Ugandan Retired Archbishop to Celebrate His Episcopal Golden Jubilee

CANAA || 29 January 2015

On February 21, 2015, Uganda’s Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Tororo, His Grace James Odongo, will mark his Episcopal Golden Jubilee at the Uganda Martyrs Cathedral in Tororo, Uganda.

84-year old Church leader was ordained priest in priest in Rome on 22 December 1956 and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Tororo eight years later.

He became the Ordinary of the same Diocese in 1968 and the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Tororo in 1999.

Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation from the pastoral care of Tororo Archdiocese on June 27, 2007 on account of the age limit and in accordance with the Code of Canon Law. 

Archbishop Odongo served as chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) between 1973 and 1979.

“On the occasion of your Golden Jubilee as Bishop, the family of God within the AMECEA region acknowledges with great appreciation your very significant contribution towards the foundation and the growth of AMECEA," Vatican Radio quoted AMECEA Secretary General Fr Ferdinand Lugonzo as saying.

Archbishop Emmanuel Obbo of Tororo has extended an invitation to those wishing to attend the celebrations beginning with the Eucharistic celebration at 10 a.m.

Below is a reflection of Archbishop James Odongo’s “living AMECEA history” by Father Joseph Healey.

 A Journey with Archbishop James Odongo:

Celebrating Our Living AMECEA History

 As we celebrate Archbishop James Odongo’s Episcopal Golden Jubilee (50 Years as a Bishop) on 21 February 2015 at the Uganda Martyrs Cathedral, Tororo, Uganda we remember and celebrate some of our living AMECEA[1] history.

1.Second Vatican Council (1962-65)

The then Bishop James Odongo was consecrated (now the word is “ordained”) a bishop on 16 February. 1965. Thus he went to the Fourth and Last Session of the Second Vatican Council that took place in the Vatican (Rome) from 14 September to 8 December 1965. Presently there are three living bishops in the AMECEA Region who officially participated in Vatican II – a significant historical milestone: Archbishop Odongo, Retired English Bishop Colin Davies, MHM, of Ngong Diocese, Kenya now living in England and Retired Tanzanian Bishop Gervas Placidus Nkalanga, OSB of Bukoba Diocese, Tanzania now living at Hanga Abbey, Tanzania.

The fourth and last session of the Second Vatican Council approved a total of eleven documents of the 16 official documents including the especially important:

 Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes)

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum)

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium)

Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church (Ad Gentes)

In a recent conversation Archbishop Odongo emphasized that all the bishops signed these documents in the spirit of collegiality and joint ownership. All their signatures are officially in the Vatican Archives. This also made the bishops like him responsible to implement the teaching of the documents when they returned to their home countries and dioceses.

2.AMECEA (1973-1979)

I was privileged to be the first Social Communications Secretary of AMECEA from 1968-1974 based in Nairobi, Kenya. Later Bishop Vincent McCauley, CSC, the Secretary General of AMECEA, called me “one of AMECEA’s roving ambassadors.” I worked closely with Archbishop Odongo when he was chairman of AMECEA between 1973 and 1979. Some significant events during his leadership:

1973: The AMECEA Study Conference on “Planning for the Church in Eastern Africa in the 1980s” in Nairobi, Kenya in December, 1973 stated: “We have to insist on building church life and work on Basic Christian Communities in both rural and urban areas. Church life must be based on the communities in which everyday life and work take place: those basic and manageable social groups whose members can experience real inter-personal relationships and feel a sense of communal belonging, both in living and working.” This pastoral policy was in the context of the statement: “We are convinced that in these countries of Eastern Africa it is time for the Church to become truly local, that is, self-ministering, self-propagating and self-supporting.”

1974-75: Under the direction of Bishop Vincent McCauley the new AMECEA Residence and Office Block was built on Gitanga Road in Nairobi.

1975: The one year AMECEA Accountancy Course was established in Nyegezi Social Training Institute (NSTI), now St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) in Mwanza, Tanzania.

1976:    The Apostolate to the Nomads of AMECEA (ANA) was established.

The AMECEA Pastoral Institute (API/Gaba) moved from Gaba, Kampala, Uganda to Eldoret, Kenya due to political insecurity and continued to flourish.

At the AMECEA Study Conference on “Building Small Christian Communities” in Nairobi, Kenya in July, 1976 the key statement was: "Systematic formation of Small Christian Communities should be the key pastoral priority in the years to come in Eastern Africa.” This is the single most important statement made about SCCs. NOTE: There are now over 160,000 SCCs in Eastern Africa. Over the years the SCCs in the AMECEA Region have had a significant influence on the rest of Africa and around the world.

3.Connections and Personal Friendships

“The Social Communications Connection.” We have always had a close knit

AMECEA Social Communications Family with many personal friendships. A good friend of Archbishop Odongo was Bishop Joseph Mukwaya. As “Father” Joseph Mukwaya he served in the Communications Department of the Uganda Catholic Secretariat in Nsambya, Kampala, Uganda. Later he succeeded me as the second Social Communications Secretary of AMECEA. Then he became the Secretary General of AMECEA. Later Bishop Mukwaya became the Auxiliary Bishop of Kampala Archdiocese and then Ordinary of Kiyanda-Mityana Diocese. A very good friend of Archbishop Odongo is Mary Nives Kizito who also served in the Communications Department of the Uganda Catholic Secretariat and now lectures in Communications at Daystar University in Nairobi. She remembers warmly being present at the archbishop’s episcopal ordination 50 years ago. When I worked at the AMECEA Office I would visit the Communications Training Centre of Tororo Diocese. There was good coordination and cooperation between the dioceses in Uganda. During their time on the AMECEA Executive Board both Archbishop Odongo and Archbishop Emmanuel Obbo, A.J., the present Archbishop of Tororo, were Bishop Chairmen of the Communication Department of AMECEA. So the connections and the links are many.

“The Tororo Diocese Connection.” Over the years I became good friends with priests

of Tororo Diocese such as Father John Kauta and Father Joseph O’Doy. During my four years of teaching at the Maryknoll School of Theology in Maryknoll New York, USA I was the Advisor of many Ugandan priests, some who became bishops. Since I was initiated into the Buffalo Clan of Bishop Mukwaya and given the Luganda name Ssentamu (that means “cooking pot”) I was always invited to participate in Ugandan National Days.

As many know Tororo Diocese had a Development Office in the State of Connecticut, USA. Archbishop Odongo would occasionally come to the USA for what are called “Mission Appeals” -- preaching and fund raising in parishes on weekends. My home diocese is Baltimore Archdiocese in the state of Maryland. Once I visited St. Matthew Parish in Baltimore and the pastor said, “Oh, Bishop Odongo was here last month.” Small world indeed.

So let us continue to remember and to celebrate.

Rev. Joseph G. Healey, MM
Maryknoll Society
P.O. Box 43058
00100 Nairobi, Kenya

Telkom Orange Wireless: 057-2522977 (Kenya)

Blackberry: 973-216-4997 (USA)

Email: [email protected]

New Bishop Appointed in DR Congo

CANAA || 29 January 2015

Pope Francis has appointed Father Jean-Bertin Nadonye Ndongo, O.F.M. Cap., as the new bishop of the diocese of Lolo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

The Pope also accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese presented by His Exc. Mgr. Ferdinand Maemba Liwoke, in accordance to can. 401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law.

According to a report by Vatican Information Service and Agenzia Fides, the bishop-elect was born on March 24, 1965 in Botuzu, Equateur province, Molegbe diocese.

He studied philosophy at the Saint Laurent Convent in Bwamanda (1985-1988) and Theology at the Saint Eugene de Mazenod Institute in Kitambo (1989-1993).

He then obtained a licentiate in Theology at the Catholic University of Kinshasa (1994-1996) and a Higher Diploma in Secondary Education.

He was ordained a priest on August 2, 1993.

Bishop-elect has previously served as Parish Priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Bwamanda, member of the economic council for the diocese of Molegbe, formator and rector of the “Maison d'Etudes” in Kinshasa, vice-minister and subsequently provincial minister of the Capuchin Friars in DR Congo, President of the Conference of Capuchin Friars of Central and Western Africa (CONCAO), and President of the Assembly of Major Superiors.

Since 2012 until his appointment, Bishop-elect has been serving as General Minister of Capuchin Minor Friars in Rome.

Social and Political Situation in Malawi and Floods among Deliberations at Ongoing Plenary Assembly

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 29 January 2015

The Catholic Bishops in Malawi are deliberating on various issues affecting the lives of Malawians, including the situation of floods that has caused untold suffering to many.

This was revealed in a Press Statement by the Acting Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Father Emmanuel Chimombo.

Malawi was recently hit by a wave of heavy rains causing floods, which left hundreds of people dead, many more homeless and crops devastated.

Pope Francis was among those who expressed solidarity with Malawians during this natural disaster.

According to the Press Statement,the Malawi Bishops meeting at the Catholic Secretariat in Lilongwe will “reflect on the flooding in the country and consider possible interventions.”

The gathering will also “appraise the social and political environment in Malawi today.”

Besides conducting elections of office bearers for the Conference and Commissions at its Secretariat, the ongoing plenary was also scheduled to discuss and endorse the Constitution for Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the Constitution for Catholic Women Organisation as well as receive progress and status reports from ecumenical filial bodies.

Other matter scheduled for discussion include,

• The implementation of the 18th AMECEA Plenary Assembly Resolutions in Malawi
• The progress for the preparatory activities of the 18th AMECEA Thanks Giving Mass scheduled for 31st January, 2015 at Don Bosco Parish, Archdiocese of Lilongwe
• The report on Ad limina apostolorum visit to the Holy Father, Pope Francis and tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome from 5th to 12th November, 2014
• Matters pertaining to Catholic University of Malawi(CUNIMA), St. Peter’s and St. Anthony’s Major Seminaries

This is the first annual plenary meeting of ECM. It started on Monday and will conclude on Friday.

Land Grabbing in South Sudan a Concern of Catholic Bishops

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 29 January 2015

The Catholic Bishops in South Sudan have cited the practice of seizing public land for individual and private purposes as one of their major concerns, warning that the behavior could result in violent conflicts.

These concerns were voiced by Archbishop of Juba, His Grace Paolino Lukudu Loro on Thursday in Juba.

The Catholic Bishops in South Sudan are having their biannual plenary meeting in South Sudan’s capital, Juba.

According to a report by Catholic Radio Network (CRN) News on Thursday, “Archbishop Paolino Lukudu Loro said South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ meeting identified land grabbing as a potential risk of violence that the government should address critically before escalation.”

The Catholic Bishops warned that the practice of land grabbing can lead to a “break up in the country” and urged the government to act with speed to stop the vice.

“Cases of land grabbing were highly recorded in Juba, the worst of which was at Kömiru village in Northern Bari Payam in 2012 where several households were butchered by uniformed men,” CRN News reported.

The vast majority of South Sudanese depend on land for their livelihoods.

Since its independence in July 2011, some regions of the landlocked country have witnessed high levels of inter-ethnic violence and cattle rustling often triggered by disputes over grazing land and resources such as water.

It is against this background that the Catholic Bishops in South Sudan view land grabbing as a potential recipe for disaster.

CRN News reported that South Sudan “Vice President James Wani Igga recommended review of Land Act 2009 to address present experiences including punishing land grabbers.”

The concerns by Catholic Bishops in South Sudan over land grabbing echo those of their counterparts in neighboring Kenya.

In a recent statement, the Catholic Bishops in Kenya, called on the government “to identify and bring to book (the) so-called ‘private developers’ who are blatantly grabbing public school land and posing a threat to the education and welfare of the children.”

The Catholic Bishops’ Wednesday through Saturday meeting is graced by the Apostolic Nuncio in South Sudan (and Kenya), Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo.

In his remarks at the opening of the Bishops’ meeting, the Pope’s representative assured the citizens of South Sudan of Pope Francis’ solidarity with them, saying the Pope prays for peace in the country.

“Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo told Bishops, Apostolic Administrators and lay people attending the meeting that Pope Francis included South Sudan to be one of the most of African countries for which he appeals to God for tranquillity,” CRN News reported.

According to CRN News, “South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ meeting is discussing issues affecting the country including lack of development especially in Malakal Diocese due to the ongoing conflict.”

Family is Where People Learn Communication: Pope’s Message for World Communications Day 2015

Vatican Information Service || 23 January 2015

The Pope's message for the 49th annual World Communications Day was published today, the vigil of the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists.

The Day will be celebrated on Sunday 17 May 2015, and this year's theme is “Communicating the family: a privileged place of encounter with the gift of love”.

The message was published in English, French ,German, Portuguese and Spanish.

The full text of the message is reproduced below:

“The family is a subject of profound reflection by the Church and of a process involving two Synods: the recent extraordinary assembly and the ordinary assembly scheduled for next October. So I thought it appropriate that the theme for the next World Communications Day should have the family as its point of reference. After all, it is in the context of the family that we first learn how to communicate. Focusing on this context can help to make our communication more authentic and humane, while helping us to view the family in a new perspective.

“We can draw inspiration from the Gospel passage which relates the visit of Mary to Elizabeth. 'When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”'. This episode first shows us how communication is a dialogue intertwined with the language of the body. The first response to Mary’s greeting is given by the child, who leaps for joy in the womb of Elizabeth. Joy at meeting others, which is something we learn even before being born, is, in one sense, the archetype and symbol of every other form of communication. The womb which hosts us is the first 'school' of communication, a place of listening and physical contact where we begin to familiarise ourselves with the outside world within a protected environment, with the reassuring sound of the mother’s heartbeat. This encounter between two persons, so intimately related while still distinct from each other, an encounter so full of promise, is our first experience of communication. It is an experience which we all share, since each of us was born of a mother.

“Even after we have come into the world, in some sense we are still in a 'womb', which is the family. A womb made up of various interrelated persons: the family is 'where we learn to live with others despite our differences'. Notwithstanding the differences of gender and age between them, family members accept one another because there is a bond between them. The wider the range of these relationships and the greater the differences of age, the richer will be our living environment. It is this bond which is at the root of language, which in turn strengthens the bond. We do not create our language; we can use it because we have received it. It is in the family that we learn to speak our 'mother tongue', the language of those who have gone before us. In the family we realise that others have preceded us, they made it possible for us to exist and in our turn to generate life and to do something good and beautiful. We can give because we have received. This virtuous circle is at the heart of the family’s ability to communicate among its members and with others. More generally, it is the model for all communication.

“The experience of this relationship which 'precedes' us enables the family to become the setting in which the most basic form of communication, which is prayer, is handed down. When parents put their newborn children to sleep, they frequently entrust them to God, asking that he watch over them. When the children are a little older, parents help them to recite some simple prayers, thinking with affection of other people, such as grandparents, relatives, the sick and suffering, and all those in need of God’s help. It was in our families that the majority of us learned the religious dimension of communication, which in the case of Christianity is permeated with love, the love that God bestows upon us and which we then offer to others.

“In the family, we learn to embrace and support one another, to discern the meaning of facial expressions and moments of silence, to laugh and cry together with people who did not choose one other yet are so important to each other. This greatly helps us to understand the meaning of communication as recognising and creating closeness. When we lessen distances by growing closer and accepting one another, we experience gratitude and joy. Mary’s greeting and the stirring of her child are a blessing for Elizabeth; they are followed by the beautiful canticle of the Magnificat, in which Mary praises God’s loving plan for her and for her people. A 'yes' spoken with faith can have effects that go well beyond ourselves and our place in the world. To 'visit' is to open doors, not remaining closed in our little world, but rather going out to others. So too the family comes alive as it reaches beyond itself; families who do so communicate their message of life and communion, giving comfort and hope to more fragile families, and thus build up the Church herself, which is the family of families.

“More than anywhere else, the family is where we daily experience our own limits and those of others, the problems great and small entailed in living peacefully with others. A perfect family does not exist. We should not be fearful of imperfections, weakness or even conflict, but rather learn how to deal with them constructively. The family, where we keep loving one another despite our limits and sins, thus becomes a school of forgiveness. Forgiveness is itself a process of communication. When contrition is expressed and accepted, it becomes possible to restore and rebuild the communication which broke down. A child who has learned in the family to listen to others, to speak respectfully and to express his or her view without negating that of others, will be a force for dialogue and reconciliation in society.

“When it comes to the challenges of communication, families who have children with one or more disabilities have much to teach us. A motor, sensory or mental limitation can be a reason for closing in on ourselves, but it can also become, thanks to the love of parents, siblings, and friends, an incentive to openness, sharing and ready communication with all. It can also help schools, parishes and associations to become more welcoming and inclusive of everyone.

“In a world where people often curse, use foul language, speak badly of others, sow discord and poison our human environment by gossip, the family can teach us to understand communication as a blessing. In situations apparently dominated by hatred and violence, where families are separated by stone walls or the no less impenetrable walls of prejudice and resentment, where there seem to be good reasons for saying 'enough is enough', it is only by blessing rather than cursing, by visiting rather than repelling, and by accepting rather than fighting, that we can break the spiral of evil, show that goodness is always possible, and educate our children to fellowship.

“Today the modern media, which are an essential part of life for young people in particular, can be both a help and a hindrance to communication in and between families. The media can be a hindrance if they become a way to avoid listening to others, to evade physical contact, to fill up every moment of silence and rest, so that we forget that 'silence is an integral element of communication; in its absence, words rich in content cannot exist'. The media can help communication when they enable people to share their stories, to stay in contact with distant friends, to thank others or to seek their forgiveness, and to open the door to new encounters. By growing daily in our awareness of the vital importance of encountering others, these 'new possibilities', we will employ technology wisely, rather than letting ourselves be dominated by it. Here too, parents are the primary educators, but they cannot be left to their own devices. The Christian community is called to help them in teaching children how to live in a media environment in a way consonant with the dignity of the human person and service of the common good.

“The great challenge facing us today is to learn once again how to talk to one another, not simply how to generate and consume information. The latter is a tendency which our important and influential modern communications media can encourage. Information is important, but it is not enough. All too often things get simplified, different positions and viewpoints are pitted against one another, and people are invited to take sides, rather than to see things as a whole.

“The family, in conclusion, is not a subject of debate or a terrain for ideological skirmishes. Rather, it is an environment in which we learn to communicate in an experience of closeness, a setting where communication takes place, a 'communicating community'. The family is a community which provides help, which celebrates life and is fruitful. Once we realise this, we will once more be able to see how the family continues to be a rich human resource, as opposed to a problem or an institution in crisis. At times the media can tend to present the family as a kind of abstract model which has to be accepted or rejected, defended or attacked, rather than as a living reality. Or else a grounds for ideological clashes rather than as a setting where we can all learn what it means to communicate in a love received and returned. Relating our experiences means realising that our lives are bound together as a single reality, that our voices are many, and that each is unique.

“Families should be seen as a resource rather than as a problem for society. Families at their best actively communicate by their witness the beauty and the richness of the relationship between man and woman, and between parents and children. We are not fighting to defend the past. Rather, with patience and trust, we are working to build a better future for the world in which we live”. Source...

Pope Francis Concludes Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Vatican Radio || 25 January 2015

Pope Francis this evening has gathered with the faithful of the diocese of Rome and with the representatives of the different Churches and Ecclesial Communities, in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls to mark the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Please find below the English language translation of the Pope's words during Vespers at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls

On his way from Judea to Galilee, Jesus passes through Samaria.  He has no problem dealing with Samaritans, who were considered by the Jews to be heretics, schismatics, separated.  His attitude tells us that encounter with those who are different from ourselves can make us grow.

Weary from his journey, Jesus does not hesitate to ask the Samaritan woman for something to drink.  His thirst, however, is much more than physical: it is also a thirst for encounter, a desire to enter into dialogue with that woman and to invite her to make a journey of interior conversion.  Jesus is patient, respectful of the person before him, and gradually reveals himself to her.  His example encourages us to seek a serene encounter with others.  To understand one another, and to grow in charity and truth, we need to pause, to accept and listen to one another.  In this way, we already begin to experience unity.

The woman of Sychar asks Jesus about the place where God is truly worshiped.  Jesus does not side with the mountain or the temple, but goes to the heart of the matter, breaking down every wall of division.  He speaks instead of the meaning of true worship: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:24).  So many past controversies between Christians can be overcome when we put aside all polemical or apologetic approaches, and seek instead to grasp more fully what unites us, namely, our call to share in the mystery of the Father’s love revealed to us by the Son through the Holy Spirit.  Christian unity will not be the fruit of subtle theoretical discussions in which each party tries to convince the other of the soundness of their opinions.  We need to realize that, to plumb the depths of the mystery of God, we need one another, we need to encounter one another and to challenge one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who harmonizes diversities and overcomes conflicts.

Gradually the Samaritan woman comes to realize that the one who has asked her for a drink is able to slake her own thirst.  Jesus in effect tells her that he is the source of living water which can satisfy her thirst for ever (cf. Jn 4:13-14).  Our human existence is marked by boundless aspirations: we seek truth, we thirst for love, justice and freedom.  These desires can only be partially satisfied, for from the depths of our being we are prompted to seek “something more”, something capable of fully quenching our thirst.  The response to these aspirations is given by God in Jesus Christ, in his paschal mystery.  From the pierced side of Jesus there flowed blood and water (cf. Jn 19:34).  He is the brimming fount of the water of the Holy Spirit, “the love of God poured into our hearts (Rom 5:5) on the day of our baptism.  By the working of the Holy Spirit, we have become one in Christ, sons in the Son, true worshipers of the Father.  This mystery of love is the deepest ground of the unity which binds all Christians and is much greater than their historical divisions.  To the extent that we humbly advance towards the Lord, then, we also draw nearer to one another.

Her encounter with Jesus made the Samaritan women a missionary.  Having received a greater and more important gift than mere water from a well, she leaves her jar behind (cf. Jn 4:28) and runs back to tell her townspeople that she has met the Christ (cf. Jn 4:29).  Her encounter with Jesus restored meaning and joy to her life, and she felt the desire to share this with others.  Today there are so many men and women around us who are weary and thirsting, and who ask us Christians to give them something to drink.  It is a request which we cannot evade.  In the call to be evangelizers, all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities discover a privileged setting for closer cooperation.  For this to be effective, we need to stop being self-enclosed, exclusive, and bent on imposing a uniformity based on merely human calculations (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 131).  Our shared commitment to proclaiming the Gospel enables us to overcome proselytism and competition in all their forms.  All of us are at the service of the one Gospel!

In this joyful conviction, I offer a cordial and fraternal greeting to His Eminence Metropolitan Gennadios, the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch, to His Grace David Moxon, the personal representative in Rome of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and to all the representatives of the various Churches and Ecclesial Communions gathered here to celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.  I am also pleased to greet the members of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, and I offer them my best wishes for the fruitfulness of the plenary session to be held in these coming days.  I also greet the students from the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, and the young recipients of study grants from by the Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox Churches, centred in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Also present today are men and women religious from various Churches and Ecclesial Communities who have taken part in an ecumenical meeting organized by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life, in conjunction with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, to mark the Year for Consecrated Life.  Religious life, as prophetic sign of the world to come, is called to offer in our time a witness to that communion in Christ which transcends all differences and finds expression in concrete gestures of acceptance and dialogue.  The pursuit of Christian unity cannot be the sole prerogative of individuals or religious communities particularly concerned with this issue.  A shared knowledge of the different traditions of consecrated life, and a fruitful exchange of experiences, can prove beneficial for the vitality of all forms of religious life in the different Churches and Ecclesial Communities.

Dear brothers and sisters, today all of us who thirst for peace and fraternity trustingly implore from our heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ the one Priest, and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostle Paul and all the saints, the gift of full communion between all Christians, so that “the sacred mystery of the unity of the Church” (Unitatis Redintegratio, 2) may shine forth as the sign and instrument of reconciliation for the whole world. Source...

Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa Condemn Violence against Foreigners in South Africa

Vatican Radio || 23 January 2015

Two suspected looters in South Africa were fatally shot following a week of attacks on immigrant-owned shops in the Johannesburg area, police said Monday.

The slain men were part of a group that allegedly went to loot a Somali-owned shop in Langlaagte, south of Johannesburg city, on Sunday night, the South African Press Association quoted police Lt. Gen. Solomon Makgale as saying.

In a separate incident, police said a shop in Alexandra township also in Johannesburg was set on fire early Monday.

Looting and related violence in the past week in Soweto township and other areas around Johannesburg have killed a total of six people, including a baby who was trampled to death when a crowd stampeded outside a ransacked shop.

The Catholic bishops of Southern Africa who were meeting for their first of two plenary meetings for 2015 in Pretoria at the time of the violence in Soweto strongly condemned the attacks on foreigners.

In a statement, the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) called on the “people involved not to allow themselves to be incited to such destruction.”

The grouping of the bishops of South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland said those who encourage and benefit from such looting “are not only destroying buildings but the moral life of young people and the very name of our country.” The bishops extended sincere sympathy and prayers to the families of the victims.

Below is the statement:

Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC)

"The Roman Catholic Bishops meeting in Pretoria condemns the wholesale looting, burning of shops and businesses in Soweto and call on the people involved not to allow themselves to be incited to such destruction.

To those who encourage and benefit from such looting we say that you are not only destroying buildings but the moral life of young people and the very name of our country. It is tragic that people have lost their lives and we extend our prayers to their families. To our brothers and sisters whose businesses and livelihoods have been destroyed we reach out to you in sincere sympathy. What has happened to you deeply disturbs us and we call on all Catholic and Christian communities and leaders to offer you all the practical help which they can muster.

We call on all parents in a special way to step in and offer guidance to their children and to all young people involved.

We call upon all our faithful to offer full support, co-operation and information necessary to the police and community leaders in their defence of those who have been victimised.

We assure the victims of our prayers. We want to say that this behaviour is not typical or acceptable by the majority of the Southern African people." Source...

Issued at Pretoria, St. John Vianney Seminary, 23rd January 2015

Enquiries: Archbishop William Slattery OFM

Imminent General Elections, Violence, Boko Haram Advances among Major Concerns for Bishops in Nigeria

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 26 January 2015

Catholic Bishops in Nigeria are concerned about the general elections, violence in the country and especially the advances of the Islamist group Boko Haram.

In an interview with Vatican Radio, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos in Plateau State warned “that failure to halt the advance of Islamist Boko Haram fighters as they threaten to take the city of Maiduguri could bring further catastrophic consequences for many innocent Nigerians.”

Archbishop Kaigama confirmed that the Islamist militants have continued to attack and occupy villages around Maiduguri and that “the government is obviously unable to halt the fighters or provide protection for civilians who could find themselves trapped with nowhere else to turn.”

He described the situation as “very dangerous and  very disturbing, because once they capture Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, then you can be sure that all of the areas around will easily fall to them”.

Archbishop Kaigama went on to describe Boko Haram as “a group that has lost all rationality and kills people at will” and that “Whether they are Christians or Muslims, they kill them indiscriminately”

“I am quite surprised at that because the people are still dying and being displaced so if the government cannot adequately control the violence, I think there is need for international assistance” Vatican Radio quoted Archbishop Kaigama as saying.

General elections in Nigeria are slated for Valentine’s Day next month and voters will be expected to elect the President and Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Saturday. President Goodluck Jonathan will be seeking a second and final term.

Archbishop Kaigama talked of a “feverish election campaign” with all candidates vying only for power and wealth rather than service.

Similar concerns over the imminent general elections were raised by the Nigeria’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province.

In a communiqué at the conclusion of the bishops’ first plenary meeting held at the Pastoral Institute in Ibadan, the bishops cautioned Nigerians against electing candidates who are not running “issue-based, violence-free campaigns.”

“We ask the general public to refuse to vote for politicians who engage in violence, who peddle falsehood, and conduct purposeless campaigns as they have thus shown the manner of government they are likely to run if they win,” the bishops stated.

The bishops decried violence in the country though what they described as “jungle justice, assassinations, ritual killings and the like.”

The bishop’s communiqué goes on to address the next Synod of the Bishops on the Family, the Year of Consecrated life, anniversaries and celebrations that have taken place in their local Churches.

“We are thankful also that one of us, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo has been appointed Chairman of the Continental Office for Catholic Communications (CEPACS) for the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM),” the Bishops acknowledged, and added, “It is a very important but complex job. We congratulate him and pray that he may be inspired and empowered from above to do the job.”

Below is the full communiqué of the Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province at the conclusion of their first Plenary Meeting. The meeting was held from January 19-20, 2015.

Lord, Visit Our Land and Redeem Your People

Preamble and Thanksgiving

We, members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province comprising of Ibadan Archdiocese, Ondo, Ilorin, Oyo, Ekiti and Osogbo dioceses give all glory to God for the gift of another year. We thank God for bringing us, our country and our peoples through the trials and tribulations of the past year and appreciate his goodness for the things that have brought us all joy and fulfillment. Having prayerfully deliberated at our meeting on matters of concern to our Church and our nation, we issue the following Communique:  

1. Imminent General Elections  

We commend all politicians and political parties who have so far run issue-based, violence-free campaigns in preparations for general elections in Nigeria. We urge them to continue in this manner, proposing their plans to work out a better Nigeria where peace and justice thrive. Many politicians unfortunately have either personally or through their cronies engaged in mudslinging, character assassination and outright falsehood to gain political advantage and provoke violence among the people. We denounce such unwholesome activities and urge a stop to them forthwith. We implore and call on the media, civil society and the general public to keep challenging politicians to conduct purposeful and honest campaigns and contest. We ask the general public to refuse to vote for politicians who engage in violence, who peddle falsehood, and conduct purposeless campaigns as they have thus shown the manner of government they are likely to run if they win. We ask all Nigerians to obtain and secure their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) and we admonish INEC to do all possible to conduct free, safe and fair elections, come February 2015. 

2. Violence in  Nigeria                          

We must mention the persistent, murderous activities of Boko Haram in the North Eastern part of Nigeria. We acknowledge the effort of government to curb the hydra-headed monster, the sacrifice of our soldiers, security agents, and civilians, many of whom have died in this crisis. May the soul of the dead rest in perfect peace and may those who have been injured and displaced continue to find succor in their needs. We call on all Nigerians to cooperate with the security agencies through vigilance and prompt information. We decry the heightened level of violence in Nigeria witnessed in jungle justice, assassinations, ritual killings and the like. We  hereby reiterate that human life is sacred and must be so treated from conception to natural death and we call everyone to reject violence and bloodletting in all their dealings.

3. Elections, Governance and Labour Strikes

A general concern in Nigeria as elections approach is the near abandonment of day-to-day governance in the euphoria of campaigning for votes. Such situations allegedly, are caused by the commitment of all state apparatus and finances to the canvassing for support and votes. This is perhaps responsible for the unresolved strikes going on in the academic and the health sectors in the country. We find this situation unacceptable, to say the least. It is immoral to donate and accept huge funds for frivolous causes, and daily change costumes and outfits for political rallies while neglecting workers in vital sectors of the polity. We admonish government and all concerned  to  have a change of heart, wake up to their statutory duties and resolve all outstanding strikes in order to save the public from further suffering and hardship. 

4. Synod on the Family/Pro-Life and Family L ife Conference

As the Universal Church prepares for the Synod of Bishops on the Family, scheduled for the later part of the year, we call on all to be attentive to the challenges faced by the traditional, Christian family  today from powerful promoters of pro-choice lifestyles. These propose attractive but often sinful and harmful attitudes to sexuality and relationships which undermine the authority and influence of families and religious organizations, especially on the youth. We reiterate the Catholic Church's stand for responsible parenthood and pro-life commitments. We call on all our dioceses and organizations to do all in their power to support, educate and help families and individuals to be faithful to their vocation as agents of evangelization and positive transformers of contemporary society. In this regard, our Conference has approved a Pro-Life and Family Conference entitled: Human Life, Family Values and the Culture of Murder, to be held at the Pope John Paul II Centre of the Seat of Wisdom Parish, University of Ibadan between April 12 and 14, 2015. We urge all people of goodwill, groups and institutions to participate actively in this enlightening, life-giving event.

5. Year of the Consecrated Life

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has called a Year of the Consecrated Life which started on November 29, 2014 and ends on the World Day of Consecrated Life February 2, 2016. It is to be a period of reappraisal and reformation in order to re-energize all Consecrated people in their vocation. We take this opportunity to celebrate the gift of all Consecrated people in the Church and thank them for their sacrifice. May all Consecrated people continue to find joy and fulfillment in their vocation. We urge all to pray for increase in the number of Consecrated persons in our Province.

6. Anniversaries, Celebrations and Appointments

We thank God for the anniversaries and celebrations that have taken place in our churches, institutions and families in our Province. We congratulate all, especially Most Rev Julius B. Adelakun, Bishop emeritus of Oyo diocese who celebrated his 80 birthday on November 4, 2015, Bishop Ayomaria Atoyebi, of Ilorin diocese who celebrated his 70th birthday on 3rd  of December, 2014. We also congratulate in anticipation Bishop Francis Alonge, Bishop Emeritus of Ondo Diocese who turns 80 on March 1, 2015 and Bishop Michael Fagun, Bishop emeritus of Ekiti diocese clocking 80 on April 17, 2015. These are all signs of God's goodness to our Province. May he continue to be gracious to us and bless us.

8. Continental Appointment

We are thankful also that one of us. Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo has been appointed Chairman of the Continental Office for Catholic Communications (CEPACS) for the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). It is a very important but complex job. We congratulate him and pray that he may be inspired and empowered from above to do the job.

Conclusion

In conclusion we once again call on God in supplication in the words of the psalmist: "Oh Lord, my God, I call for help by day: I cry out in the night before you. Let my prayer come before you, incline your ear to my cry" (Ps. 88: 1-2).

Most Rev. Gabriel Abegunrin                            Most Rev. Felix Ajakaye

President                                                             Secretary

Pope Francis Expresses Solidarity with Malawians, Appeals for Prayer for Niger

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 22 January 2015

Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with the people of Malawi following the heavy rains that have caused loss of lives, displacement of populations, destruction of homes and property.

In a message conveyed by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis assured the people of Malawi of his prayers during this difficult situation and expressed the hope that the needs of those affected will be met with generosity.

The Holy Father “assures you of his prayers for the victims, their families and all affected by this catastrophe,” the statement available on the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) Website stated.

“The Holy Father invokes God’s blessings of strength and perseverance upon those engaged in the massive work of relief, and he expresses his fervent hope that the international community will respond generously and effectively to the needs of the suffering,” the statement continued and concluded, “To all, as a pledge of hope and peace in the Lord, he sends his blessing.”

Pope Francis has also appealed for prayer for the people of Niger following the events of recent days.

Niger has witnessed violent demonstrations against the latest publication of the satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo.

“Let us invoke from the Lord the gift of reconciliation and peace, so that religious feeling is not transformed into a cause of violence, oppression and destruction. I hope that a climate of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence may be reinstated as soon as possible, for the good of all,” Vatican Information Service quoted Pope Francis as saying.

According to Agenzia Fides, various churches and religious communities in Niger experienced extensive damages in the demonstrations “between Friday 16 and Saturday 17 January.”

"In the Diocese of Maradi and Niamey, several churches were burned, along with some religious houses. Other Protestant churches were also affected by the protesters," Agenzia Fides reported, adding, “The churches of St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Gabriel, St. John, St. Teresa and St. Joseph were burned and looted in Niamey, as well as two convents of nuns. Because of the situation, all Sunday celebrations were suspended.”

Church property has reportedly been vandalized and looted.

“We have suspended all activities of the Catholic mission; we have closed our schools, our dispensaries ... We are not able to understand what is going on,” The Apostolic Administrator of Nyamey, His Exc. Mgr. Michel Cartatéguy has been quoted, adding, “I summoned all the priests and community leaders to pray in silence, and we meditated on love for enemies. Many of our religious, who today have lost everything, were protected and still are by Muslim families. I said to the highest authorities: 'We have nothing against the Muslim community, on the contrary'. Indeed, we must further strengthen the bonds of unity and brotherhood that we have built."

Land Grabbing Incidences “disturb” Catholic Bishops in Kenya, Use of Tear Gass on Pupils Condemned

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 22 January 2015

The Catholic Bishops in Kenya have expressed their concerns over incidences of land grabbing in the country and have urged the government through relevant institutions “to move with immediate effect and get to the bottom of this matter.”

The Bishops’ concerns follow the tear gassing of pupils who were demonstrating against the grabbing of their school playground by some private developer on Monday.

The Catholic Bishops’ press statement is titled, POLICE ACTION ON LANG’ATA ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IS UNACCETABLE.

“The Catholic Church in Kenya is deeply concerned over the excessive use of force by the police to disperse unarmed children at Lang’ata Road Primary School who were protesting against the grabbing of their school playing field by an un-named private developer, causing injury to five children,” the Bishops introduced their concerns in a press statement signed by the Vice Chairman of the Commission for Education and Religious Education of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Bishop Maurice Clowley.

The Bishops cited another incidence of land grabbing involving a Secondary School.

“Barely two days ago, there was another confrontation over the grabbing of land belonging to Our Lady of Mercy Girls Secondary School in Shauri Moyo, Nairobi,” the Bishops said and posed several questions in their statement dated Tuesday, January 20, 2015.

“This begs certain questions; who is grabbing public school land? Who are the faceless ‘private developers’ and why are they so powerful that they have become untouchable?” the Bishops questioned.

“In the case of Lang’ata Road Primary School land, why were the police deployed to the school so early before dawn? On whose behalf were they acting?” the Bishops went on to wonder, calling for action on the part of the government.

“We demand that the government moves quickly to identify and bring to book these so-called ‘private developers’ who are blatantly grabbing public school land and posing a threat to the education and welfare of the children,” the bishops’ statement concludes.

On Thursday, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed all school heads to begin processing title deeds for their respective schools, a document that should be under the custody of the Board of Governors of each school.

Below is the full statement by the Catholic Bishops of Kenya.

POLICE ACTION ON LANG’ATA ROAD

PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IS UNACCETABLE

The Catholic Church in Kenya is deeply concerned over the excessive use of force by the police to disperse unarmed children at Lang’ata Road Primary School who were protesting against the grabbing of their school playing field by an un-named private developer, causing injury to five children.

We condemn the use of teargas and display of guns and police dogs on pupils who posed no threat to the security forces. The police were in no danger and had no reason whatsoever to resort to use of brutal force. This was a blatant violation of the Children’s Act 2010 which entitles children to protection against any form of physical and psychological abuse.

Although the National Police Service moved quickly to suspend the Officer Commanding Langata Police Division (OCPD) Mr. Elijah Mwangi, we believe that this is not enough and more action must be taken on all parties that participated in visiting brutality on children.

It is regretable that children have to resort to demonstrations out of desperation as the relevant government authorities take time to address issues affecting them. At the same time, we are concerned about the deliberate use of children by civil society activists and politicians in demonstrations, and subsequently, exposing them to danger. Considering that the police were heavily armed, the activists ought to have been careful before taking out the children from their school to demonstrate. Lang’ata Road is a busy highway and the children could have been knocked down by speeding vehicles as they fled from the police. It is irresponsible for any adult to expose children to danger whatever the cause one may be agitating for.

Lang’ata Road Primary School administration must also take responsibility for their role in this unfortunate incident. It is the responsibility of teachers to provide care and protection to all pupils entrusted into their care.

We are calling on the government to move with immediate effect and get to the bottom of this matter. Anybody found responsible for exposing the children to danger must be held accountable.

We are also disturbed by the increasing incidences of grabbing of public utility land by the so called ‘private developers’. Barely two days ago, there was another confrontation over the grabbing of land belonging to Our Lady of Mercy Girls Secondary School in Shauri Moyo, Nairobi. This begs certain questions; who is grabbing public school land? Who are the faceless ‘private developers’ and why are they so powerful that they have become untouchable? In the case of Lang’ata Road Primary School land, why were the police deployed to the school so early before dawn? On whose behalf were they acting?

We demand that the government moves quickly to identify and bring to book these so-called ‘private developers’ who are blatantly grabbing public school land and posing a threat to the education and welfare of the children.

Signed:

Rt. Rev. Maurice Clowley

VICE CHAIRMAN

KCCB – COMMSISION FOR EDUCATION & RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Date: 20th January 2015

Catholic Church in DR Congo Backs Peaceful Protests

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 22 January 2015

The Catholic Church in DR Congo, the largest single denomination in the country, has expressed support for peaceful protests, joining voices opposed to any move to delay the general elections due next year.

According to reports, a bill is being debated by the Senate in DR Congo to amend the constitution and pave way for nationwide census before the next general elections.

Such census would take some three years, extending the mandate of President Kabila who is constitutionally barred from vying for the presidency in the general elections due next year.

Several deaths have been reported since the violence started four days ago. The police have been accused of reacting with excessive force, using live bullets on protestors.

Below is a BBC report highlighting the Catholic Church’s support for peaceful demonstrations in DR Congo, dated January 21, 2015.

The Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo has thrown its weight behind protests against President Joseph Kabila extending his rule.

It called on people to peacefully oppose his move to delay presidential elections until a census is held.

At least 11 people have so far been been killed in the protests.

It is the worst unrest in the capital, Kinshasa, since the riots which broke out after Mr Kabila won a second term in disputed elections in 2011.

Mr Kabila, who first took power in 2001 following the assassination of his father Laurent, is constitutionally barred from running for another term in elections due next year.

'Dormitories ablaze'

The opposition says government plans for a census are a ploy to delay the poll so that he can hang on to power.

The government admits the election could be delayed, but says the census is vital to ensure polls are free and fair.

The Catholic Church, the largest in DR Congo, has shut its schools as violent protests continued in Kinshasa for a third day.

At the scene: Maud Jullien, BBC Africa, Kinshasa

We went for a drive to the districts everyone is avoiding the days in the east of the capital - and there were traces of violence everywhere: Burnt cars; tyres; shattered glass; usually busy roads completely empty.

The general sense of chaos was worsened by the fact that the internet, text messaging and popular French radio station RFI have all been cut off.

At the University of Kinshasa, where there have been clashes for three days now, we saw hundreds of young men holding something of a siege.

There was a mix of anger and excitement at being all together defending a common cause.

They say dozens of students were killed over the past few days by live bullets fired by the police, including four on Wednesday morning when the Republican guard and the police stormed the campus.

Despite the violence, their determination to stop the bill from passing seemed unfaltering.

Looting

On Tuesday, internet connections and text messaging services were blocked, apparently on the orders of the government.

Many shops had been looted and set ablaze as the protests turned violent, our correspondent says.

Catholic Church head Cardinal Monsengwo Pasinya said "certain political men, with the security forces" were in "desolation" and causing insecurity in DR Congo.

"Stop killing your people," he said in a statement.

The cardinal called on the public to challenge by all "legal and peaceful means any attempt to change laws that are essential to the electoral process".

'Constitutional coup'

Government spokesman Lambert Mende said the 11 who died in Monday's and Tuesday's clashes included a policeman shot by a sniper and 10 civilians killed by security guards while attempting to loot private properties.

He said 22 people had been wounded, most of them policemen.

Opposition leader Vital Kamerhe disputed the government's figures, saying 28 protesters had been killed - eight on Tuesday and 20 on Monday.

The protests coincided with a debate in the Senate, the upper parliamentary chamber, over government plans to hold a census before elections.

Most senators, including members of the governing party, said they were opposed to the plan because it risked destabilising the country.

The lower chamber, the House of Representatives, approved the plan on Saturday, in a vote boycotted by opposition MPs.

The opposition says this amounts to a "constitutional coup" by Mr Kabila, as it will take about three years for a census to be conducted in DR Congo, which is two-thirds of the size of western Europe, has very little infrastructure and is hit by instability in the east.

DR Congo, formerly known as Zaire, has never had a reliable census since independence from Belgium in 1960. Source...

Uganda and CAR among Possible Hosts of Pope Francis this Year, Nuncio in Uganda Advises Caution

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 22 January 2015

Pope Francis has given a hint of his plan to visit Africa this year and cited Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR) as his possible hosts.

The Pope was answering questions from journalists aboard the plane from Manila while returning to Rome at the conclusion of his visit to the Philippines.

Quoting the Associated Presse (AP), numerous media houses have carried the news, with the result of excitement on the continent, especially in the named countries and those surrounding them.

However, the Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda, Archbishop Michael August Blume has advised caution saying, “While the media speak enthusiastically about this news, it is important to note the two related words that begin and end what was said (by Pope Francis), hypothetically and hypothesis.”

The Nuncio gave a literal translation of what Pope Francis said in response to the question about his plans to visit Africa:

I respond hypothetically. The plan is to go to the Central African Republic and to Uganda. These two. This year. I believe that itwill be towards the end, for the weather. They have to recon with the weather, that there not be rains, that there not be bad weather. This trip is a bit late because there was the problem of Ebola. It is a great responsibility to hold big meetings owing to [possible] contagion. But in these countries there is no problem. These two are in hypothesis for this year.

“It is also important to note that the coming session of the Synod of Bishops, from 5-25 October 2015, must be kept in mind when interpreting the phrase, “towards the end” of the year,” Archbishop Blume observed, adding, “It is unlikely that the Synod would be interrupted for an Apostolic Voyage or that it would take place immediately afterwards.”

“As we all anxiously await the final decision of the Holy Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit may assist him and his collaborators to successfully work out the details of the hypothesis so that he may communicate to us in person the joy of the Gospel,” the Apostolic Nuncio concluded his message dated Wednesday, January 21, 2015.

Weeping Philippine Girl Challenges Pope on Prostitution

AFP News || 18 January 2015

A weeping 12-year-old Philippine girl, asking how God could allow children to become prostitutes, moved Pope Francis on Sunday to hug her and appeal for everyone to show more compassion.

Glyzelle Palomar, a one-time homeless child taken in by a church charity, made her emotional plea during ceremonies at a Catholic university in Manila, ahead of a mass by the pope to millions of faithful.

"Many children are abandoned by their parents. Many children get involved in drugs and prostitution," Palomar told the pope as she stood on stage alongside a 14-year-old boy who also used to be homeless.

"Why does God allow these things to happen to us? The children are not guilty of anything."

Palomar broke down and wept profusely, prompting the 78-year-old pontiff with a man-of-the-people reputation to take her into his arms and hug her for a few seconds.

The pope later discarded most of his prepared speech that he was due to give in English, reverting back to his native Spanish to deliver an impromptu and heartfelt response.

"She is the only one who has put a question for which there is no answer and she wasn't even able to express it in words but in tears," the pope told a crowd that organisers said reached 30,000.

"The nucleus of your question... almost doesn't have a reply."

- Empty pockets, full heart -

The pope, who is in the Philippines for a five-day visit, told those in the crowd that they first had to learn to cry with other marginalised and suffering people.

He said superficial compassion, which resulted in just giving alms, shown by many in the world was not enough.

"If Christ had that kind of compassion, he would have just walked by, greeted three people, given them something and moved on," he said, with his response echoed in English by an official translator.

The pope called on them to show tangible, genuine concern for the poor and marginalised.

"(There are) certain realities in life, we only see through eyes that are cleansed with our tears," the pope said.

He urged them "to think, to feel and to do," asking them to repeat these words in a chorus.

The pope also asked the crowd to emulate his namesake, Saint Francis.

"He died with empty hands, with empty pockets but a very full heart," he said.

The pope also said the topic of Palomar's question showed women were not adequately represented in society.

"Women have much to tell us in today's society. Sometimes, we are too 'machista' and we don't allow room for the woman," he said.

"Women are capable of seeing things with a different angle from us. Women are able to pose questions that we men cannot understand."

The pope has made compassion for the poor a central theme of his trip to the Philippines, the Catholic Church's Asian bastion but where tens of millions endure brutal poverty.

In his first major speech of his trip on Friday, the pope took aim at the nation's elite who have for decades enjoyed the spoils of poverty while the vast majority of Filipinos have suffered.

In a speech at the presidential palace, the pope spoke out about the "scandalous social inequalities" in the Philippines.

"It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good," the pope said in the speech.

He challenged "everyone, at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption, which diverts resources from the poor".

About 25 million Filipinos, or one quarter of the population, live on the equivalent of 60 cents a day or less, according to government data.

The highlight of the pope's trip is set to be an open-air mass at Manila's central park on Sunday afternoon, with up six million people expected to attend.

About 80 percent of the Philippines' 100 million people are Catholics. Source...

Pope Francis Erects New Church Territories in Ethiopia and Eritrea, Appoints Shepherds

Vatican Radio || 19 January 2015

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has erected a new Diocese in Ethiopia which will be known as the Diocese of Bahir Dar – Dessie. In another development, Pope Francis has also erected the Metropolitan Church of Asmara in Eritrea. 

The new diocese in Ethiopia has joined together the two districts of Bahir Dar and Dessie.   The new diocese or eparchy will have as its new Bishop, Lisane-Christos Matheos. Until his appointment today,  Bishop Matheos has been the Auxiliary Bishop of Addis Ababa.  

The new Bishop of Bahir Dar – Dessie, Lisane-Christos Matheos was born in 1959 in Addis Ababa. He was ordained priest in 1988 and holds a degree in spirituality from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. The headquarters  of the new diocese will be in Bahir Dar.

At the same time, Pope Francis has also erected the Metropolitan Church of Eritrea in Asmara. Although Eritrea as a nation got its independence in 1991 the Catholic Church of Ethiopia and Eritrea have always been regarded as one Episcopal conference. As of today, the two are now separate.

Pope Francis has thus appointed as first Metropolitan Archbishop of Asmara the current Bishop, (of Asmara) Menghesteab Tesfamariam.

On a political landscape, the two countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea have not yet resolved their differences and hostilities continue. Source...

Vandalized Catholic Radio in South Sudan Successfully Repaired

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 19 January 2015

The vandalized Catholic Radio in South Sudan has been successfully repaired and ready to resume broadcasting.

Sout al Mahaba (Voice of Love) Radio of the Catholic Diocese of Malakal in Upper Nile State, South Sudan, was vandalized at the start of the violent conflict in mid-December 2013 and had all its equipment looted.

According to the Catholic Radio Network (CRN) News, a technician from Italy has “managed to repair the damages at the tower and the antenna system caused by RPGs ammunitions.”

The technician who had erected the 72m mast, installed the antennas and put the radio on air in 2009, managed to have the radio “back on air for some minutes of test at 5 PM on Sunday for the first time after almost one year,” CRN News confirmed on Monday.

The radio has been off air since February 18, 2014, just three days after the opposition forces attacked the headquarters of Upper Nile State, Malakal town.

“The staff of (Sout) Al Mahabba who remained in Malakal (are) ready to resume work as soon as the diocesan administration gives the approval,” CRN Monday News reported.

In October, the Director of Sout al Mahaba, Sr. Elena Balatti, had shared with CANAA about her concerted efforts to have the radio resume broadcasting in December 2014.

“We want to repair the damage that is most serious at the radio station, which is the mast, the 72m tower holding the antenna system” Sr. Elena had told CANAA last October, adding, “I would like to have the radio station back (on air) as a Christmas gift for the people of those areas.”

Sout al Mahaba Radio is one of the nine radio stations constituting the Catholic Radio Network.

Malawian Bishop Zuza Laid to Rest, His Legacy Highlighted

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 19 January 2015

Malawian Catholic Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza was laid to rest on Monday after a requiem mass at St. Peter’s Cathedral of Mzuzu diocese.

According to reports from Malawi, the 10 a.m. requiem Eucharistic celebration was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio to Malawi (and Zambia), Archbishop Julio Murat.

Bishop Zuza, 59, succumbed to injuries he sustained after the car he was driving in lost control, swerved from the road and rolled several times.

According to a statement from the Communications department of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), the late Bishop was driving back to his base, Mzuzu, after having visited his home village, Mhlafuta in Embangeni Mzimba.

His car had a “rear tyre burst causing the vehicle to swerve and get out of his control. His Lordship was in the process forced out of the car. This took place at Nthungwa, in the Chikangawa forest Reserve,” the statement from ECM read.

The President of Malawi, Peter Mutharika, joined many in highlighting the legacy of the late Bishop Zuza.

According to Malawi24.com, President Mutharika hailed the late Bishop Zuza as a “courageous person whose legacy and contribution to the country need to be studied.”

“Bishop Zuza was very tolerant, generous, calm, understanding, knowledgeable and courageous judging from how he used to handle issues of religious and national interest. He was a Champion for change and as Malawians, we will miss such a true servant of God” Malawi24.com quoted President Mutharika as saying on Monday during the burial ceremony of late Bishop Zuza.

Until his sudden and untimely death, Bishop Zuza was ECM Chairman and Chancellor of the Catholic University of Malawi (CUNIMA).

Previously, late Bishop Zuza represented Malawi on the Executive Board of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA). He was Chairman of AMECEA Staffing Committee from 2008 to 2011.

He has also been described “as a Bishop who was kind-hearted, cheerful and always available to everyone.”

Late Bishop Zuza was ordained a priest in 1982 and consecrated Bishop in 1995.

Vatican Sending millions to West Africa to Fight Ebola

Catholic Herald || 13 January 2015

Money will be used to support and train clergy to help people afflicted with the virus

The Vatican is sending money to Catholic dioceses and agencies in west Africa to help fight the spread of Ebola.

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace announced that the Holy See would be making a “financial contribution” to support Church-sponsored assistance to those affected by the Ebola outbreak. Vatican Radio reported the sum would be $3.5 million (£2.3million).

The council said in a written statement: “The Holy See encourages other donors, whether private or public, to add to these funds as a sign of solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are suffering gravely in the areas affected by the disease.”

Cardinal Peter Turkson, council president, traveled to Liberia and Sierra Leone last month to meet with government officials and Church leaders and to demonstrate the Vatican’s support for those affected by the crisis.

The Vatican’s financial contribution will go “to purchase much-needed protective supplies, to assist with the transport of patients and to pay for the renovation of buildings,” as well as help support families affected by the virus and children who have been orphaned, the council said.

The funding also will be used to help residents in affected areas learn about and follow strategies needed to stop the spread of Ebola, train and support clergy, religious and lay pastoral workers to attend better to people’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs; and help local parishes counteract “the Ebola-related stigma now emerging as a serious problem, particularly for survivors”.

The funding, it said, will be administered by Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organisation for national Catholic charities, but will be available by request to projects run by dioceses, religious. Source...

Ghanaian Catholic Clergy Resolve to Assist Couples undergoing Family Life Challenges

CANAA || By Damian Avevor and Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 15 January 2015

The Catholic Clergy in Ghana have resolved to reach out to couples with challenges in their marriages in view of assisting them live well their sacramental life as members of the Church.

The resolution was made at the recently concluded congress bringing together Diocesan priests under the National Union of Ghanaian Diocesan Priests’ Association (NUGDPA).

The nine-point resolution saw the priests pledge to get more involved in post-marriage guidance and counselling as well as in the education and formation of children and youth.

The Priests also promised to be more involved in the remote, proximate and immediate marriage preparation during which the effects of unity, permanence, equality of spouses and the role of parents in passing on the faith to their children would be emphasized.

“As priests, we promise to continually update our knowledge and educate ourselves on marriage and family issues to be able to help the families of today to respond to, cope with and manage the challenges they face,” stated NUGDPA President, Father Francis Appiah-Kubi, at the closing mass of the congress.

“We resolve to improve upon our living together as one big priestly family in Ghana, working in unity and love in our various communities to give good example to all families,” the priests pledged, adding, “We resolve be close and available to our faithful and their families and to give ourselves completely to their service.”

The theme of the congress was, Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of the New Evangelization: The role of the Diocesan Priest.

The five-day congress, which took place at Takoradi had some 600 diocesan priests from all the dioceses in Ghana and the Donkorkrom Vicariate in attendance. It was the 25^th national and 13^th biennial congress.

A Kenyan Theologian Translates New Testament from Greek into a Local Language

Vatican Radio || 15 January 2015

The well-known and respected Kenyan theologian, Professor John Mbiti has recently become the first African scholar to translate the entire Christian New Testament from Greek to kiKamba, a local Kenyan language. This is according to information made available by the World Council of Churches (WCC)

The translation, titled, “The kiKamba Bible - Utianiyo Mweu Wa Mwiyai Yesu Kilisto” (the New Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ), was launched recently by the Kenya Literature Bureau.

Professor Mbiti, an Anglican priest and a New Testament scholar, has authored various publications on religion and ecumenism.

His works include Bible and Theology in African Christianity, New Testament Eschatology in an African Background, African Religions and Philosophy and The Prayers of African Religion.

Originally from the kiKamba -speaking community of Kenya, Mbiti studied in Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States, earning his doctorate in 1963 from the University of Cambridge, UK.

He also taught religion and theology at the Makerere University in Uganda. Mbiti served as director of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland from 1974 to 1980.

The New Testament as translated by Mbiti will be used in primary schools of Kitui, Machakos and Makueni and will enable many in the Kamba community to read and understand the Gospel.

In the past, Bibles were mostly translated by foreigners or teams led by them into the nearly 770 African languages, mainly starting from editions in colonial European languages.

Mbiti’s translation makes it one of the few translations in Africa sourced from the original New Testament Greek. Source...

Malawian Catholic Bishop Succumbs to Car Accident Injuries

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 15 January 2015

The Catholic Bishop of Mzuzu Diocese in Malawi, also President of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza, succumbed to a car accident injuries in Malawi on Thursday.

ECM Communications Secretary, Father Andrew Kaufa, made the announcement.

“The Catholic Secretariat of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi regrets to announce the tragic death of [Right] Reverend Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza, who was bishop of Mzuzu Diocese and Chairman for the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM),” reads the announcement published on ECM website by ECM Communications Secretary, Father Andrew Kaufa.

“Bishop Zuza was involved in a road accident and has passed on while being attended [to] in Mzuzu,” Father Kaufa stated and added, “More information and details shall follow later.”

Other online reports from Malawi indicate that the Bishop was driving alone along the Chikangawa-Nthungwa road in Mzimba district on Thursday and that the vehicle overturned and rolled several times.

According to Malawi 24.com the President of Malawi, “Peter Mutharika has sent profound condolences to the entire Catholic Church and the Episcopal Conference of Malawi for the death of Right Reverend Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza.”

“The President is greatly saddened by this loss and joins all Malawians in mourning the passing of one the finest sons of the Nation. The Government will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Catholic Church and all Malawians during this difficult moment for our country,” Malawi 24.com quotes Malawi President as saying, describing the late Bishop as “a patriotic and development conscious Church Leader who was a partner of Government.”

Bishop Zuza has also been described as a prophetic leader who was forthright in his speeches.

“We shall always remember you as a man of your words,” read one online comment.

AMECEA Secretary General, Father Ferdinand Lugonzo, described late Bishop as “a friendly and warm-hearted person, one you’d feel free to socialize with.”

Late Bishop Zuza was ordained Bishop of Mzuzu Dioceses in 1995.

ECM Staff Start New Year as Family in Team Building Workshop

Episcopal Conference of Malawi Communications || 12 January 2015

Members of staff for Catholic Secretariat’s Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) have kick-started their busy schedule in fulfilling their duties for the year 2015 with an orientation workshop termed “Team Building” workshop held in the Lakeshore district of Salima from 8-9th January this year.

Opening the workshop, acting Secretary General for ECM, Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo said the workshop was aimed at bringing together ECM stuff members so as to unit and work as a team in this year’s activities.

“By coming here together, it symbolizes that we are a family. We therefore have to reflect well that whatever we do is in line with the Vision and Mission of ECM. Let us realize that we are all at Catholic Secretariat to evangelize through our Commissions, “he said.

Fr. Chimombo said as Catholic Secretariat’s staff members, it is very crucial to embrace professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness whenever carrying out duties.
“Let’s strive to carry out our duties in an efficient, effective and no discrimination, “he said.

One of the facilitators to the workshop Fr. Andrew Kaufa who is also the Communications Secretary at ECM highlighted on the need for Catholic Secretariat’s staff to make sure that they attach their day to day activities in line with the Catholic Social Teachings.

Chris Chisoni of Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) says the role of Catholic Secretariat’s staff is to represent the Church by engaging people through its structures which are Commissions, departments, conferences, programs, statements and letters.

Adding his voice was the Director of Administration, Finance and Investments, Aggrey Mwale who stressed the need of staff members to follow ECM Code of conduct.

“It is each and every one’s responsibility to adhere to the code of conduct like the dress code, work standards like being responsible, professional and good sound truck in our behavior. In addition, moral standards are crucial to ECM employees,” he said.

Other topics that were looked into during the workshop include policies on Vehicles, medical, HIV work, employment, procurement and Child Protection policies.

The workshop also deliberated on the Financial management system, procedures and administrative procedures and Communications mechanisms.

The workshop brought together all the 48 staff members from all the Commissions under ECM which includes, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP),Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM), Education, Pastoral, Health and Communications. Source...

A Catholic Bishop Decries Corruption and Impunity in Ghana, A new Bishop Ordained

CANAA || By Damian Avevor and Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 12 January 2015

The President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, has decried the culture of insults in the country and urged politicians to do their work conscientiously, avoiding vices like bribery and misappropriation of public funds in 2015.

“Certain pronouncements and actions by highly-placed Ghanaians do not promote peace. Rather they create confusion, rancour, bitterness and resentment,” Bishop Osei-Bonsu said in his New Year message, adding, “Corruption is found in some of the following categories of people and institutions: Politicians, the Judiciary, the Security Agencies, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, DVLA, in our educational institutions, in the workplaces, in the marketplace, in the men and women of the media, in sports, in some traditional set ups among in Pastors Traditional Priests.”

“If corruption is rife in our country today, it is principally because, even though we have strong institutions, there is generally speaking a lack of integrity on the part of the people operating these institutions and on the part of many individuals in the country” Bishop Osei-Bonsu said, adding, “we need to be frank with our politicians and point out their mistakes to them. We should put an end to sycophancy and bootlicking and have the courage to castigate our politicians when they go wrong.”

Bishop Osei-Bonsu also decried immorality. “We should all endeavour to put an end to immorality in our lives. The desire for quick money should not drive us to stealing and armed robbery. The desire for material things makes some people sell their souls to the Devil and engage in “sakawa”. All those engaged in business should be upright in their work. They should endeavour not to cheat their customers.”

The Bishop further encouraged his compatriots to guard themselves against negative external influences through pornographic films and literature, drug abuse, casual sex, abortion, indecent dressing, laziness, among other vices.

Meanwhile, the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Obuasi, Bishop John Yaw Afoakwah, was ordained and installed last Saturday, January 10, 2015.

Bishop Afoakwah was consecrated and installed by his predecessor, Archbishop Gabriel Justice Anokye of Kumasi, assisted by Archbishop Emeritus Thomas Mensah, who was the first Bishop of Obuasi and the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich.

The homily was delivered by Archbishop emeritus Peter K. Sarpong. He urged the new Bishop to love all whom God has placed in his care, “the priests, the deacons, the poor and naked, the immigrant, the stranger, the religious men and women. Do not refuse to listen to them,” he said.

A Nigerian Archbishop Wants Solidarity Shown for France Replicated against Boko Haram

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 12 January 2015

A Nigerian Archbishop has decried the lack of international solidarity in the face of atrocities committed by the militant Islamist group, Boko Haram, in his country, calling on the West to demonstrate determination to help bring an end to the group’s heinous actions.

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos in Central Nigeria expressed these lamentations against the background of the solidarity match in France for freedom of expression on Sunday during which dozens of leaders from different countries joined an estimated 3.7 million people in a solidarity march across France, an estimated 1.6 million in Paris.

According to a BBC report, Archbishop Kaigama expected “the international community to show the same spirit and resolve it had done after the attacks in France.”

The France Sunday rally was organized in honour of the 17 people killed in attacks, which started last Wednesday. Among those killed were journalists at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, four hostages at a kosher supermarket, and three police officers.

All three attackers were also killed by French security forces on Friday.

"We need that spirit to be spread around," the BBC report quoted Archbishop Kaigama as saying, adding, "Not just when it [an attack] happens in Europe, but when it happens in Nigeria, in Niger, in Cameroon. We [must] mobilise our international resources and face or confront the people who bring such sadness to many families."

Archbishop Kaigama also made reference to the most recent attacks in which hundreds of people were reportedly killed last week when the town of Baga in Borno State, Nigeria, was captured.

"It is a monumental tragedy. It has saddened all of Nigeria. But... we seem to be helpless. Because if we could stop Boko Haram, we would have done it right away. But they continue to attack, and kill and capture territories... with such impunity," the BBC report quoted Archbishop Kaigama as saying.

The recent events in France have generated much talk and different opinions have been furthered. For instance, the media in Africa as well as African leaders have been criticized for not being vocal enough on similar atrocities taking place on the African continent.

Others have questioned the decision by Nigeria’s President to join world leaders in condemning the attacks in France while remaining silent on atrocities taking place in Nigeria, including the one that took place last week.

Still, others have cited hypocrisy in the solidarity match in France, arguing that on one hand, some of the leaders in attendance cannot be counted among those who safeguard freedom of speech and that, on the other hand, if what happened in France had happened in an African country, travel advisories would have been issued.

Yet others have argued that what happened in France was new and different and that using the example of Nigeria, the attacks by Boko Haram have become so regular that new attacks seem not to make news.

In Nigeria, Churches have been targeted in what some believe are attempts by the militant Islamist group to foment religious tension.

St. Teresa’s Walking Staff in Kenya, Pilgrims Gather to Pray with Her

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 12 January 2015

The special team traveling around the world accompanied by St. Teresa's own walking staff is currently in Kenya and numerous pilgrims are gathering to pray with St. Teresa of Avila in different communities.

St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) is a Doctor of the Church and founder of the Discalced Carmelites and the walking staff is a symbol of her own spiritual journey, inviting pilgrims to continue walking with her.

The pilgrimage known as the "Way of Light" (Camino de Luz) was organized by the Discalced Carmelites to mark St. Teresa’s 500^th birthday. It began in Avila on 15 October 2014 (her feast day) and will end in Avila on 28 March 2015 (her birthday).

Father Steven Payne, a Carmelite and Principal of the Nairobi-based Tangaza University College, shared with CANAA about the global pilgrimage and the commemorations in Nairobi, noting that Kenya has been the first stop in Africa.

“The team and staff arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Madrid at 7 am on Saturday, January 10, the first stop in the African segment of the global pilgrimage. They were taken immediately to "Mount Carmel," the community of the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Lavington, a Nairobi suburb. By a happy coincidence, the nuns were celebrating on the same day the 75th anniversary of the founding of their monastery,” Father Payne told CANAA.

His Eminence John Cardinal Njue of Nairobi presided over the anniversary Eucharistic celebration, with Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya (and South Sudan), Bishop Anthony Muheria of Kitui Diocese, and Bishop George Cosmas Zumaire Lungu of Chapata Diocese in Zambia concelebrating.

Hundreds of guests joined the festivities, including the Spanish ambassador to Kenya.

“For the (Carmelite) sisters, the arrival of the staff was as if St. Teresa herself had come to join the celebration,” Father Payne said.

On Sunday, January 11, the walking staff was on view at the community chapel of the Discalced Carmelite friars on Lang'ata South Road in Karen, where many pilgrims gathered throughout the day to spend time in prayer with St. Teresa.

On Monday morning, January 12, St. Teresa’s staff was taken in procession by the Carmelite Friars to nearby Tangaza University College.

“From there (Tangaza University College) the team and walking staff were driven to the community of Discalced Carmelite nuns in Tindinyo (Eldoret Diocese), and will continue on afterwards to Kisii before reaching Tanzania and Madagascar,” Father Payne told CANAA.

Other African countries to receive St. Teresa’s walking staff before heading back to Europe include Ivory Coast (January 27-28), Burkina Faso (January 30-February 2), and Togo (February 5 - 7).

According to Father Payne, “The African part of the pilgrimage is especially significant because of Teresa's keen interest in the African missions, and her enthusiastic approval of the plan that the first mission of her friars be in Africa (Kingdom of Kongo).”

St. Teresa of Avila has been described by her contemporaries as a "restless and wandering nun" as she travelled the highways of Spain founding new communities. Besides, she characterised spiritual life as a challenging journey of faith in her many writings. She deeply identified with the mission of the church, and was driven by a burning desire to spread the joy of the Gospel and friendship with Christ throughout the world.

“During this pilgrimage, many who viewed and prayed with this "walking staff" that supported Teresa on so many of her travels have said that they feel somehow connected with this "restless and wandering nun" through this important symbol of her earthly and spiritual journey,” Father Payne concluded his sharing with CANAA.

More information on this global pilgrimage can be found here.

Africa’s Catholic Moment

First Things || By George Weigel || 07 January, 2015

According to an old Vatican aphorism, “We think in centuries here.” Viewed through that long-distance lens, the most important Catholic event of 2014 was the dramatic moment when Africa’s bishops emerged as effective, powerful proponents of dynamic orthodoxy in the world Church.

The scene was the Extraordinary Synod of 2014, called by Pope Francis to prepare the Synod of 2015 on the theme, “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” The dramatic tension was provided by northern European bishops (principally German) and the Synod secretariat, who worked hard to reframe Synod 2014 as an inquest on a question long thought settled by the rest of the Church: the question of admitting the divorced and civilly remarried to holy Communion.

The subplot in the drama came from the fact that the Church in Africa—rich in evangelical energy, firmly committed to orthodoxy, but very poor—is funded in large part by German Catholic development agencies (themselves the beneficiaries of the “Church tax” collected by the German federal government).

So it took considerable courage for African bishops at Synod 2014 to challenge the Germans and their allies. It’s not a big secret that there’s a lot of racism left in Europe, where the best and the brightest often imagine themselves beyond the “taboos” that beset Africans (as one German cardinal inelegantly put it).

Nor is it a secret that African prelates are too often regarded by some first world Catholics as second-class citizens: charming, you know, but not-quite the A-team. Thus it doubtless came as a surprise to those pressing to change-what-cannot-be-changed in the Church’s ancient sacramental discipline when the African bishops declined to defer to their former European masters and determinedly made two points.

The first was that the Catholic understanding of marriage as the permanent union of a man and a woman—which Catholicism takes from both revelation and reason—had come to certain traditional African cultures as a great liberator.

Here, the African bishops insisted, was a powerful demonstration of the Gospel’s power to free men and women from their attachment to culturally entrenched but dehumanizing ways of life. Here was real “liberation theology”: the liberation of men and women for the solidarity, joy, and fruitfulness in marriage that God had intended from the beginning, and that the grace of God now makes possible through the saving power of Christ, his cross and his resurrection.

Or, more simply (and I paraphrase): You Europeans, whose faith has grown anemic, may experience the Catholic idea of marriage as a burden; we Africans have lived it, in our ecclesial experience, as a great liberation. European Catholics might consider that, as you ponder Pope Francis’s summons to learn from the Church of the poor.

The second point the African bishops made was more subtle but no less unmistakable: Don’t impose Euro-decadence on us, in terms of marriage or in the pastoral care of those experiencing same-sex attraction.

When African bishops today look at Europe through the prism of a Gospel-centered, almost pentecostal experience that has seen African Catholicism grow exponentially in recent decades, they don’t see the center of world civilizational initiative, as their grandparents might have done in colonial days.

Rather, they see a continent dying from the first self-induced population collapse in human history. And they ask some obvious, if challenging, questions: Does this willful infertility have something to do with selfishness? With spiritual boredom? With a loss of soul? With a loss of faith in the Lord Jesus and his life-transforming, culture-forming, power?

How could the African bishops summon up the courage to make this challenge? Because they trusted their own ecclesial experience: the New Testament-like experience of the power of evangelical Catholicism. Because they trusted what they had “seen and heard” (1 John 1:3), they could challenge those who thought of them as the untutored kids on the block (at best), or as culturally backward welfare clients who ought to defer to their betters (at worst).

U.S. Catholics who have embraced evangelical Catholicism and find themselves shaken these days might take a lesson from this. Source...   

George Weigel is distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

The Holy See Expresses Gratitude to Local Churches in Africa Fighting Ebola

Vatican Radio || 07 January, 2015

In a document entitled, "The enhanced commitment of the Catholic Church in combating the spread of Ebola," The Holy See has expressed its appreciation to local Churches in Africa who are at the epicentre of the Ebola emergency. The Holy See is also making a financial contribution which will be accessible to communities in parishes. Below is a Communique released by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. 

The Holy See wishes to express its appreciation to the local Catholic Church in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone for its timely response to the Ebola crisis.  In order to strengthen these efforts, and as a practical response to the emergency, the Holy See is making a financial contribution.  The funds will support Church-sponsored structures with a view to increasing the assistance they offer via healthcare institutions, community initiatives and pastoral care of patients and healthcare professionals.

The Holy See encourages other donors, whether private or public, to add to these funds as a sign of solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are suffering gravely in the areas affected by the disease.

The monies contributed by the Holy See will be used to purchase much-needed protective supplies, to assist with the transport of patients, and to pay for the renovation of buildings, among other things.  A portion of the Holy See’s contribution will be directed towards residents in targeted communities so as to develop and enhance strategies needed to stop the spread of Ebola.  Funds are also earmarked for the support of afflicted families and orphaned children. 

As part of a pastoral response, the Holy See will contribute to the care of people in affected areas by training and supporting clergy, men and women religious as well as lay pastoral workers, ensuring that they are better equipped to attend to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the sick and the suffering.  The Holy See will focus on parishes, because so much of the Church’s work takes place at the level of the parish, and it is an important grassroots institution in fighting the Ebola-related stigma now emerging as a serious problem, particularly for survivors.

The enhanced commitment of the Catholic Church in combating the spread of Ebola is expressed in a document entitled, “Expanding the Catholic Church’s Commitment to the Ebola Emergency Response”.  This document outlines, for the first time, a pastoral response to a relatively new disease that has devastated individuals, entire families and even communities, particularly in the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The Catholic Church has for many decades been involved in providing humanitarian and development assistance in West Africa.  The Church knows well, then, how healthcare institutions of all types – already facing grave challenges due to poverty and longstanding social and political unrest – are severely challenged by the current crisis.

In addition to the work of the Church in the region, this document details the efforts being made by several departments of the Roman Curia, including the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers (for Health Pastoral Care), Propaganda Fide, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, as well as the work of Caritas Internationalis and its member organizations. 

This is in addition to the efforts of Catholic agencies in various other countries, such as Catholic Relief Services (U.S.A.), Missio Austria, and Misereor and the Medical Mission Institute (Germany).  The Church’s intensified efforts will thus enable a greater response at the parish level and thus strengthen measures to contain the disease.

“Expanding the Catholic Church’s Commitment to the Ebola Emergency Response” focuses on local communities.  The Church “does not come and go; people turn to the Lord in time of fear and need.  This Church is a visible witness to the presence of Jesus Christ at all times but particularly at times of adversity.” Source...

Catholic Women in Malawi Encouraged to Be Agents of Hope

Episcopal Conference of Malawi Communications || 06 January, 2015

Catholic Women in Malawi have been urged to embrace the spirit of bring hope to the venerable including their families, communities, workplaces and the wider society as a whole.

Member of Parliament for Mzimba North, Agnes NyaLonje was speaking at the official opening of the 36th Annual General Conference for Catholic Women Organization at Mary Mount Girls Secondary School in Mzuzu.

NyaLonje said their many ways of sowing hope and among others is through preaching the Word of God, living the Word of God and through action.

”As Catholic Women, we sow hope on many platforms. For instance the home; it is through the many roles we play that sow hope in our families, the Church; through our faith that sow hope in our community, the work place; either as business women or workers in formal and informal economy, we sow hope in our colleagues, our pupils and even our customers. Likewise in a wider society be it as politicians and leaders in many other areas, we can sow hope in society at large through our collective actions. Therefore ,we can sow hope even in those people whom we have never met and will never meet either,” she said.

Nya Lonje who is also a member for CWO in Mzuzu diocese said the annual gathering which runs from17th to 21st December gives an opportunity for Catholic Women to celebrate the many roles that Catholic Women play in a society hence strive to play roles that sustain society, roles that bring hope and sow hope in others.

She said as mothers, their role goes beyond the biological one of giving birth to society but they are also sows of hope through ensuring continuity of human heritage, continuity of village life, and of community life hence they are custodians of culture who hold the threads of life together and in that way provide stability and hope.

“My fellow Catholic Women, let us realize that we are key economic producers at household, village and community level. In sickness and in health we tirelessly care for our families in all their extended glory. We prevent and resolve conflicts, we mediate-we are peace-makers and peace-keepers in our communities. Not only that, we are active servants of the community, mobilizing collective efforts to address challenges that face our communities like helping those that are less fortunate, raising finds for various initiatives, selflessly giving our time so that someone somewhere may lead a better life,” said Nya Lonje.

NyaLonje who also the guest of honor said the situation of the Youth,including the girl child,HIV/AIDS,plight of the growing numbers of the very poor and destitute amongst women and growing manifestation of intolerance amongst Malawians are some of the biggest challenges besetting Malawi hence the conference need to seriously consider in addressing them.

“As Catholic Women, we need to ask ourselves a number of searching questions to address these proplems. Among the questions are; what must we do differently in order to give hope to those caught up in these problems and what must we do and do differently in order to prevent these challenges arising,” she said.

Chairperson for the Episcopal Conference of Malawi ,His Lordship Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza in his homely during the opening Mass marking the official opening of the conference challenged Catholic women to embrace the spirit of Love amongst themselves and to the nation at large.

He said women elsewhere including in the Church are crucial in advancing the socio-economic of the society and when they love one another and their country, the development of both the Church and country is achieved.

The National Chairperson for CWO, Bernadette Chiwaya said during the three day conference, delegate from all the dioceses will present reports for the year 2014 and will also deliberate on cross-cutting issues including issues of human trafficking, child labour, family in connection to homosexual and homosexuality, just to mention but a few.

Over 400 delegates from all the eight dioceses in Malawi, namely Chikwawa, Blantyre Archidiocese, Zomba, Mangochi, Dedza, Lilongwe Archidiocese, Mzuzu and Karonga participated to the conference. Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Patricia Kaliati who is a Catholic Women from Blantyre Archdiocese also attended the conference.

Karonga diocese is expected to host the 2015, 37th Catholic Women Organization’s Conference. Source...

Church’s Presence at the African Union among Priorities of Ethiopia’s Cardinal-Designate

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 08 January, 2015

The participation of the Catholic Church in the activities of the African Union (AU) with observer status is among the priorities of the Cardinal-designate Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

Cardinal-designate Berhaneyesus, 66, is among the twenty Church leaders to be raised to the dignity of the Cardinalate on February 14, 2015.

Pope Francis named the twenty Church leaders last Sunday, January 4, 2014, among them, two other Africans: Cape Verdean Bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde, Arlindo Gomes Furtado aged 65, and the retired Mozambican Bishop Julio Duarte Langa, 87, the emeritus Bishop of Xai-Xai.

The Cardinal-designate Berhaneyesus told CANAA via email on Tuesday that as Cardinal, he will collaborate with the members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) to lobby for an observer status at the AU Ethiopia-based AU.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SECAM and the African Union (AU) for an observer status is undergoing review.

“I feel the Universal Catholic Church can contribute to the African Union by making the Social Teaching of the Church known and studies on that level. Since the African Union is based in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, I hope, as a Cardinal of the Church, to be able to help in this aspect together with the members of AMECEA and of SECAM. Let us pray that both SECAM and AMECEA shall have observer status at the African Union," Cardinal-designate Berhaneyesus said, describing Africa as a continent with “a great future and a great responsibility, not only for Africans but to the whole world.”

Cardinal-designate Berhaneyesus who wears more than one hat as Chairman of AMECEA and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) lauded the activities of the Catholic Church in Africa, acknowledging with appreciation the role of various pastoral agents.

“There are now more than 50 million Catholics in the Region: fruits of so many dedicated missionaries, bishops, clergy, religious men and women, catechists, and the faithful,” Archbishop Berhaneyesus told CANAA, in reference to AMECEA, which he described as “a great Regional Conference which has accomplished so many works and activities in the vineyard of the Lord in Eastern Africa, South-Eastern Africa, and in the Horn of Africa.”

“There is still a need of re-evangelization to make the Gospel planted in the various cultures, to educate the youth in their faith, to prepare Christian Leadership on the level of Small Christian Communities, parishes, deaneries, dioceses, and on the national level,” the Cardinal-designate told CANAA, adding, “Justice and Peace, and good Christian families, are the base for integral human development, growth, and peaceful coexistence. We need to educate our faithful to that end and to help the Church become “the conscious of society”.

Regarding his elevation, the Cardinal-designate said, "I feel humbled by what our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has done: elevating me to become a Cardinal of our Holy Mother Church. I do not feel worthy to serve the Universal Church on that level. However, with the Grace of God, I shall try to serve the Church with all my heart, mind, and prayers. After all, the true Shepherd of the Church is Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are only his unworthy servants trying to do His Will.”

Describing himself as “a fruit of the Church in Ethiopia,” Archbishop Berhaneyesus expressed his gratitude for the evangelization activities in his country. He said, “The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia. It is a time to be grateful for all what the Lord has done in this vineyard and to remember all the missionaries, bishops, clergy, religious men and women, catechists, and the faithful who have worked for the Church in Ethiopia and the present successors who are continuing the works of evangelization.”

Vatican Radio described the Cardinal-designate as “a gracious and jovial man... a very engaging speaker with a healthy sense of humour.”

“Pray for me as I take this great pastoral responsibility,” Cardinal-designate Berhaneyesus said to CANAA in conclusion.