Rodriguez of Tzaneen, the diocese to which Daswa belonged and that subsequently conducted the Inquiry into his life and death, describes Daswa as “very strong about his faith, in particular in relation to issues of divination and witchcraft, which is quite prominent and practiced by people in many ways, not only in South Africa but in many parts of Africa and the world.”

“He made his position very clear in conscience; he said that his faith would not allow him to be involved in any way in such practices” he says. 

This strong stance, as Bishop Rodriguez describes, lead to conflict after a lightening strike which many thought was a result of witchcraft. Daswa refused this notion, publicly stating that the weather event was a natural occurrence. This lead to his subsequent murder, which took place not far from the village, on February 2, 1990. He was 48 years old at the time. 

A number of priests attended Daswa’s funeral, and wore red vestments, which indicate “the holy spirit and martyrdom,” Rodriguez explains.

“They felt there was something special about the way he was killed… because of people being against his faith” he says.

Rodriguez says that after his death, the people of Mbahe continued to remember Daswa’s life, and this remembrance grew to be an annual event, sparking the church to investigate more about his life. The official inquiry by the church took place in 2009, and by November of 2010, a decree validating the church’s inquiry was issued. 

The cause for his sainthood has gathered momentum, and in October this year a group of theologians tasked to review the life of the South African Servant of God, unanimously voted that he be named a martyr and be beatified. 

Bishop Rodriguez firmly believes that his beatification will lead to canonization. Daswa – he says - gives “encouragement to Christians and Catholics in particular, and his bold stance also challenges many Christians to consider that very often faith cannot just be comprised.”  

The diocese has also received many testimonies from people regarding blessings they have received through the intercession of Benedict Daswa, which is particularly encouraging for Bishop Rodriguez: “This is the fruit that we look for, the blessings,” he says. 

The matter will now be discussed by the Congregation of the Causes of Saints on the 13 January 2015. Their final recommendation will then be referred to Pope Francis for the final decision. Source...

Kenyan and Angolan Bishops Elevated to Archbishops

CANAA || 11 December, 2014

Pope Francis has elevated two African Bishops to Archbishops, one in Kenya and the other in Angola.

The Archdioceses of Mombasa in Kenya and Luanda in Angola will be shepherded by Bishop Martin Musonde Kivuva and Bishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias respectively.

While both appointments were reported by Vatican Information Service on Tuesday, the appointment of Bishop Filomeno was on Monday 8 December and that of Bishop Martin on Tuesday 9 December.

Bishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias, 56, was ordained on October 30, 1983 as a priest for the Archdiocese of Luanda in Angola. 20 years later, he was appointed the Auxiliary Bishop of his native diocese of Luanda.

Until his elevation to Archbishop on Monday, Bishop Filomeno has been the bishop of Cabinda in Angola, a territory he has administered since his appointment as its bishop on February 11, 2005.

Meanwhile, Bishop Martin Musonde Kivuva has been the bishop of Machakos diocese in Kenya since his appointment on March 15, 2003. He was ordained bishop on June 3, 2003.

According to CISA report Bishop Martin will be officially introduced to the Archdiocese of Mombasa on December 19 2014, where he was ordained priest on December 9, 1978.

62-year old Bishop Martin will be taking over from the late Archbishop Boniface Lele who had retired on November 1, 2013 for health related reasons.

The Archdiocese of Mombasa has been under the care of Bishop Emmanuel Barbara, the bishop of Malindi diocese.

Leaders of Mainstream Churches in Kenya Reflect “with heavy hearts” on Insecurity

CANAA || 11 December, 2014

Leaders of the mainstream Christian Churches in Kenya have issued a collective statement reflecting “with heavy hearts” on the insecurity in the country, informed by the spate of killings of innocent Kenyans in the recent past.

“We, the leaders of Kenya’s mainstream Churches, meeting at the All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi have reflected deeply with heavy hearts and deliberated on various issues of national concern,” the leaders’ collective statement begins.

Drawn from the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and African Inland Churches, including representatives from the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the leaders have expressed their concerns about the unprecedented levels of insecurity in the country and especially the religious angle the situation seems to be taking.

The statement availed to CANAA on Wednesday is titled The State of The Nation and is dated Wednesday, December 10, 2014.

“This year alone, over 20 attacks have been recorded in the country leaving behind a trail of death and destruction where over 200 Kenyans have lost their lives,” the leaders have recalled, adding, “It is sad to note that some of the attacks have followed each other in quick succession, raising concerns over the capacity of the state security to respond on time.”

On December 2, the Al-Shabaab militants claimed to have been behind the murder in cold-blood of 36 quarry workers in Mandera, just a week after the same Somalia-based militant group claimed responsibility of hijacking a bus in the same region, killing 28 non-Muslims, 21 of them teachers.

“The attacks, which initially targeted Christian places of worship in Nairobi, Garissa and Mombasa, are now directly targeting innocent Christians in public transport and their places of work,” the leaders lamented.

“We want to see a deliberate and concerted effort by our Muslim brothers and sisters,” the Church leaders have appealed, adding, “They (Muslim leaders) must move merely beyond condemning the spate of attacks targeting non-Muslims to initiating practical steps to the sympathisers of terror and helping us to build bridges between faiths and communities.”

“We wish to once again condole with the families and friends of those who lost their loved ones following recent attacks in Mandera and other areas of the country,” the Church leaders have stated, adding, “We wish to remind the government of its constitutional responsibility to ensure that the security and safety of all Kenyans and their property is guaranteed.”

“The reality of this situation regrettably leads us to the conclusion that these attacks, perpetuated by people claiming to be Al Shabaab, are taking a religious angle,” the Church leaders have said and added, “Although recent executions of innocent Kenyans in Mandera showed patterns of religious intolerance, we call upon all Kenyans to avoid statements that further incite and divide the country along religious lines.”

The Church leaders have also urged Kenyan politicians to desist from politicizing issues of national security, insisting that debates on insecurity be characterized with sobriety, realism and the fostering of national unity.

Pope Francis Releases Message for World Day of Peace 2015: No Longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters

CANAA || 11 December, 2014

Pope Francis on Wednesday, December 10, 2014, released his message for the World Day of Peace 2015, an annual Church feast day marked on the first day of the year, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The feast was introduced in 1967 by Pope Paul VI and first observed on January 1, 1968. January 1, 2015 will therefore be the 48th World Day of Peace, the second since Pope Francis rose to the papacy.

The World Day of Peace is different from the International Day of Peace, held on 21 September.

Last year’s (2014) Message for World Day of Peace was: Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace.

The theme for the World Day of Peace 2015 is: No Longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters.

As News.VA reported, a note from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace explained the relevance of the theme, noting that whereas many people think that slavery is a thing of the past, it is a social plague all too real in contemporary world.

Below is the full text of the Pope’s message, as reported by Vatican Radio.

NO LONGER SLAVES, BUT BROTHERS AND SISTERS

1.            At the beginning of this New Year, which we welcome as God’s gracious gift to all humanity, I offer heartfelt wishes of peace to every man and woman, to all the world’s peoples and nations, to heads of state and government, and to religious leaders.  In doing so, I pray for an end to wars, conflicts and the great suffering caused by human agency, by epidemics past and present, and by the devastation wrought by natural disasters.  I pray especially that, on the basis of our common calling to cooperate with God and all people of good will for the advancement of harmony and peace in the world, we may resist the temptation to act in a manner unworthy of our humanity.

In my Message for Peace last year, I spoke of “the desire for a full life… which includes a longing for fraternity which draws us to fellowship with others and enables us to see them not as enemies or rivals, but as brothers and sisters to be accepted and embraced”.   Since we are by nature relational beings, meant to find fulfilment through interpersonal relationships inspired by justice and love, it is fundamental for our human development that our dignity, freedom and autonomy be acknowledged and respected.  Tragically, the growing scourge of man’s exploitation by man gravely damages the life of communion and our calling to forge interpersonal relations marked by respect, justice and love.  This abominable phenomenon, which leads to contempt for the fundamental rights of others and to the suppression of their freedom and dignity, takes many forms.  I would like briefly to consider these, so that, in the light of God’s word, we can consider all men and women “no longer slaves, but brothers and sisters”.

Listening to God’s plan for humanity

2.            The theme I have chosen for this year’s message is drawn from Saint Paul’s letter to Philemon, in which the Apostle asks his co-worker to welcome Onesimus, formerly Philemon’s slave, now a Christian and, therefore, according to Paul, worthy of being considered a brother.  The Apostle of the Gentiles writes: “Perhaps this is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back for ever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother” (vv. 15-16).  Onesimus became Philemon’s brother when he became a Christian.  Conversion to Christ, the beginning of a life lived Christian discipleship, thus constitutes a new birth (cf. 2 Cor 5:17; 1 Pet 1:3) which generates fraternity as the fundamental bond of family life and the basis of life in society.

In the Book of Genesis (cf. 1:27-28), we read that God made man male and female, and blessed them so that they could increase and multiply.  He made Adam and Eve parents who, in response to God’s command to be fruitful and multiply, brought about the first fraternity, that of Cain and Abel.  Cain and Abel were brothers because they came forth from the same womb.  Consequently they had the same origin, nature and dignity as their parents, who were created in the image and likeness of God.

But fraternity also embraces variety and differences between brothers and sisters, even though they are linked by birth and are of the same nature and dignity.  As brothers and sisters, therefore, all people are in relation with others, from whom they differ, but with whom they share the same origin, nature and dignity.  In this way, fraternity constitutes the network of relations essential for the building of the human family created by God.

Tragically, between the first creation recounted in the Book of Genesis and the new birth in Christ whereby believers become brothers and sisters of the “first-born among many brethren” (Rom 8:29), there is the negative reality of sin, which often disrupts human fraternity and constantly disfigures the beauty and nobility of our being brothers and sisters in the one human family.  It was not only that Cain could not stand Abel; he killed him out of envy and, in so doing, committed the first fratricide.  “Cain’s murder of Abel bears tragic witness to his radical rejection of their vocation to be brothers.  Their story (cf. Gen 4:1-16) brings out the difficult task to which all men and women are called, to live as one, each taking care of the other”.

This was also the case with Noah and his children (cf. Gen 9:18-27).  Ham’s disrespect for his father Noah drove Noah to curse his insolent son and to bless the others, those who honoured him.  This created an inequality between brothers born of the same womb.

In the account of the origins of the human family, the sin of estrangement from God, from the father figure and from the brother, becomes an expression of the refusal of communion.  It gives rise to a culture of enslavement (cf. Gen 9:25-27), with all its consequences extending from generation to generation: rejection of others, their mistreatment, violations of their dignity and fundamental rights, and institutionalized inequality.  Hence, the need for constant conversion to the Covenant, fulfilled by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, in the confidence that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more… through Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:20-21).  Christ, the beloved Son (cf. Mt 3:17), came to reveal the Father’s love for humanity.  Whoever hears the Gospel and responds to the call to conversion becomes Jesus’ “brother, sister and mother” (Mt 12:50), and thus an adopted son of his Father (cf. Eph 1:5).

One does not become a Christian, a child of the Father and a brother or sister in Christ, as the result of an authoritative divine decree, without the exercise of personal freedom: in a word, without being freely converted to Christ.  Becoming a child of God is necessarily linked to conversion: “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).  All those who responded in faith and with their lives to Peter’s preaching entered into the fraternity of the first Christian community (cf. 1 Pet 2:17; Acts 1:15-16, 6:3, 15:23): Jews and Greeks, slaves and free (cf. 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:28).  Differing origins and social status did not diminish anyone’s dignity or exclude anyone from belonging to the People of God. The Christian community is thus a place of communion lived in the love shared among brothers and sisters (cf. Rom 12:10; 1 Thess 4:9; Heb 13:1; 1 Pet 1:22; 2 Pet 1:7).

All of this shows how the Good News of Jesus Christ, in whom God makes “all things new” (Rev 21:5),  is also capable of redeeming human relationships, including those between slaves and masters, by shedding light on what both have in common: adoptive sonship and the bond of brotherhood in Christ.  Jesus himself said to his disciples: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (Jn 15:15).

The many faces of slavery yesterday and today 

3.            From time immemorial, different societies have known the phenomenon of man’s subjugation by man.  There have been periods of human history in which the institution of slavery was generally accepted and regulated by law.  This legislation dictated who was born free and who was born into slavery, as well as the conditions whereby a freeborn person could lose his or her freedom or regain it.  In other words, the law itself admitted that some people were able or required to be considered the property of other people, at their free disposition.  A slave could be bought and sold, given away or acquired, as if he or she were a commercial product.

Today, as the result of a growth in our awareness, slavery, seen as a crime against humanity,  has been formally abolished throughout the world.  The right of each person not to be kept in a state of slavery or servitude has been recognized in international law as inviolable.

Yet, even though the international community has adopted numerous agreements aimed at ending slavery in all its forms, and has launched various strategies to combat this phenomenon, millions of people today – children, women and men of all ages – are deprived of freedom and are forced to live in conditions akin to slavery.

I think of the many men and women labourers, including minors, subjugated in different sectors, whether formally or informally, in domestic or agricultural workplaces, or in the manufacturing or mining industry; whether in countries where labour regulations fail to comply with international norms and minimum standards, or, equally illegally, in countries which lack legal protection for workers’ rights.

I think also of the living conditions of many migrants who, in their dramatic odyssey, experience hunger, are deprived of freedom, robbed of their possessions, or undergo physical and sexual abuse.  In a particular way, I think of those among them who, upon arriving at their destination after a gruelling journey marked by fear and insecurity, are detained in at times inhumane conditions.  I think of those among them, who for different social, political and economic reasons, are forced to live clandestinely.  My thoughts also turn to those who, in order to remain within the law, agree to disgraceful living and working conditions, especially in those cases where the laws of a nation create or permit a structural dependency of migrant workers on their employers, as, for example, when the legality of their residency is made dependent on their labour contract.  Yes, I am thinking of “slave labour”.

I think also of persons forced into prostitution, many of whom are minors, as well as male and female sex slaves.  I think of women forced into marriage, those sold for arranged marriages and those bequeathed to relatives of their deceased husbands, without any right to give or withhold their consent.

Nor can I fail to think of all those persons, minors and adults alike, who are made objects of trafficking for the sale of organs, for recruitment as soldiers, for begging, for illegal activities such as the production and sale of narcotics, or for disguised forms of cross-border adoption.

Finally, I think of all those kidnapped and held captive by terrorist groups, subjected to their purposes as combatants, or, above all in the case of young girls and women, to be used as sex slaves.  Many of these disappear, while others are sold several times over, tortured, mutilated or killed.

Some deeper causes of slavery

4.            Today, as in the past, slavery is rooted in a notion of the human person which allows him or her to be treated as an object.  Whenever sin corrupts the human heart and distances us from our Creator and our neighbours, the latter are no longer regarded as beings of equal dignity, as brothers or sisters sharing a common humanity, but rather as objects.  Whether by coercion or deception, or by physical or psychological duress, human persons created in the image and likeness of God are deprived of their freedom, sold and reduced to being the property of others.  They are treated as means to an end.

                Alongside this deeper cause – the rejection of another person’s humanity – there are other causes which help to explain contemporary forms of slavery.  Among these, I think in the first place of poverty, underdevelopment and exclusion, especially when combined with a lack of access to education or scarce, even non-existent, employment opportunities.  Not infrequently, the victims of human trafficking and slavery are people who look for a way out of a situation of extreme poverty; taken in by false promises of employment, they often end up in the hands of criminal networks which organize human trafficking.  These networks are skilled in using modern means of communication as a way of luring young men and women in various parts of the world.

                Another cause of slavery is corruption on the part of people willing to do anything for financial gain.  Slave labour and human trafficking often require the complicity of intermediaries, be they law enforcement personnel, state officials, or civil and military institutions.  “This occurs when money, and not the human person, is at the centre of an economic system.  Yes, the person, made in the image of God and charged with dominion over all creation, must be at the centre of every social or economic system.  When the person is replaced by mammon, a subversion of values occurs”.

                Further causes of slavery include armed conflicts, violence, criminal activity and terrorism.  Many people are kidnapped in order to be sold, enlisted as combatants, or sexually exploited, while others are forced to emigrate, leaving everything behind: their country, home, property, and even members of their family.  They are driven to seek an alternative to these terrible conditions even at the risk of their personal dignity and their very lives; they risk being drawn into that vicious circle which makes them prey to misery, corruption and their baneful consequences.

A shared commitment to ending slavery

5.            Often, when considering the reality of human trafficking, illegal trafficking of migrants and other acknowledged or unacknowledged forms of slavery, one has the impression that they occur within a context of general indifference.

Sadly, this is largely true.  Yet I would like to mention the enormous and often silent efforts which have been made for many years by religious congregations, especially women’s congregations, to provide support to victims.  These institutes work in very difficult situations, dominated at times by violence, as they work to break the invisible chains binding victims to traffickers and exploiters.  Those chains are made up of a series of links, each composed of clever psychological ploys which make the victims dependent on their exploiters.  This is accomplished by blackmail and threats made against them and their loved ones, but also by concrete acts such as the confiscation of their identity documents and physical violence.  The activity of religious congregations is carried out in three main areas: in offering assistance to victims, in working for their psychological and educational rehabilitation, and in efforts to reintegrate them into the society where they live or from which they have come.

This immense task, which calls for courage, patience and perseverance, deserves the appreciation of the whole Church and society.  Yet, of itself, it is not sufficient to end the scourge of the exploitation of human persons.  There is also need for a threefold commitment on the institutional level: to prevention, to victim protection and to the legal prosecution of perpetrators.  Moreover, since criminal organizations employ global networks to achieve their goals, efforts to eliminate this phenomenon also demand a common and, indeed, a global effort on the part of various sectors of society.

States must ensure that their own legislation truly respects the dignity of the human person in the areas of migration, employment, adoption, the movement of businesses offshore and the sale of items produced by slave labour.  There is a need for just laws which are centred on the human person, uphold fundamental rights and restore those rights when they have been violated.  Such laws should also provide for the rehabilitation of victims, ensure their personal safety, and include effective means of enforcement which leave no room for corruption or impunity.  The role of women in society must also be recognized, not least through initiatives in the sectors of culture and social communications.

Intergovernmental organizations, in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, are called to coordinate initiatives for combating the transnational networks of organized crime which oversee the trafficking of persons and the illegal trafficking of migrants.  Cooperation is clearly needed at a number of levels, involving national and international institutions, agencies of civil society and the world of finance.

Businesses  have a duty to ensure dignified working conditions and adequate salaries for their employees, but they must also be vigilant that forms of subjugation or human trafficking do not find their way into the distribution chain.  Together with the social responsibility of businesses, there is also the social responsibility of consumers.  Every person ought to have the awareness that “purchasing is always a moral – and not simply an economic – act”. 

Organizations in civil society, for their part, have the task of awakening consciences and promoting whatever steps are necessary for combating and uprooting the culture of enslavement.

In recent years, the Holy See, attentive to the pain of the victims of trafficking and the voice of the religious congregations which assist them on their path to freedom, has increased its appeals to the international community for cooperation and collaboration between different agencies in putting an end to this scourge.   Meetings have also been organized to draw attention to the phenomenon of human trafficking and to facilitate cooperation between various agencies, including experts from the universities and international organizations, police forces from migrants’ countries of origin, transit, or destination, and representatives of ecclesial groups which work with victims.  It is my hope that these efforts will continue to expand in years to come.

Globalizing fraternity, not slavery or indifference

6.            In her “proclamation of the truth of Christ’s love in society”,  the Church constantly engages in charitable activities inspired by the truth of the human person.  She is charged with showing to all the path to conversion, which enables us to change the way we see our neighbours, to recognize in every other person a brother or sister in our human family, and to acknowledge his or her intrinsic dignity in truth and freedom.  This can be clearly seen from the story of Josephine Bakhita, the saint originally from the Darfur region in Sudan who was kidnapped by slave-traffickers and sold to brutal masters when she was nine years old.  Subsequently – as a result of painful experiences – she became a “free daughter of God” thanks to her faith, lived in religious consecration and in service to others, especially the most lowly and helpless.  This saint, who lived at the turn of the twentieth century, is even today an exemplary witness of hope  for the many victims of slavery; she can support the efforts of all those committed to fighting against this “open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ”. 

In the light of all this, I invite everyone, in accordance with his or her specific role and responsibilities, to practice acts of fraternity towards those kept in a state of enslavement.  Let us ask ourselves, as individuals and as communities, whether we feel challenged when, in our daily lives, we meet or deal with persons who could be victims of human trafficking, or when we are tempted to select items which may well have been produced by exploiting others.  Some of us, out of indifference, or financial reasons, or because we are caught up in our daily concerns, close our eyes to this.  Others, however, decide to do something about it, to join civic associations or to practice small, everyday gestures – which have so much merit! – such as offering a kind word, a greeting or a smile.  These cost us nothing but they can offer hope, open doors, and change the life of another person who lives clandestinely; they can also change our own lives with respect to this reality.

We ought to recognize that we are facing a global phenomenon which exceeds the competence of any one community or country.  In order to eliminate it, we need a mobilization comparable in size to that of the phenomenon itself.  For this reason I urgently appeal to all men and women of good will, and all those near or far, including the highest levels of civil institutions, who witness the scourge of contemporary slavery, not to become accomplices to this evil, not to turn away from the sufferings of our brothers and sisters, our fellow human beings, who are deprived of their freedom and dignity.  Instead, may we have the courage to touch the suffering flesh of Christ,  revealed in the faces of those countless persons whom he calls “the least of these my brethren” (Mt 25:40, 45).

We know that God will ask each of us: What did you do for your brother? (cf. Gen 4:9-10).  The globalization of indifference, which today burdens the lives of so many of our brothers and sisters, requires all of us to forge a new worldwide solidarity and fraternity capable of giving them new hope and helping them to advance with courage amid the problems of our time and the new horizons which they disclose and which God places in our hands.

The Church Needs more Female Theologians, says Pope Francis

Catholic Herald || By Catholic News Service || 06 December, 2014

Pontiff describes women members of International Theological Commission as 'strawberries on the cake'

Pope Francis has said he is pleased that five of the 30 members of the International Theological Commission are women.

But he said that the body that advises the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as the Church in general, need more women theologians.

“They are the strawberries on the cake, but there is need for more,” the Pope said as he met the members, who were named to a five-year term in July.

Two women served on the commission for the past 10 years. In July the Pope named five new female members, coming from the United States, Canada, Australia, Slovenia and Austria.

“The greater presence of women – although they are not many – is a call to reflect on the role women can and must have in the field of theology,” the Pope told the commission.

Quoting his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis said: “‘The Church acknowledges the indispensable contribution which women make to society through the sensitivity, intuition and other distinctive skill sets which they, more than men, tend to possess.’ I am pleased to see how many women are offering new contributions to theological reflection.”

The women theologians, he said, “can reveal, to the benefit of everyone, certain unexplored aspects of the unfathomable mystery of Christ.” Source...

A New Bishop in Kenya Appointed

CANAA || 08 December, 2014

Pope Francis last Friday appointed Father Joseph Obanyi Sagwe of Kisii Diocese as the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega in Kenya, succeeding Bishop Philip Sulumeti whose resignation was accepted by the Pope in conformity with Canon 401 Article 1, as Agenzia Fides reported.

Until his appointment, Bishop-elect was Vicar General of Kisii, his diocese of origin, and Father-in-charge of St. Charles Lwanga Cathedral Parish. He had also served as Pastoral Coordinator of his diocese.

47-year old Bishop-elect was ordained a priest on October 25, 1996 and holds a PhD in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

“We should work together to build a strong church. We should ensure that we live in harmony, peace, love and unity so that we can achieve our mission of leading our people,” Bishop-elect was quoted as saying in Kakamega moments after his appointment was made public.

The Bishop-elect succeeds Bishop Philip Sulumeti who was ordained Bishop in 1972, first as the Auxiliary Bishop of Kisumu Archdiocese in Kenya. He was the first Bishop of Kakamega diocese.

Bishop Emeritus Philip is set to retire in Kakamega in a house recently constructed for him with funding from the faithful of his diocese.

“You have built a house for me. I will not retire to Nairobi because I hate urban life. I will remain around,” the Kenyan Daily Nation quoted Bishop Emeritus as saying last Friday, on the occasion of the presentation of the Bishop-elect by the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya (and South Sudan), Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo.

The Friday afternoon event attended by priests, religious, and representatives of the faithful from parishes and institutions of the diocese, took place at Bishop Nicholas Stam Pastoral and Animation Centre, Shimalabandu, in Kakamega.

“I have been your bishop for the last 42 years. When I made my resignation in this hall in November 2012, you (the faithful) and I cried. I urge you to remain firm in your faith,” Bishop emeritus was quoted as saying.

Malawian Nun to Head ACWECA from Nairobi

AMECEA Online Newsletter || By Prince Henderson || 05 December, 2014

Following the 16^th General Assembly of the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) in Lusaka, Zambia, where at least 150 Superiors of different congregations gathered to share and discuss many issues under the theme “Go do not be afraid and serve”, the assembly endorsed Sr. Eneless Chimbali of Servants of Blessed Virgin Mary (SBVM) in Malawi as Secretary General of ACWECA.

Speaking to the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) Communications department on the sidelines of her appointment, Sr. Chimbale who takes over the position from Sr. Catherine Okari of BVM-Loreto Sister from Kenya said her new job is the most challenging one but her trust lies in God.

“It is God himself who made it possible for things to go in this way. I never expected in my life that one day I will go on Mission and now I have no choice but to fulfill the mandates that ACWECA wants to achieve in the next three years,” she said.

She said among others, her major tasks will be to promote, enhance, deepen and strengthen religious life through holistic formation at every level, promote capacity building for Mission by using Holistic Organizational Capacity Assessment Instrument (HOCAI) and Sub-Recipient Financial Management Policy (SRFMP) so as to become more effective and to continue to build solidarity with the Sisters in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan.

“I say like Mother Theresa who said ‘alone I cannot change the world but I can cast a stone in the water and create many ripples’.My trust is in my God as this is His work and not mine” she said.

Sr. Chimbali who until her appointment to ACWECA was the Secretary General for the Association of Women Religious In Malawi (AWRIM) thanked fellow sisters in Malawi who helped her to work better for its successes.

Meanwhile Sr. Prisca Matenga of Daughters of Redeemer in Zambia was elected the Chairperson of the Executive which is composed of one member from each member countries of ECWECA.

ACWECA has member countries from the AMECEA region namely Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. Source...

Ethiopia Hosts Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches

Vatican Radio || 08 December, 2014

Over the weekend, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches began a visit to Ethiopia which will end on 11 December. The Congregation for the Oriental Churches is the dicastery of the Roman Curia  responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Over the weekend, on Saturday, Cardinal Sandri’s day began with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Alexandrian rite, Ethiopian-gheez at the Cathedral in Addis Ababa, in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio in Ethiopia, Archbishop Luigi Bianco, along with the Metropolitan of Addis Ababa, Most Rev. Berhaneiesus Souraphiel and all the other Bishops of the Eastern and Latin rite.

At the end of the Liturgy, Cardinal Sandri gave, on behalf of Pope Francis, a gift to the Metropolitan of Addis Ababa, a medal of the second year of the pontificate of Pope Francis.

In the afternoon, Cardinal Sandri, accompanied by the Apostolic Nuncio and others left for Emdibir, the most recent of the eparchies of eastern Ethiopia.

Before reaching Emdibir, Cardinal Sandri stopped over at Wolisso, St. Luke’s Mission hospital being managed by a religious congregation. He also stopped at St. Michael Parish of Wolkite, an area with a strong presence of the Orthodox community and Moslems.

Arriving at the Cathedral of Emdibir, after sunset, Cardinal Sandri made his entrance into the church, built in oriental Alexandrian style.

Towards the end of his visit in Ethiopia, the Cardinal will meet with the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the head of state in Ethiopia. With the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Cardinal Sandri hopes to use the opportunity to confirm the love and the openness of Pope Francis towards the Orthodox Church. Source...

Special Mass for Peace to be Celebrated at Bangui Carmel on Friday

Agenzia Fides || 04 December, 2014

“For a year now, since 5 December 2013, following disorder in various districts of Bangui, we have welcomed thousands of displaced persons to our Friary. Many – about 4,000 – are still with us. The present improved situation is still very precarious. With this in mind on Friday December 5 with our refugees we will celebrate a special Mass at 3.15 pm” Fides learned from Discalced Carmelite missionary Fr. Federico Trinchero, at Notre Dame du Mont Carmel Friary in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic.

The Friary is still hosting thousands of homeless families fleeing violence and clashes between former Seleka rebels and Antibalaka militia (see Fides 6/5/2014).

With a national unity government in place and the arrival of international peacekeepers, the situation has improved, but peace remains precarious.

“During the Mass - Fr. Federico tells Fides - “we will implore God for the gift of peace and authentic reconciliation for the whole of the Central Africa. We will pray for the conversion of hearts and minds. We will remember the thousands killed in these two years of war. We will pray for all the innocent victims, Christians and Muslims, for the Antibalaka and the Seleka. We will pray for our refugees whom we have known and loved and who are dead: elderly people, young people, children”.

“We will pray – the missionary continues – for all those killed, French soldiers, military from other parts of the world and humanitarian workers who gave their lives to restore peace in Central Africa. We will pray for those who govern our country today and those who will govern us in the future”.

“We will pray for all those who have helped us and who continue to do so with prayers, friendship and generosity. And we will offer thanks to God for all the children born here at the Carmel and for protecting us from harm” concludes Fr. Federico. Source...

DR Congo celebrates 50^th Anniversary of Blessed Anuarite's martyrdom

Vatican Radio || By Fr. Jean-Baptiste Malenge Kalunzu, OMI || 04 December, 2014

 

His Eminence, Laurent Cardinal Monsengwo the Archbishop of Kinshasa, this week led thousands of pilgrims when he presided-over a special Mass to close the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the martyrdom of Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite.

The  Mass was held  in the Diocese of Isiro-Niangara, in the Orientale Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite was a religious sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Kisangani. She was murdered by Simba rebels in Isiro on 1 December 1964 and beatified by Pope John Paul II in Kinshasa on 15 August 1985.

Cardinal Monsengwo together with Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, the Apostolic Nuncio to Congo; Bishop Julian Andavo, the Bishop of Isiro-Niangara and other Bishops of Congo DR led pilgrims in the various liturgies and devotions.

Over the weekend, part of the pilgrimage comprising ten Bishops together with priests, religious and the faithful walked from the first tomb of Blessed Anuarite right up to the Cathedral of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Throughout the pilgrimage, pilgrims recited the rosary and meditated on the martyrdom of Blessed Anuarite.

Apart from local people, pilgrims came from Kinshasa, Butembo and Bunia, Kisangani, Wamba and Dungu.

Bishops of Uganda Recall Church’s Contribution in Dealing with HIV and AIDS

CANAA || 04 December, 2014

On the occasion of this year’s World AIDS Day marked last Monday, the Catholic Bishops of Uganda highlighted “the contributions that the Catholic Church has made through one of its currently running projects to the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (EMTCT) of HIV.”

According to a report sent to CANAA on Wednesday by the National Communications Secretary of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, Father Philip Odii, the Bishops recalled their involvement in HIV and AIDS issues “from the very outbreak of the epidemic in the country,” and mentioned their first pastoral letter about the epidemic, which was published in 1989.

“To date, all 19 dioceses have established HIV/AIDS Focal Point offices working alongside the health coordination structures to maintain the high quality and standards of health services rendered to the people of God,” the Bishops reported, adding, “Most recently, through the restructuring of the secretariat, both UCMB and the HIV/AIDS department were brought under the Health commission.”

UCMB refers to the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau, also known as the Health Department.

“In 2010, the Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC) through Cooperative Federal Agreement received funding from the US Government channelled through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide HIV/AIDS services,” the Bishops went on to report, adding that the AIDS Care and Treatment (ACT) project had provided care to 54,711 clients as of September 2014 and that 7% of these clients were children under the age of 15.

“On the overall, the Catholic Health facilities currently reporting through the DHIS2 system recorded 90,646 clients,” the Bishops’ report reveals and adds, “The actual cumulative figures however should be higher as some of the facilities have not started reporting through the DHIS2 system.”

The Bishops called for collective responsibility in dealing with the HIV and AIDS reality.

“As we celebrate this year’s world AIDS day, it is imperative upon all of us, men and women of reproductive age, to ensure that we are part of the goal of moving to zero new HIV infections. Each one of us has a role to play,” the Catholic Bishops of Uganda insisted.

This year’s World AIDS day was guided by the theme: Getting to Zero: My Responsibility.

The Bishops caution against complacent behavior, prevention fatigue, commercial sex promoted by capitalism and materialism, non-disclosure of HIV status among couples, and lack of proper knowledge about HIV prevention, describing these as some of the factors that “slow down progress of getting to zero.”

Meanwhile, in Malawi, there were reports of widespread participation in the event.

“The main goal of much discussion and much planning is still ‘Getting to Zero’: no more AIDS infection, no more AIDS casualties, no more discrimination, ” Agenzia Fides quoted Monfort Missionary Father Piergiorgio Gamba, who has ministered in Malawi for several decades, as saying.

According to the same report, “On the occasion of the start of the Season of Advent, the Catholic Health Commission on behalf of the Catholic Bishops of Malawi, reported on the situation regarding the spread of AIDS: 10.3% of Malawi’s population is HIV positive (in past years the percentage was 16%); 1,100,000 Malawians are HIV positive and of these 170,000 are children; in 2013 AIDS killed some 48,000 people (170 every day); the country has 790,000 AIDS orphans.”

“It is the family and family fidelity which will win or will lose the battle with AIDS. The Synod for the Family in this area faces a tremendous challenge and demand for commitment” Agenzia Fides quotes Father Gamba as saying. 

Pope Francis Receives in Audience the President of Mozambique

CANAA || 04 December, 2014

On Thursday, December 4, 2014, Pope Francis received in audience the President of the Republic of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebuza, in the Apostolic Palace.

According to Vatican Radio, the meeting “focused on areas of common interest and on the contribution of the Catholic Church in the development of the Southern African nation.”

The meeting highlighted “the good relations that exist between the Holy See and the Republic of Mozambique.”

Pope Francis and President Armando also spoke about the active role the Catholic Church in Mozambique is playing in healthcare and education in addition to the promotion of peace and reconciliation.

“Finally, attention turned to various regional challenges, such as disarmament and the struggle against poverty and social inequality,” Vatican Information Service reported.

President Armando later held a meeting with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who was accompanied by the undersecretary for Relations with States, Msgr. Antoine Camilleri.

Africans among Refugees Pope Francis Consoled and Encouraged in Turkey

Catholic News Agency || By Ann Schneible || 30 November, 2014

“Dear young people, do not be discouraged.” Pope Francis made this appeal during an encounter with young refugees in Istanbul, urging them to remember that God never forgets his children.

The Pope met with the refugees in the Salesian Oratory of Istanbul on Nov. 30, the third and final day of his Apostolic Journey to Turkey. The youth refugees taking part in the encounter were predominantly from Africa and the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq.

“I wish to assure you that I share your sufferings,” said Pope Francis to the youth. “I hope my visit, by the grace of God, may offer you some consolation in your difficult situation.”

“Yours is the sad consequence of brutal conflicts and war, which are always evils and which never solve problems. Rather, they only create new ones.”

Not only are refugees forced to abandon their material, the Pope said, “but above all their freedom, closeness to family, their homeland and cultural traditions.”

He condemned the “intolerable” conditions in which many refugees live, appealing for “greater international cooperation” to bring an end  to the crises which drive people from their homelands.

“I encourage all who are working generously and steadfastly for justice and peace not to lose heart,” he said, reminding political leaders  that the “great majority of their people long for peace.”

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 23,000 Iraqi and 1,300,000 Syrian refugees are currently residing in Turkey due to ongoing violence in both nations.

Pope Francis acknowledged the efforts made by organizations and Catholic groups to mobilize aid for refugees, expressing particular gratitude to Turkish authorities, especially for their assistance to Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

“Dear young people, do not be discouraged,” Pope Francis said. “With the help of God, continue to hope in a better future, despite the difficulties and obstacles which you are currently facing.”

“Remember always that God does not forget any of his children, and that those who are the smallest and who suffer the most are closest to the Father's heart.”

Pope Francis concluded by assuring them of his prayers and those of the Church. “I will continue to pray to the Lord, asking him to inspire those in leadership, so that they will not hesitate to promote justice, security and peace and do so in ways that are clear and effective.”

“Through her social and charitable organizations, the Church will remain at your side and will continue to hold up your cause before the world.” Source...

Christian Churches in Zambia to Monitor Presidential by-election

Vatican Radio || By Mwenya Mukuka in Zambia || 01 December, 2014

 

As Zambians prepare for a Presidential by-elections following the death of President Michael Sata, four Christian organisations have, at the weekend announced the formation of what is being called the Christian Churches’ Monitoring Group (CCMG).

CCMG is constituted by four faith based organisations namely the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) which comprises all Protestant mainstream Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship in Zambia (EFZ) which brings together all Pentecostal Churches. These have partnered with Catholics under the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) and the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR).

Speaking on behalf of the four orgnisations, ZEC secretary General Father Cleophas Lungu said that CCMG will focus on the management of election results knowing that this has often been one of the most contentious areas whenever elections are held. The Presidential by-election is scheduled for 20 January 2015.

Father Lungu has also said that CCMG is preparing for a robust Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) exercise to be used as a tool for monitoring the integrity of the election results during and after the counting process of votes.  The PVT will be conducted through the participation of volunteers who will act as monitors. The monitors will send official results announced at polling stations to a single CCMG results collection Centre.

Find below the statement used at the time of launching CCMG

CHRISTIAN CHURCHES MONITORING

GROUP (CCMG) LAUNCH STATEMENT

1. SALUTATIONS

To the Media Community, members of Political Parties Present here, the Electoral Commission of Zambia, Civil Society Organisations represented, and representatives of the donor community present here, dear Brothers and Sisters;

2. INTRODUCTION

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We thank you for accepting our invitation to come and witness the launch of our monitoring coalition called CHRISTIAN CHURCHES MONITORING GROUP (CCMG) constituted by four faith based organisations namely; the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), the Evangelical Fellowship in Zambia (EFZ), the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) and the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR). 

We are all aware of the sad events that befell our beloved country in the last few weeks; the passing on of our Republican President, His Excellency Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, may his soul rest in eternal peace. We pass our condolences to his family and the people of Zambia. At the same time we note with appreciation and gratitude to God, the unity exhibited by the people of Zambia in the face of this immeasurable tragedy. We call upon all peace loving Zambians to hold steady fast and genuinely contribute to our country moving the restoration of leadership in our country through a democratic process. Zambia is acclaimed for peaceful democratic transitions and as citizens of this country; we have a duty to uphold this legacy. 

3. FORTH COMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

In compliance with our Republican Constitution, Article 38, which requires that an election be held within three months (90 days) if the office of the President falls vacant by reason of the death of the President, the Acting President His Honour Dr Guy Scott evoked this article during his November 2014 Press briefing at which he announced the Presidential election to elect a successor President to the late Mr. Michael Sata. We applaud government for its strict compliance with the law to ensure that the transition process is smooth and predictable. 

As Faith Based Organisations (FBOs), we feel duty bound to fully participate in the electoral process and encourage our faithful and all Zambians of good will to do so in a peaceful and harmonious manner. 

Recognising the importance of the January 20th Presidential elections and the great interest stakeholders and the nation at large have in the elections, we, the Faith Based Organisations, namely; Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), the Evangelical Fellowship In Zambia (EFZ) and the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) have come together under the consortium Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) to monitor the Presidential Elections of 20th January 2015 and the entire electoral process leading to it. 

4. CCMG MONITORING FOCUS

CCMG will particularly focus on management of election results knowing that this has to date been one of the most contentious areas in our experience of elections. To this effect, CCMG is preparing for a robust Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) exercise to be used as a tool for monitoring the integrity of the election results during and after the counting process of votes. This will be done through the participation of well-trained monitors at the designated polling stations who will be sending official results announced at polling stations to the CCMG results collection centre.

CCMG is also mindful of the fact that the outcome of an election is not necessarily determined on the events of the voting day but also on the fairness and integrity of the process that leads to the voting day. CCMG will thus monitor the entire electoral process ensuring that it is checked of any tendencies that can endanger the fairness, credibility and integrity of our elections. We will be attentive to the following;

1. Intra political party processes in preparing for the elections,
2. Nomination of candidates,
3. Campaigns,
4. Access to Mass Media,
5. Management of law and order by the Police Service,
6. Management of the Electoral process by the Elections Management Body, in this case the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).

We shall also use our shared broad based national structures to conduct voter education and mobilise eligible voter Zambians to vote in the election. 

5. OUR APPEALS

As we all prepare and move towards the Presidential Elections of 20th July 2015, each one of us, woman and man, child and adult, girl and boy must make a personal or group commitment that they will in their personal or group situation work towards peaceful electoral process and elections. We either win together or fail and can destroyed together. The choice is ours. We thus would like to make the following appeals to all: 

5.1 TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF ZAMBIA

We reiterate our gratitude to you and salute you for the manner you have held on so far. Please continue with this spirit.

But now you are called to duty to elect a person you would entrust with the responsibility of managing your country; who will have profound influence on your lives and that of your children. Take this duty responsibly and choose a person that has genuine concern for the welfare of all Zambians and especially the weak and poor in our society. Take your time to study all individuals offering themselves for election. Find out who they are, what they have done in the past when given opportunity to serve in any capacity? Have they exhibited commitment to the common good and respect of ordinary people? What policies and values do they project? Are they arrogant and treat people they are supposed to serve with scorn and disrespect? Are they humble? Are they God fearing and are they men and women of integrity? Strictly assess those who stand for election and use your good conscience and judgment to choose the best person in your assessment. Above all, turn out to vote when the voting day comes. Voter apathy will only provide an opportunity and make it easy for unscrupulous elements to have themselves elected. 

5.2 TO GOVERNMENT

We appeal to government to provide an impartial environment for free and fair elections that will allow the free will of the people to prevail. Public institutions should serve people impartially and should not be dragged in supporting particular candidates while disadvantaging others. The controlling officer must ensure the neutrality of the public service in this process and especially protect public resources from being abused for partisan reasons.

We abhor reports of government officials going to government owned institutions like the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) to intimidate and threaten workers who are doing their professional jobs. We condemn this behavior in the strongest sense possible as it is a great affront to democracy. We appeal to supervising authorities to punish those individuals involved. 

5.3 POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICIANS

We note that political parties are busy preparing and positioning themselves for election. We respect their rights to organize but we strongly request that they too respect other people’s rights to organize and participate. Political acrimony is alien to good democratic culture. Ultimately the people will choose who they want and no political party can impose itself on the people through violence and intimidation. Let these elections be peaceful and violence free. Political parties must educate their cardres on the need to keep peace and respect the rights of others. We condemn individual politicians who have the habit of hiring youth, making them drunk and unleashing them for hooliganism and violence. Such leaders and those in whose name they act should never be elected. 

In many of our recent Pastoral letters, we have bemoaned the diminishing level of integrity in some of our leaders. It is very difficult for an ordinary person today to appreciate what some of our leaders stand for or the values and principles that drives them. Our leaders easily say one thing today and act the complete opposite the next day without any qualm of conscience. They can easily hope from one political party to another because their political association is not driven by any ideological belief or principle. Elections have been taken to be a platform for lying and posturing. We thus call upon the voters to seriously scrutinize the candidates that will stand and discern the cheap lies that always characterize our campaigns and never be hoodwinked by such lies and rhetoric. 

5.4 TO THE YOUTH

For the youth, this is your opportunity to show your best. You should mobilise to vote for your desired candidates but never succumb to be used as instruments of violence by anybody or any political party. Any leader or political party that invites you to be tools of violence has no plans for your better livelihoods and should therefore be rejected with great contempt. As candidates ask them what plans they have for you in terms of jobs and security for your future? But also be wary of lies and cheap political promises. 

5.5 TO THE MEDIA

Mass media is a key and indispensible tool of political mobilization. We appeal to the media to exert their professional ethics and avail the public with quality information that will help the voters make informed choices during elections. Being exclusively a medium for political insults and slender will not benefit voters in any way in knowing what the candidates stand for. We would also want to see equitable access to media by various candidates.

5.6 TO TRADITIONAL LEADERS

Traditional leaders are parents and guardians of many people with different political persuasions in their chiefdoms. We are sometimes saddened when we see respectable traditional leaders being paraded for partisan reasons by candidates. This is very demeaning and erodes the respect our traditional leaders are supposed to have. Traditional leaders must respect the rights of their subjects to belong to and participate freely in the political parties of their choice. We appeal to the House of Chiefs to devise some form of Charter that will guide the conduct of chiefs in such situations. 

5.7 TO CHURCHES

Our Churches too are an amalgamation of congregants belonging to various political parties. We should encourage our faithful to participate in political processes but never provide a blue print for them as to which political party or candidate they must support. We should teach principles of a good candidate and leave the choices to the individual faithful. The habit of some Pastors or Priests inviting candidates for Church Service and providing them with a platform to campaign under the guise of greeting the people is not acceptable. Churches must strive to be apolitical. 

5.8 TO CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS

We call upon Civil Society Organisations to organize and mobilise the people to fully participate in the coming Presidential Election. The state of voter apathy in Zambia is too high and undermines the credibility of our elections. 

5.9 TO THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF ZAMBIA

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is a body in Zambia mandated to manage elections. We appeal for sound preparedness by ECZ for the January 2015 Presidential election. Lapses in preparations only lead to suspicions among stakeholders and loss of confidence in the process. A robust mechanism of communicating to stakeholders and even consulting them must be initiated and adhered to.

The ECZ must give Election Monitors genuine space for effectively monitoring the elections. Monitors are partners in ensuring electoral transparency. Prohibitive costs of access to materials like voter registers and complicated monitor registration and accreditation process can only work to impede the genuine cause of monitoring the elections. 

5.10 TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND SECURITY SERVICES

Law enforcement agencies in the electoral process are important in ensuring law and order and peace in the electoral process. CCMG would like to see a more professional police service treating every political actor in the game with equal fairness. Tendencies of selectiveness in enforcing law have been persistent in Zambia’s political process and we pray that they will be a change in the way of doing business this time around. We applaud the Security Chiefs that have repeatedly counseled their men and women to avoid engaging in partisan politics. 

6. CONCLUSION

Our pledge to the Zambian people and all election stakeholders is that CCMG shall provide a monitoring regime based on integrity and truth. Our monitors will be thoroughly and professionally trained, and be made to pledge to a code of ethics. CCMG has an unmatched collective outreach country wide that it will be possible to monitor every corner of this country. Source...

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL 

SIGNED: 

Reverend Suzanne Matale-CCZ

Reverend Pukuta Mwanza – EFZ

Fr Cleophas Lungu – ZEC 

Fr Leonard Chiti SJ - JCTR

Reports on Recent Workshop on Small Christian Communities in Africa incorporated in eBook

CANAA || 01 December, 2014

Reports on the recent workshop on Small Christian Communities (SCCs) in Africa held in Accra, Ghana, under the auspices of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in partnership with Missio Aachen, have been incorporated in the free eBook on SCCs.

The book, which has gone through various editions and versions since 2011, is titled Building the Church as Family of God: Evaluation of Small Christian Communities in Eastern Africa and authored by Father Joseph G. Healey, MM.

The free eBook, the “fifth and latest version,” includes further research in 2012, 2013, and 2014 and is available here.

Reports, including resolutions and recommendations of the SECAM workshop on SCCs have been incorporated in chapter 5, pages 170-171 of this 558-page eBook.

A Facebook page on SCCs has also posts on the reports about the SCCs workshop, available here.

SCCs Global Collaborative website is also available here,  where reports on various activities of SCCs worldwide are uploaded.

The recent Accra workshop was a follow up of an earlier one, which took place in September 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Nairobi workshop discussed the commitment of SCCs in the process of reconciliation in Africa in the light of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus. The report on this workshop is available here. 

Year of Consecrated Life Begins, Pope Francis Issues Letter, Urges Consecrated to Shun Gossip, Envy, and Pettiness in Community Life

CANAA || 01 December, 2014

The first Sunday of Advent this year, November 30, marked the beginning of the Year of Consecrated Life (YCL) throughout the universal Church. Catholic Bishops’ conferences, Religious congregations and orders and some Church institutions around the world have had celebrations to officially mark the start of this YCL.

In Kenya, the President of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), John Cardinal Njue presided over the launching of this special period for consecrated persons in the country last Thursday, November 27 in Nairobi, describing the year as “a time of intense reflection” during which consecrated persons will “ponder with clear hearts and minds over” the various challenges in their life and ministry.

In Zambia, Bishop Patrick Chisanga of Mansa Diocese, in an exclusive interview with Vatican Radio, described the opportunity of YCL as “a call for introspection.”

The conclusion of this YCL will coincide with the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, which is the World Day of Consecrated Life, on February 2, 2016.

Pope Francis, who declared the observance of this fourteen-month period of YCL has issued a letter, explaining the aims and the expectations of this period. The letter also includes a section on the horizons of YCL, speaking “to the laity, who share with (the consecrated persons) the same ideals, spirit and mission.”

In this letter, Pope Francis reiterates his message about the tendency to expend time in gossip, envy and pettiness in religious communities.

“I would ask you to think about my frequent comments about criticism, gossip, envy, jealousy, hostility as ways of acting which have no place in our houses,” Pope Francis writes. He expects those formally consecrated to look to the past with gratitude, to live the present with passion and to embrace the future with hope.

Meanwhile, for the month of December, the Holy Father’s universal prayer intention is: That the birth of the Redeemer may bring peace and hope to all people of good will and his intention for evangelisation is: That parents may be true evangelisers, passing on to their children the precious gift of faith.

Below is the full message of the Pope for YCL, available at Vatican Radio’s website.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Consecrated Life,

I am writing to you as the Successor of Peter, to whom the Lord entrusted the task of confirming his brothers and sisters in faith (cf. Lk 22:32).  But I am also writing to you as a brother who, like yourselves, is consecrated to God.

Together let us thank the Father, who called us to follow Jesus by fully embracing the Gospel and serving the Church, and poured into our hearts the Holy Spirit, the source of our joy and our witness to God’s love and mercy before the world.

In response to requests from many of you and from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life, I decided to proclaim a Year of Consecrated Life on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, which speaks of religious in its sixth chapter, and of the Decree Perfectae Caritatis on the renewal of religious life.  The Year will begin on 30 November 2014, the First Sunday of Advent, and conclude with the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple on 2 February 2016.

After consultation with the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life, I have chosen as the aims of this Year the same ones which Saint John Paul II proposed to the whole Church at the beginning of the third millennium, reiterating, in a certain sense, what he had earlier written in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata: “You have not only a glorious history to remember and to recount, but also a great history still to be accomplished!  Look to the future, where the Spirit is sending you in order to do even greater things” (No. 110).

I.         AIMS OF THE YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE

1.         The first of these aims is to look to the past with gratitude.  All our Institutes are heir to a history rich in charisms.  At their origins we see the hand of God who, in his Spirit, calls certain individuals to follow Christ more closely, to translate the Gospel into a particular way of life, to read the signs of the times with the eyes of faith and to respond creatively to the needs of the Church.  This initial experience then matured and developed, engaging new members in new geographic and cultural contexts, and giving rise to new ways of exercising the charism, new initiatives and expressions of apostolic charity.  Like the seed which becomes a tree, each Institute grew and stretched out its branches.

During this Year, it would be appropriate for each charismatic family to reflect on its origins and history, in order to thank God who grants the Church a variety of gifts which embellish her and equip her for every good work (cf. Lumen Gentium, 12).

Recounting our history is essential for preserving our identity, for strengthening our unity as a family and our common sense of belonging.  More than an exercise in archaeology or the cultivation of mere nostalgia, it calls for following in the footsteps of past generations in order to grasp the high ideals, and the vision and values which inspired them, beginning with the founders and foundresses and the first communities.  In this way we come to see how the charism has been lived over the years, the creativity it has sparked, the difficulties it encountered and the concrete ways those difficulties were surmounted.  We may also encounter cases of inconsistency, the result of human weakness and even at times a neglect of some essential aspects of the charism.  Yet everything proves instructive and, taken as a whole, acts as a summons to conversion.  To tell our story is to praise God and to thank him for all his gifts.

In a particular way we give thanks to God for these fifty years which followed the Second Vatican Council.  The Council represented a “breath” of the Holy Spirit upon the whole Church.  In consequence, consecrated life undertook a fruitful journey of renewal which, for all its lights and shadows, has been a time of grace, marked by the presence of the Spirit.

May this Year of Consecrated Life also be an occasion for confessing humbly, with immense confidence in the God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8), our own weakness and, in it, to experience the Lord’s merciful love.  May this Year likewise be an occasion for bearing vigorous and joyful witness before the world to the holiness and vitality present in so many of those called to follow Jesus in the consecrated life.

2.         This Year also calls us to live the present with passion.  Grateful remembrance of the past leads us, as we listen attentively to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church today, to implement ever more fully the essential aspects of our consecrated life.

From the beginnings of monasticism to the “new communities” of our own time, every form of consecrated life has been born of the Spirit’s call to follow Jesus as the Gospel teaches (cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 2).  For the various founders and foundresses, the Gospel was the absolute rule, whereas every other rule was meant merely to be an expression of the Gospel and a means of living the Gospel to the full.  For them, the ideal was Christ; they sought to be interiorly united to him and thus to be able to say with Saint Paul: “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21).  Their vows were intended as a concrete expression of this passionate love.

The question we have to ask ourselves during this Year is if and how we too are open to being challenged by the Gospel; whether the Gospel is truly the “manual” for our daily living and the decisions we are called to make.  The Gospel is demanding: it demands to be lived radically and sincerely.  It is not enough to read it (even though the reading and study of Scripture is essential), nor is it enough to meditate on it (which we do joyfully each day).  Jesus asks us to practice it, to put his words into effect in our lives.

Once again, we have to ask ourselves: Is Jesus really our first and only love, as we promised he would be when we professed our vows?  Only if he is, will we be empowered to love, in truth and mercy, every person who crosses our path.  For we will have learned from Jesus the meaning and practice of love.  We will be able to love because we have his own heart.

Our founders and foundresses shared in Jesus’ own compassion when he saw the crowds who were like sheep without a shepherd.  Like Jesus, who compassionately spoke his gracious word, healed the sick, gave bread to the hungry and offered his own life in sacrifice, so our founders and foundresses sought in different ways to be the service of all those to whom the Spirit sent them. They did so by their prayers of intercession, their preaching of the Gospel, their works of catechesis, education, their service to the poor and the infirm… The creativity of charity is boundless; it is able to find countless new ways of bringing the newness of the Gospel to every culture and every corner of society.

The Year of Consecrated Life challenges us to examine our fidelity to the mission entrusted to us.  Are our ministries, our works and our presence consonant with what the Spirit asked of our founders and foundresses?  Are they suitable for carrying out today, in society and the Church, those same ministries and works?  Do we have the same passion for our people, are we close to them to the point of sharing in their joys and sorrows, thus truly understanding their needs and helping to respond to them?  “The same generosity and self-sacrifice which guided your founders – Saint John Paul II once said – must now inspire you, their spiritual children, to keep alive the charisms which, by the power of the same Spirit who awakened them, are constantly being enriched and adapted, while losing none of their unique character.  It is up to you to place those charisms at the service of the Church and to work for the coming of Christ’s Kingdom in its fullness”.[1]

Recalling our origins sheds light on yet another aspect of consecrated life.  Our founders and foundresses were attracted by the unity of the Apostles with Christ and by the fellowship which marked the first community in Jerusalem.  In establishing their own communities, each of them sought to replicate those models of evangelical living, to be of one heart and one soul, and to rejoice in the Lord’s presence (cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 15).

Living the present with passion means becoming “experts in communion”, “witnesses and architects of the ‘plan for unity’ which is the crowning point of human history in God’s design”.[2]  In a polarized society, where different cultures experience difficulty in living alongside one another, where the powerless encounter oppression, where inequality abounds, we are called to offer a concrete model of community which, by acknowledging the dignity of each person and sharing our respective gifts, makes it possible to live as brothers and sisters.

So, be men and women of communion!  Have the courage to be present in the midst of conflict and tension, as a credible sign of the presence of the Spirit who inspires in human hearts a passion for all to be one (cf. Jn 17:21).  Live the mysticism of encounter, which entails “the ability to hear, to listen to other people; the ability to seek together ways and means”.[3]  Live in the light of the loving relationship of the three divine Persons (cf. 1 Jn 4:8), the model for all interpersonal relationships.  

3.         To embrace the future with hope should be the third aim of this Year.  We all know the difficulties which the various forms of consecrated life are currently experiencing: decreasing vocations and aging members, particularly in the Western world; economic problems stemming from the global financial crisis; issues of internationalization and globalization; the threats posed by relativism and a sense of isolation and social irrelevance…  But it is precisely amid these uncertainties, which we share with so many of our contemporaries, that we are called to practice the virtue of hope, the fruit of our faith in the Lord of history, who continues to tell us: “Be not afraid… for I am with you” (Jer 1:8).

This hope is not based on statistics or accomplishments, but on the One in whom we have put our trust (cf. 2 Tim 1:2), the One for whom “nothing is impossible” (Lk 1:37).  This is the hope which does not disappoint; it is the hope which enables consecrated life to keep writing its great history well into the future.  It is to that future that we must always look, conscious that the Holy Spirit spurs us on so that he can still do great things with us.

So do not yield to the temptation to see things in terms of numbers and efficiency, and even less to trust in your own strength.  In scanning the horizons of your lives and the present moment, be watchful and alert.  Together with Benedict XVI, I urge you not to “join the ranks of the prophets of doom who proclaim the end or meaninglessness of the consecrated life in the Church in our day; rather, clothe yourselves in Jesus Christ and put on the armour of light – as Saint Paul urged (cf. Rom 13:11-14) – keeping awake and watchful”.[4]  Let us constantly set out anew, with trust in the Lord.

I would especially like to say a word to those of you who are young.  You are the present, since you are already taking active part in the lives of your Institutes, offering all the freshness and generosity of your “yes”.  At the same time you are the future, for soon you will be called to take on roles of leadership in the life, formation, service and mission of your communities.  This Year should see you actively engaged in dialogue with the previous generation.  In fraternal communion you will be enriched by their experiences and wisdom, while at the same time inspiring them, by your own energy and enthusiasm, to recapture their original idealism.  In this way the entire community can join in finding new ways of living the Gospel and responding more effectively to the need for witness and proclamation. 

I am also happy to know that you will have the opportunity during this Year to meet with other young religious from different Institutes.  May such encounters become a regular means of fostering communion, mutual support, and unity.

II.        EXPECTATIONS FOR THE YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE

What in particular do I expect from this Year of grace for consecrated life?

1.         That the old saying will always be true: “Where there are religious, there is joy”.  We are called to know and show that God is able to fill our hearts to the brim with happiness; that we need not seek our happiness elsewhere; that the authentic fraternity found in our communities increases our joy; and that our total self-giving in service to the Church, to families and young people, to the elderly and the poor, brings us life-long personal fulfilment.

None of us should be dour, discontented and dissatisfied, for “a gloomy disciple is a disciple of gloom”.  Like everyone else, we have our troubles, our dark nights of the soul, our disappointments and infirmities, our experience of slowing down as we grow older.  But in all these things we should be able to discover “perfect joy”.  For it is here that we learn to recognize the face of Christ, who became like us in all things, and to rejoice in the knowledge that we are being conformed to him who, out of love of us, did not refuse the sufferings of the cross.

In a society which exalts the cult of efficiency, fitness and success, one which ignores the poor and dismisses “losers”, we can witness by our lives to the truth of the words of Scripture: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10).

We can apply to the consecrated life the words of Benedict XVI which I cited in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: “It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but by attraction” (No. 14).  The consecrated life will not flourish as a result of brilliant vocation programs, but because the young people we meet find us attractive, because they see us as men and women who are happy!  Similarly, the apostolic effectiveness of consecrated life does not depend on the efficiency of its methods.  It depends on the eloquence of your lives, lives which radiate the joy and beauty of living the Gospel and following Christ to the full.

As I said to the members of ecclesial movements on the Vigil of Pentecost last year: “Fundamentally, the strength of the Church is living by the Gospel and bearing witness to our faith. The Church is the salt of the earth; she is the light of the world. She is called to make present in society the leaven of the Kingdom of God and she does this primarily by her witness, her witness of brotherly love, of solidarity and of sharing with others” (18 May 2013). 

2.         I am counting on you “to wake up the world”, since the distinctive sign of consecrated life is prophecy.  As I told the Superiors General: “Radical evangelical living is not only for religious: it is demanded of everyone.  But religious follow the Lord in a special way, in a prophetic way.”  This is the priority that is needed right now: “to be prophets who witness to how Jesus lived on this earth… a religious must never abandon prophecy” (29 November 2013).

Prophets receive from God the ability to scrutinize the times in which they live and to interpret events: they are like sentinels who keep watch in the night and sense the coming of the dawn (cf. Is 21:11-12).  Prophets know God and they know the men and women who are their brothers and sisters.  They are able to discern and denounce the evil of sin and injustice.  Because they are free, they are beholden to no one but God, and they have no interest other than God.  Prophets tend to be on the side of the poor and the powerless, for they know that God himself is on their side.

So I trust that, rather than living in some utopia, you will find ways to create “alternate spaces”, where the Gospel approach of self-giving, fraternity, embracing differences, and love of one another can thrive.  Monasteries, communities, centres of spirituality, schools, hospitals, family shelters – all these are places which the charity and creativity born of your charisms have brought into being, and with constant creativity must continue to bring into being.  They should increasingly be the leaven for a society inspired by the Gospel, a “city on a hill”, which testifies to the truth and the power of Jesus’ words.

At times, like Elijah and Jonah, you may feel the temptation to flee, to abandon the task of being a prophet because it is too demanding, wearisome or apparently fruitless.  But prophets know that they are never alone.  As he did with Jeremiah, so God encourages us: “Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you” (Jer 1:8).

3.         Men and women religious, like all other consecrated persons, have been called, as I mentioned, “experts in communion”.  So I am hoping that the “spirituality of communion”, so emphasized by Saint John Paul II, will become a reality and that you will be in the forefront of responding to “the great challenge facing us” in this new millennium: “to make the Church the home and the school of communion.”[5]  I am sure that in this Year you will make every effort to make the ideal of fraternity pursued by your founders and foundresses expand everywhere, like concentric circles.

Communion is lived first and foremost within the respective communities of each Institute.  To this end, I would ask you to think about my frequent comments about criticism, gossip, envy, jealousy, hostility as ways of acting which have no place in our houses.  This being the case, the path of charity open before us is almost infinite, since it entails mutual acceptance and concern, practicing a communion of goods both material and spiritual, fraternal correction and respect for those who are weak … it is the “mystique of living together” which makes our life “a sacred pilgrimage”.[6]  We need to ask ourselves about the way we relate to persons from different cultures, as our communities become increasingly international.  How can we enable each member to say freely what he or she thinks, to be accepted with his or her particular gifts, and to become fully co-responsible?

I also hope for a growth in communion between the members of different Institutes.  Might this Year be an occasion for us to step out more courageously from the confines of our respective Institutes and to work together, at the local and global levels, on projects involving formation, evangelization, and social action?  This would make for a more effective prophetic witness.  Communion and the encounter between different charisms and vocations can open up a path of hope.  No one contributes to the future in isolation, by his or her efforts alone, but by seeing himself or herself as part of a true communion which is constantly open to encounter, dialogue, attentive listening and mutual assistance.  Such a communion inoculates us from the disease of self-absorption.

Consecrated men and women are also called to true synergy with all other vocations in the Church, beginning with priests and the lay faithful, in order to “spread the spirituality of communion, first of all in their internal life and then in the ecclesial community, and even beyond its boundaries”.[7]

4.         I also expect from you what I have asked all the members of the Church: to come out of yourselves and go forth to the existential peripheries.  “Go into all the world”; these were the last words which Jesus spoke to his followers and which he continues to address to us (cf. Mk 16:15).  A whole world awaits us: men and women who have lost all hope, families in difficulty, abandoned children, young people without a future, the elderly, sick and abandoned, those who are rich in the world’s goods but impoverished within, men and women looking for a purpose in life, thirsting for the divine…

Don’t be closed in on yourselves, don’t be stifled by petty squabbles, don’t remain a hostage to your own problems.  These will be resolved if you go forth and help others to resolve their own problems, and proclaim the Good News.  You will find life by giving life, hope by giving hope, love by giving love.

I ask you to work concretely in welcoming refugees, drawing near to the poor, and finding creative ways to catechize, to proclaim the Gospel and to teach others how to pray.  Consequently, I would hope that structures can be streamlined, large religious houses repurposed for works which better respond to the present demands of evangelization and charity, and apostolates adjusted to new needs.

5.         I expect that each form of consecrated life will question what it is that God and people today are asking of them.

Monasteries and groups which are primarily contemplative could meet or otherwise engage in an exchange of experiences on the life of prayer, on ways of deepening communion with the entire Church, on supporting persecuted Christians, and welcoming and assisting those seeking a deeper spiritual life or requiring moral or material support.

The same can be done by Institutes dedicated to works of charity, teaching and cultural advancement, to preaching the Gospel or to carrying out specific pastoral ministries.  It could also be done by Secular Institutes, whose members are found at almost every level of society.  The creativity of the Spirit has generated ways of life and activities so diverse that they cannot be easily categorized or fit into ready-made templates.  So I cannot address each and every charismatic configuration.  Yet during this Year no one can feel excused from seriously examining his or her presence in the Church’s life and from responding to the new demands constantly being made on us, to the cry of the poor.

Only by such concern for the needs of the world, and by docility to the promptings of the Spirit, will this Year of Consecrated Life become an authentic kairos, a time rich in God’s grace, a time of transformation.

III.      THE HORIZONS OF THE YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE

1.         In this letter, I wish to speak not only to consecrated persons, but also to the laity, who share with them the same ideals, spirit and mission.  Some Religious Institutes have a long tradition in this regard, while the experience of others is more recent.  Indeed, around each religious family, every Society of Apostolic Life and every Secular Institute, there is a larger family, a “charismatic family”, which includes a number of Institutes which identify with the same charism, and especially lay faithful who feel called, precisely as lay persons, to share in the same charismatic reality.

I urge you, as laity, to live this Year for Consecrated Life as a grace which can make you more aware of the gift you yourselves have received.  Celebrate it with your entire “family”, so that you can grow and respond together to the promptings of the Spirit in society today.  On some occasions when consecrated men and women from different Institutes come together, arrange to be present yourselves so as to give expression to the one gift of God.  In this way you will come to know the experiences of other charismatic families and other lay groups, and thus have an opportunity for mutual enrichment and support.

2.         The Year for Consecrated Life concerns not only consecrated persons, but the entire Church.  Consequently, I ask the whole Christian people to be increasingly aware of the gift which is the presence of our many consecrated men and women, heirs of the great saints who have written the history of Christianity.  What would the Church be without Saint Benedict and Saint Basil, without Saint Augustine and Saint Bernard, without Saint Francis and Saint Dominic, Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Angelica Merici and Saint Vincent de Paul.  The list could go on and on, up to Saint John Bosco and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.  As Blessed Paul VI pointed out: “Without this concrete sign there would be a danger that the charity which animates the entire Church would grow cold, that the salvific paradox of the Gospel would be blunted, and that the “salt” of faith would lose its savour in a world undergoing secularization” (Evangelica Testificatio, 3).

So I invite every Christian community to experience this Year above all as a moment of thanksgiving to the Lord and grateful remembrance for all the gifts we continue to receive, thanks to the sanctity of founders and foundresses, and from the fidelity to their charism shown by so many consecrated men and women.  I ask all of you to draw close to these men and women, to rejoice with them, to share their difficulties and to assist them, to whatever degree possible, in their ministries and works, for the latter are, in the end, those of the entire Church.  Let them know the affection and the warmth which the entire Christian people feels for them.

3.         In this letter I do not hesitate to address a word to the consecrated men and women and to the members of fraternities and communities who belong to Churches of traditions other than the Catholic tradition.  Monasticism is part of the heritage of the undivided Church, and is still very much alive in both the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church.  The monastic tradition, and other later experiences from the time when the Church in the West was still united, have inspired analogous initiatives in the Ecclesial Communities of the reformed tradition.  These have continued to give birth to further expressions of fraternal community and service.

The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life has planned a number of initiatives to facilitate encounters between members of different expressions of consecrated and fraternal life in the various Churches.  I warmly encourage such meetings as a means of increasing mutual understanding, respect and reciprocal cooperation, so that the ecumenism of the consecrated life can prove helpful for the greater journey towards the unity of all the Churches.

4.         Nor can we forget that the phenomenon of monasticism and of other expressions of religious fraternity is present in all the great religions.  There are instances, some long-standing, of inter-monastic dialogue involving the Catholic Church and certain of the great religious traditions.  I trust that the Year of Consecrated Life will be an opportunity to review the progress made, to make consecrated persons aware of this dialogue, and to consider what further steps can be taken towards greater mutual understanding and greater cooperation in the many common areas of service to human life.

Journeying together always brings enrichment, and can open new paths to relationships between peoples and cultures, which nowadays appear so difficult.

5.         Finally, in a special way, I address my brother bishops.  May this Year be an opportunity to accept institutes of consecrated life, readily and joyfully, as a spiritual capital which contributes to the good of the whole body of Christ (cf. Lumen Gentium, 43), and not simply that of the individual religious families.  “Consecrated life is a gift to the Church, it is born of the Church, it grows in the Church, and it is entirely directed to the Church”.[8]  For this reason, precisely as a gift to the Church, it is not an isolated or marginal reality, but deeply a part of her.  It is at the heart of the Church, a decisive element of her mission, inasmuch as it expresses the deepest nature of the Christian vocation and the yearning of the Church as the Bride for union with her sole Spouse.  Thus, “it belongs… absolutely to the life and holiness” of the Church (ibid., 44).

In the light of this, I ask you, the Pastors of the particular Churches, to show special concern for promoting within your communities the different charisms, whether long-standing or recent.  I ask you to do this by your support and encouragement, your assistance in discernment, and your tender and loving closeness to those situations of suffering and weakness in which some consecrated men or women may find themselves.  Above all, do this by instructing the People of God in the value of consecrated life, so that its beauty and holiness may shine forth in the Church.

I entrust this Year of Consecrated Life to Mary, the Virgin of listening and contemplation, the first disciple of her beloved Son.  Let us look to her, the highly beloved daughter of the Father, endowed with every gift of grace, as the unsurpassed model for all those who follow Christ in love of God and service to their neighbour.

Lastly, I join all of you in gratitude for the gifts of grace and light with which the Lord graciously wills to enrich us, and I accompany you with my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 21 November 2014, Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

[1] Apostolic Letter to the Religious of Latin America on the occasion of the Fifth Centenary of the Evangelization of the New World Los caminos del Evangelio (29 June 1990), 26.

[2] SACRED CONGREGATION FOR RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR INSTITUTES, Religious and Human Promotion (12 August 1980), 24: L’Osservatore Romano, Suppl., 12 November 1980, pp. i-viii.

[3] Address to Rectors and Students of the Pontifical Colleges and Residences of Rome (2 May 2014).

[4] POPE BENEDICT XVI, Homily for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (2 February 2013).

[5] Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January 2001), 43.

[6] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 87

[7] JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 51.

[8]  BISHOP J.M. BERGOGLIO, Intervention at the Synod on the Consecrated Life and its Mission in the Church and in the World, XVI General Congregation, 13 October 1994.