AMECEA Reconfirms Commitment to Formation of the Laity

CANAA || 27 November, 2014

The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), through the Chairman of the Pastoral Department, Bishop Philip Anyolo (Homabay Diocese, Kenya) has reconfirmed the commitment toward the building of the capacities of the laity and the revival of the Council of the Laity in Eastern Africa (COLEA).

Bishop Anyolo was addressing participants at the opening of COLEA workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

“As your Shepherds, we, the Bishops of AMECEA, pledge our commitment to making formation of the lay people, a pastoral priority,” AMECEA Online Newsletter quoted Bishop Anyolo as saying and adding, “It is in the family where life is received, nurtured and raised to its maturity. In fact, the future of the world and of the Church passes through the family, which is the fundamental cell of society”

AMECEA Online Newsletter also cites Bishop Telesphor Mkude (Morogoro, Tanzania) as reminding the participants about the challenges families go through, among them, “widespread cohabitation which does not lead to marriage and family; homosexuality; presumption that the marriage bond can be temporary and lack of faith in the sacrament of Marriage.”

Meanwhile, the Coordinator of AMECEA Pastoral Department, Fr. Febian Pikiti Mulenga acknowledged the impressive representation of the AMECEA region at the workshop, confirming participation from Eritrea and Sudan, which “often miss out on workshops planned by AMECEA” as well as the participation of “AMECEA Affiliate Countries of Djibouti and Somalia,” as AMECEA Online Newsletter reported.

There are 60 participants, with Zimbabwe and Mauritius also represented.

The workshop is set to conclude over the weekend.

New Bishops Appointed for Ghana and South Africa

CANAA || By Damian Avevor || 24 November, 2014

On Saturday, November 22, 2014, Pope Francis named Father John Yaw Afoakwah as the new Bishop of Obuasi Diocese in Ghana, with a call for continuous prayer and co-operation of the Clergy, Religious and lay faithful to enable the the Diocese to grow spiritually and physically.

The announcement was contained in a release by Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana at the Nunciature in Accra on Saturday, November 22, 2014. The announcement was also made simultaneously in Obuasi by Archbishop Gabriel Justice Yaw Anokye, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kumasi and Apostolic Administrator of Obuasi.

With his appointment, Bishop-elect Afoakwah becomes the third Bishop of the Diocese, succeeding Archbishop Anokye, former Bishop of Obuasi.

The Diocese was left vacant after its then Bishop Anokye was elevated as Archbishop and transferred to Kumasi Archdiocese in 2012, replacing Archbishop emeritus Thomas Mensah .

In his acceptance speech, Bishop-elect Afoakwah expressed gratitude to the Holy Father for the honour and for giving him such great responsibility.

“My whole desire is to be and remain a priest, a good but simple priest and joyfully serve God’s people, to constantly respond to God, do His will and serve His people in whatever capacity I am called upon,” the Bishop-elect said.

He went on to say that the Clergy, Religious and the faithful of Obuasi including himself had been praying fervently and waiting anxiously for the appointment of a new Bishop.

“Although I am among the Clergy of Obuasi, I never considered myself a candidate for this high office in the church with its accompanying great responsibilities,” the Bishop-elect revealed.

The bishop-elect commended Archbishop Anokye for holding the fort in an able manner in the past years and thanked all whose prayers and support had led to his appointment. 

According to Vatican Information Service, the bishop-elect was born in Akrokerry, Ghana in 1955 and was ordained a priest in 1992. He holds a B.A. in religious education from the Pontifical Urbanian University, Rome, a B.A. in religion with sociology from the University of Ghana in Accra, and an M.Sc. in Education from the Le Moyne College, Syracuse, U.S.A.

He has served in a number of pastoral and academic roles, including teacher and chaplain at the Christ the King Secondary School in Obuasi; director of the diocesan Catechetics Office and the diocesan department of social communications; rector of the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Akaporiso; and parish vicar at the Blessed Trinity Parish in the diocese of Rochester, U.S.A.. He currently teaches at the Bodwesango Senior High School, and is rector of the St. Louis Rectorate and chaplain of the St. Louis Clinic, Bodwesango.

On Monday, November 24, 2014, Pope Francis appointed Father Victor Hlolo Phalana as bishop of Klerksdorp (area 34,800, population 1,500,000, Catholics 27,000, priests 24, permanent deacons 4, religious 11), South Africa.

The bishop-elect was born in Erasmus, South Africa in 1961, and was ordained a priest in 1988. He holds a licentiate in spirituality from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and studied African culture at the Catholic University of East Africa in Nairobi. He has served in a number of pastoral and academic roles, including parish priest in the parishes of “Christ the King”, Mabopane, “Good Shepherd” and “St. Peter” in Winterveldt; professor in the preparatory seminary of Hammanskraal and Cape Town; spiritual director of the St. Peter philosophical seminary; teacher at the St. John Vianney major seminary, and teacher at the Lumuko Pastoral Institute.

The bishop-elect is currently vicar general of the archdiocese of Pretoria and administrator of the Cathedral of Pretoria. Source...

 

Guinean Cardinal Appointed Prefect for Congregation for Divine Worship

National Catholic Reporter || Joshua J. McElwee || 24 November 2014

 

Pope Francis has appointed Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah as the new head for the Vatican congregation that oversees and determines liturgical practices for the global Catholic church.

The appointment, made Sunday but announced by the Vatican on Monday, fills what had been an unusually long vacancy among the Vatican's highest offices and elevates Sarah to the most senior African in the church's governance.

It also will likely be subject to much analysis and speculation, as the post in recent years has been the topic of much discussion among Catholics about how the church celebrates liturgy in the wake of the changes of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

Until Sunday, Sarah had been the president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which is tasked with undertaking humanitarian relief and charity in the name of the Vatican and the pope.

He is now prefect for the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, which has a wide range of duties, including the regulation of the church's liturgy, the administration of the sacraments, and overseeing the translation of the church's liturgical texts.

Sarah, 69, succeeds Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, who led the congregation from December 2008 until August, when the pope appointed him as the new archbishop of Valencia.

Sarah is the second African to hold the post, following Cardinal Francis Arinze, who led the congregation from 2002 to 2008.

The liturgical congregation has come into the spotlight in recent years in the U.S. for the role it played in pushing for new translations of the English texts of the Catholic celebration of the Mass.

In 2001, the congregation published new norms for the translations of liturgical documents, directing translators to follow strict adherence to the Latin texts in their translations. The same year, the congregation also created a new international committee, known as Vox Clara, to effectively oversee retranslations of texts throughout the world.

Following the congregation's work, new English-language texts went into use in the U.S. in fall 2011.

Sarah, who had served as the Cor Unum president since 2010, previously served as a secretary for the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2001 to 2010.

Before his Vatican work, Sarah had served for more than two decades (from 1979 to 2001) as the archbishop of the coastal Guinean archdiocese of Conakry.  

Fluent in French, English and Italian, Sarah obtained his licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, a Jerusalem-based branch of the Pontifical University Antonianum.

During his time in Conakry, Sarah served at different points as president of the Guinean bishops' conference and the Episcopal Conference of West Africa.

The Guinean prelate was critical of last month's Synod of Bishops on family life, saying that the church was being pressured by media groups to change certain pastoral teachings, particularly regarding same-sex unions.

"What has been published by the media about homosexual unions is an attempt to push the Church [to change] her doctrine," Sarah told Catholic News Agency.

"The Church has never judged homosexual persons, but homosexual behavior and homosexual unions are grave deviations of sexuality," the cardinal, who participated in the synod as the president of Cor Unum, continued.

Among his public appointments last month, Sarah also spoke to an annual pilgrimage of Latin Mass enthusiasts in Rome, known as the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage for the 2007 document by Pope Benedict XVI that allowed for wider celebration of the Latin Mass.

Until Sarah's appointment Sunday, the most senior African at the Vatican had been Cardinal Peter Turkson, a Ghanaian who is the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

The Vatican's release Monday announcing Sarah's appointment to the liturgical congregation did not say who would be taking his post at Cor Unum. But as Francis is known to be undertaking a reform of the Vatican's bureaucracy, it remains unclear if the organization of certain Vatican offices may be changed. Source...

[Joshua J. McElwee is NCR Vatican correspondent. His email address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @joshjmac.]

Pope Francis Receives in Audience the President of Senegal

Vatican Information Service || 18 November 2014

Today, the Holy Father Francis received in audience Macky Sall, president of the Republic of Senegal, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by the secretary for Relations with States, His Excellency Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.

During the discussions, the cordial relations between the Holy See and Senegal were noted, and the important contribution offered by the Church in the sectors of education and healthcare was underlined, as well as her generous and greatly appreciated commitment to promoting peace and national reconciliation.

Finally, there was an exchange of views on various themes of international interest, with particular reference to the current situations of crisis in the Region. Source...

Kenyan Bishop Assures Catholic Communicators of Church’s Commitment to Diocesan Communication Endeavours

CANAA || 20 November, 2014

The Vice Chairman of the Commission for Social Communications of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Bishop David Kamau, last Tuesday assured Catholic Communicators in Kenya of Church leaders’ commitment to realizing vibrant diocesan media houses in order “to assist in amplifying the voice of the Church.”

Bishop Kamau was addressing about 40 diocesan communication coordinators, publication editors and radio directors and managers gathering for their Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Don Bosco Youth Educational Service (DBYES) in Karen, Nairobi.

“I wish to assure you of my personal commitment, the commitment of the Social Communications Commission and indeed, the commitment of the entire Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops to ensure that communications offices in the dioceses are equipped and motivated enough to assist in amplifying the voice of the Church,” Bishop Kamau said in his opening remarks.

Recalling the deliberations during their last meeting, Bishop Kamau called for responsible journalism among Catholic communicators and the safeguarding of the Catholic identity.

“In our last meeting, we agreed that communication is becoming a central part of all activities of the church, and in an information saturated world, we need to stand out as Catholic Communicators and do things differently from other journalists guided by the Social Teaching of the Church,” Bishop Kamau said, adding, “I cannot over-emphasize this need at a time when ethical values have degraded so much that many people can no longer differentiate right from wrong.”

Bishop Kamau goes on to recall previous discussions about sustainability of Catholic media houses in Kenya and acknowledges the birth of new diocesan media houses, particularly radio stations.

The weeklong meeting kicked off on Monday, November 17.

Below is the full speech by Bishop Kamau, sent to CANAA by Waumini Communications, KCCB.

Speech by Rt. Rev. David Kamau during the official Opening of the meeting of Communication Coordinators:

18^th November 2014

Rev. Fathers present

Staff members of Waumini Communications led by the Director, Mr. David Omwoyo

All Communication Coordinators

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning

I bring you greetings of love from Nairobi Archdiocese and from my brother bishops with whom I was in Nakuru two weeks ago during our November Plenary Assembly.

I also bring you greetings from our Chairman, Rt. Rev. Martin Kivuva who would have wanted to be here with us from the onset of this AGM, but could not due to pastoral commitments in his Diocese. Bishop Kivuva will however be joining us on Wednesday.

I am glad that this meeting comes towards the end of the year when all of us can reflect on the challenges facing Catholic communicators today and explore ways of using our strategic position to face these challenges.

In our last meeting, we agreed that communication is becoming a central part of all activities of the church, and in an information saturated world, we need to stand out as Catholic Communicators and do things differently from other journalists guided by the Social Teaching of the Church. I cannot over-emphasize this need at a time when ethical values have degraded so much that many people can no longer differentiate right from wrong.

Dear communicators, we live in a time when, like in the times of the prophets of old, we have to use our media to call people to the truth.

Today, I am glad to be amongst you as we evaluate our work for the ending year and plan for the coming year. I look forward to engaging sessions with all of you. I hope that we put each other to task, appreciating what we did well, pointing out what we did not do so well but most importantly: encouraging each other to do better.

I am reminded of our discussions in the last meeting on Strategies for Fundraising for Communication offices in Dioceses. My brothers and sisters in the lord, I hope we have all begun to explore these possibilities with the hope of having more vibrant communication offices. I will be eagerly listening to your reports on how you have implemented these strategies and the challenges you may have faced.

I wish to assure you of my personal commitment, the commitment of the Social Communications Commission and indeed, the commitment of the entire Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops to ensure that communications offices in the dioceses are equipped and motivated enough to assist in amplifying the voice of the Church.

I am glad that the National office has continued to build our capacity through training and technical facilitation. The last few months, has seen tremendous growth in Catholic Radios. We have had wonderful improvements in Radio Waumini in Nairobi Archdiocese, Radio Akicha in the diocese of Lodwar and Radio Amani in the diocese of Nakuru.

I am also reliably informed that Radio Upendo in Elldoret diocese has already received funds to set up a modern studio.

I also take this opportunity to congratulate the Vicariate of Isiolo, for launching Radio Shahidi last month-one of the latest entrants in the Catholic Radio family. Clearly, the Catholic voice is slowly but steadily dominating the airwaves in Kenya.

As I look forward to the activities of this AGM, I pray that we have intensive discussions based on a mutual sense of purpose. I especially look forward to a joint calendar of events for year 2015 and the formation of an executive committee for the Commission of Social Communication. These two will help us create synergy as we begin the year 2015.

Allow me at this point brothers and Sisters to officially declare this meeting open.

May the good Lord guide you through it all.

_______________________

Rt. Rev. David Kamau

Vice Chairman, Commission for Social Communication

Realizing the African Year of Reconciliation among Deliberations of SECAM’s Workshop on Small Christian Communities

CANAA || 20 November, 2014

The planning and realization of the African Year of Reconciliation (AYR), recommended by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus, is among the objectives of the forthcoming workshop on Small Christian Communities (SCCs) in Africa under the auspices of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in partnership with Missio Aachen.

The theme of the workshop is Small Christian Communities: moving towards the African Year of Reconciliation and Sharing with other churches.

Set to kick off this Saturday, November 22 with the arrival of participants drawn from the Regional Conferences of Catholic Bishops, the five-day meeting is a follow-up of the September 2012 Nairobi workshop, which discussed the commitment of SCCs in the process of reconciliation in Africa in the light of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus.

The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus encouraged each African country to mark on annual basis “a day or week of reconciliation, particularly during Advent or Lent,” and mandated SECAM to facilitate the realization of these celebrations, whose purpose would be “to encourage reconciliation in communities.”

“SECAM will be able to help bring this about and, in accord with the Holy See, promote a continent-wide Year of Reconciliation to beg of God special forgiveness for all the evils and injuries mutually inflicted in Africa, and for the reconciliation of persons and groups who have been hurt in the Church and in the whole of society,” the Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus states in number 157.

“This would be an extraordinary Jubilee Year “during which the Church in Africa and in the neighbouring islands gives thanks with the universal Church and implores the gifts of the Holy Spirit”, especially the gift of reconciliation, justice and peace.” (Africae Munus, 157).

The entire program of the workshop had been prepared by the late Father Pierre BOSANGIA (photo herein).

Among those expected at SECAM Secretariat in Accra, Ghana, for the workshop are representatives from the Association of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC), the Association of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the Region of Central Africa (ACERAC), the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA), the Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy of Egypt (AHCE), the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA), the Episcopal Conference of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean (CEDO), and the Regional Episcopal Conference of Northern Africa (CERNA), as well as a representative from Missio Aachen.

A write up about this workshop was originally prepared by the late Fr. Pierre BOSANGIA in French. It included the theme, justification, objectives, and daily sessions and their corresponding topics. The English translation below has been done by Father Don Bosco Ochieng Onyalla, CANAA Coordinator.

Father Pierre Bosangia, 54, was laid to rest last Wednesday, November 19, at the cemetery of St. Andrew Kaggwa Major Seminary in Kinshasa, DR Congo. According to Prêtre dans la rue, Father Bosangia’s farewell Eucharist was celebrated at the Notre-Dame Cathedral by well over 300 priests, 6 bishops, many religious women and men, the young and the not-so-young.

Until his untimely death at a hospital in Accra on Tuesday, November 11 after a very short illness, Father Bosangia was serving as the first Deputy Secretary General of SECAM.

A tribute was presented at the funeral in Kinshasa on behalf of the Presidency of the Standing Committee and all SECAM members.

The Presidential Council of SECAM composed of SECAM President Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi (Lubango - Angola), SECAM first Vice President Bishop Louis Portella Mbuyu (Kinkala – Congo), and second Vice President of SECAM Archbishop Gabriel Anokye (Kumasi – Ghana) were present at the funeral. SECAM Secretary General, Father Joseph Komakoma represented all staff of SECAM Secretariat.

Father Bosangia belonged to the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, where he had also served as Director of Lindonge Pastoral Centre. He was one of the co-founders of the 'Kizito and Anuarite' (KA) children group.

Below is the write up Father Bosangia had prepared with regard to the workshop on SCCs.

Workshop on Small Christian Communities

Prepared by Rev. Father Pierre BOSANGIA Ile B.

Theme

Small Christian Communities: moving towards the African Year of Reconciliation and Sharing with other churches.

Justification

A workshop on Small Christian Communities (SCCs) bringing together representatives from various regions of Africa was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2012. The workshop focused on "How Small Christian Communities receive, appropriate, and respond to the documents of the Magisterium."

One of the major resolutions of the gathering was to move with urgency to implement the theme above, which was discussed in the light of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Africae Munus.

In addition, the preparation of the African Year of Reconciliation (AYR) recommended in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Africae Munus 157, would be included in the Strategic Plan of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) 2013-2018. This is what is to be implemented.

The Accra workshop will focus on the role of the SCCs in the process of reconciliation in Africa, in the light of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus, whose theme is Justice, Peace and Reconciliation.

Objectives

1. Follow-up of the Nairobi workshop, in order to envisage the commitment of SCCs in the process of reconciliation in Africa and therefore prepare the AYR.
2. Work on consolidating SCCs, making them more effective in society and in the Church in Africa as to enable them to share their experiences with other churches.
3. Institutionalize a pan-African organization responsible for the pastoral care of SCCs.

Venue and Dates

Accra (Ghana), from Saturday, November 22 to Wednesday, November 26, 2014.

Program

Saturday, November 22: arrival of Participants

Sunday, November 23: opening ceremony

1. Communication on the Nairobi workshop
2. Session on SCCs’ theology and the need for reconciliation in Africa in the light of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus.

Monday, November 24:

1. Communication on Justice, Peace and Reconciliation.
2. Session on "Strategies of organizing the pastoral care of SCCs for reconciliation in Africa.”

Tuesday, November 25:

1. Session on "Strategies in the concrete life of SCCs for reconciliation in Africa.”
2. A look into the future
3. Closing session

Wednesday, November 26: departure of Participants.

Catholic Bishops of Ghana Explain Challenges of the Family, Offer Recommendations in their Communiqué

CANAA || 17 November, 2014

The communiqué, which begins with greetings to Ghanaians and gratitude to God, goes on to explains the theme of the bishops’ plenary and further details the Catholic Church’s teaching on the family as well as the challenges of the family in the context of Ghana.

“Today, the family is undergoing significant challenges that rock the very foundation on which God has set the human society,” the bishops write in their communiqué and illustrate the various ways in which the challenges manifest themselves.

The philosophy of relativism, negative Media portrait of marriage, infidelity of couples, domestic violence in marriage, pressures on marriage and families occasioned by work and some cultural traditions, inequality in marriage, bride-wealth, as well as cohabitation were highlighted and explained as causes and manifestations of family crises.

“What compounds these challenges to the family are other serious socio-economic and political problems in our society,” the bishops say, identifying and explaining aspects such as Ghana’s economic upheavals, corruption, high rate of road accidents, strike actions, the threat of Ebola and cholera, as well as the new policy considerations in education.

“In the face of these and other formidable challenges to the family and our society, we, your Pastors exhort you our Faithful to be responsible citizens and to be loyal to what Scripture and the Church teach about the family and marriage,” the Bishops recommend in part.

“May the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, continue to intercede for all families and for all of us. May the God of all consolation and peace fill you with His grace and peace,” The Bishops’ communiqué concludes.

Below is the full communiqué, issued at the conclusion of the bishops’ 10-day annual plenary assembly, which took place in Accra, Ghana, from November 4-15, 2014. It was availed to CANAA by Ghana’s Catholic Standard Newspaper.

COMMUNIQUE OF THE GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE ACCRA, NOVEMBER 4 – 15, 2014

THEME: “THE PASTORAL CHALLENGES OF THE FAMILY

IN THE CONTEXT OF EVANGELISATION”

Greetings

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ and all people of goodwill who live in our land, grace and peace of God the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name be with you! (Eph. 3:15).

We, the members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, meeting in our 2014 Annual Plenary Assembly in Oshiuman, Accra, from 4th to 15th November, 2014, send you our greetings of peace and blessing.

Gratitude

We give thanks to God for His grace and mercies for guiding us through the events of the past year during which as a Church we successfully organised a Second National Pastoral Congress in Sunyani to chart a new path of evangelisation for our Church’s mission in Ghana. We also recall with gratitude to God our successful Ad Limina Visit to Rome this year during which we met the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to give an account of our stewardship. These graces of God to the Church, coupled with the fact that our country, Ghana, continues to enjoy peace and good will among the comity of nations, invite us to give praise to God.   We encourage all citizens to continue to seek the face of God and offer fervent prayers for our dear Nation and the Church.

Theme of this year’s Plenary

The theme of this year’s plenary Assembly is, “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelisation”. This theme was inspired by the just-ended Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family held in Rome, from 5th to 19th October, 2014 to consider the pastoral challenges that the family faces today. Our deliberations on this theme were preceded by four days of prayer and reflection, at the end of which we wish to present to you and to the good people of Ghana and the world at large the following pertinent teachings on the family.

The Church’s Teaching on the Family

The Church’s perennial and unchanging teaching on the family is based on the nature of man but especially on Scripture and Sacred Tradition namely, that God ordained marriage to be between man and woman, when “God made them male and female and blessed them”. God also intended marriage to be open to life when, “He blessed them and said increase and multiply” (Gen. 1:27-28). Furthermore, God determined marriage to be indissoluble as Jesus affirmed, “What therefore God has put together, let no man put asunder” (Matt. 19:6).

The Church’s consistent teaching on the importance of marriage and family life as revealed in Sacred Scripture is also emphasised in the Magisterium. The Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et Spes (GS), for instance, speaks about the dignity of marriage and family life (cf. GS 47-52), defining marriage as a community of life and love and placing love at the nucleus of the family (Eph. 5:25).

God the Creator, by forming the first man and woman and commanding them to be fruitful and to multiply (Gen. 1:28) definitively established the family to be a permanent union between one man and one woman. Consequently, the family becomes the sanctuary where life is born, nurtured and welcomed as a gift of God. By matrimonial covenant which the Lord Jesus raised to the dignity of a sacrament, a man and a woman come together to establish between themselves a relationship of love which by its very nature is ordered towards the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring. This covenant of love consequently takes the character and effect of unity, indissolubility, fidelity and openness to life. Marital love also requires the fidelity of the spouses flowing from the gift of oneself to one’s lawful spouse (cf. Eph. 5:32).

Church as Family of God

The Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa (The Church in Africa) adopted a new image of the Church: Church-family of God (Ecclesia in Africa, 63). This image emphasizes our common origin and destiny as Children of God (Eph. 3:14). The African cherishes the family as the fundamental base of humanity and of society. As a family, respect, sense of belonging and care for one another are our values. Like the African family, the Church always aims at building up her members, to uphold her image and reinforce her values of care for others, solidarity, warmth in human relationships, acceptance, dialogue and trust (Ecclesia in Africa, 63). This explains why the Church is appreciated as a gift from God given to building the Kingdom of reconciliation, justice and peace here on earth and in Ghana (Africae Munus 7).

The Family as Subject of Evangelisation

The Fathers of Vatican II rightly noted that evangelisation first takes place in the family, as parents “by word and example, are the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children” (Lumen Gentium 11). It is in the family that children first learn about God, love of neighbour and the Church. As such, parents are indispensable in sharing the faith with their children. Parents are to assist children to make the appropriate choices at the different stages of their lives.

Challenges of the Family

Today, the family is undergoing significant challenges that rock the very foundation on which God has set the human society. These crises manifest themselves in very many ways.

Philosophy of Relativism and the Family

We are witnessing today the emergence of a new reality that defines man as a free individual with the license to do whatever she/he pleases. Unfortunately, this reality has crept into the traditional Christian concept of the family, redefining marriage to be a free union between any two people who are attracted to each other whether they are of the same sex or not. The new reality exhorts humans to give free expression to their sexual feelings in all manner of ways. Some people suppress the words, “husband” and “wife,” “father” and “mother” in favour of words such as “partner”, “companion”, etc. The attempted redefinition of these words distorts and clouds the true meaning of marriage.

Negative Media Portrait of Marriage

The media has become a major source of influence in the way young people conceive marriage. They amplify failing and failed relationships between males and females and further celebrate their separation. Ghanaian young people continually keep themselves updated on the marital mishaps of celebrities, get exposed to explicit immoral scenes in movies and the internet and come to associate human sexuality with a certain casualness and irresponsible experimentation. It therefore makes it easy to treat one’s partner merely as an object of self-gratification. Regrettably, the many good examples of faithful couples are either ignored or not reported by the media.

Infidelity of Couples

Some Christian men and women, especially those who indulge in casual and pre-marital sex, do not develop the critical awareness of their changed status once they get married. They continue to maintain sexual relations with other men and women outside their marriage. Such betrayal often leads to the break-up of many marriages.

Domestic Violence in Marriage

Domestic violence is a real issue in many Ghanaian homes and is suffered by both men and women. While some wives are battered into silence and therefore live in perpetual fear of their husbands, some husbands are also unable to come home after work for fear of their wives. This often leads some men and women into alcoholism and some enter into amorous relationships with other women and men. The work place, the market and even at times, the Church, have become the refuge for some men and women escaping the hazards of domestic violence. In some cases, innocent children and house helps fall victim to this violence.

Pressures on Marriage and Families

Many a couple has challenges with building their lives together in intimate relationship due to pressures of work. The phenomenon where couples are regularly absent from the marital home due to work and education does not help in the stability of the marriage. Children become the ultimate victims in the event of divorce. Furthermore, demands from either partner’s family for assistance most often incur the displeasure of the other spouse. Some husbands and wives find it difficult relating well to the families of their spouses. This often creates resentment and may lead to divorce.

In addition, when marriage has been for some time without children, there is always pressure brought to bear on the man but most often on the woman. For many Ghanaian communities, it is only when a child is born to the couple that the marriage is seen as consolidated and no explanation to the contrary is good enough. In some extreme cases, some women, unable to bear the pressure are actually known to have allowed their husbands to marry another woman and get children by her. Such arrangements apart from being wrong and opposed to the teaching on Christian family often result in disaster and tragedy.

Inequality in Marriage

Ghanaian Christians have to be educated out of their belief in the inequality of husband and wife. Most of us in Ghana live in male-dominated societies which believe in the superiority of the man over the woman. As such, the Christian doctrine on the equality of husband and wife is a teaching that some find difficult to accept. The traditional Ghanaian male believes that the woman is inferior to the man in marriage. We observe the phenomenon of polygamy among our Christian faithful as some men prefer to marry more than one woman. This is due to the Ghanaian culture which seems to condone polygamy. These notions are wrong and ought to change.

Bridewealth in Marriage

The issue of bridewealth (also known in some societies as dowry) and its significance for marriages also needs to be addressed. Even though most Christians would not accept the complete abolition of the bridewealth because of its significance for the stability of the marriage, we must do away with the excesses that are making it difficult for poor people to marry. Furthermore, one cannot deny completely the fact that the payment of the bridewealth in some cultures is partially to blame for the low place we give the woman in her marital home and the society at large. An effective evangelisation of our Christian families will base family life on the love that bonds the couple together and not on the bridewealth.

Cohabitation/Concubinage

We bemoan the practice of cohabitation or concubinage in which couples that have performed the customary marriage see no need to go ahead to regularise their marriages. We call for an end to this practice. Reasons such as the need to study each other, lack of funds to celebrate the marriage, among others, do not hold any significance. For in such a practice, not only do the couples fail to make God the centre of their marriages but they also cut themselves off from the Eucharist as the source of their spiritual sustenance.

Socio-political Challenges to the Family

What compounds these challenges to the family are other serious socio-economic and political problems in our society. Our beloved country, Ghana as a family is beset with the nagging problem of polarization along political and tribal lines. We experience the politicisation of almost every national issue, and a growing religious and political intolerance. We see also the lack of the fear of God and ostentation in our body politic and social fabric. There is deceit, commercialization of religion and the “hijacking” of some religious and opinion leaders to divide and rule the society. All of these are bad examples for our children and youth. That is why we strongly deplore this state of affairs in our nation and urge all Ghanaians to desist from them and come together to address these evils.

We also deplore in no uncertain terms a radical and faceless culture of death which promotes among other things the supply and use of the condom in our schools, the in vitro fertilization and the contraception agenda of some national and international institutions in Ghana. Painfully, some Ghanaian homosexual and pro-abortion groups, and even our Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection overtly and subtly support these international organizations. We wish to draw the attention of all Ghanaians to this dangerous “culture of death” being imposed on us and call on all Ghanaians to forcefully reject this so-called freedom which indeed is suicidal. Further, we urge those who represent Ghana at the United Nations and other such bodies to realise that these practices are culturally abominable and morally and spiritually reprehensible. We therefore urge them to refrain from endorsing such disastrous protocols on our behalf. Whenever they do sign such protocols, they betray the trust the good people of Ghana have vested in them. We are to remind ourselves of the well known fact that a nation that kills its unborn babies has no future.

Ghana’s Economy and the family

The current state of the Ghanaian economy is of concern to all of us and affects the family adversely. We are witnessing a consistent high cost of living, hyper-inflation, a depreciating cedi and high cost of goods and services. We bemoan the fact that Ghana’s economy is fast becoming one of “buying and selling.” Unbearably high taxes are causing many nascent private businesses to fold up. At the same time, we are not seeing aggressive efforts to set up more industries to take care of rising youth unemployment and low levels of development. We join our voices to those of the many Ghanaians who disapprove of the importation of furniture from China for our Parliament when made-in-Ghana furniture could have been patronized to boost the furniture industry and the economy as a whole. Economic practices such as these, impact negatively on most families, leading to despair, poverty, sense of abandonment and marginalization. They threaten the stability of families making it difficult for them to actually live out their expectations as Christian families.

We note the various efforts of government, aimed at improving the economy, including the ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Senchi Consensus. We can only hope that these interventions will lead to economic transformation that will arrest the rising spate of youth unemployment and low levels of development. We pray that our own home-grown economic policies such as those implemented under the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Authority (GYEEDA) and the Youth Enterprise Support (YES) may be led by qualified and competent persons. These policies should be given the utmost priority over externally-funded support programmes. Our experience is that externally-funded economic interventions almost always lead to unbearable consequences on citizens.

Corruption and the Family

We have time and again spoken about the twin-evil of bribery and corruption in Ghana but we regret to note that these evils continue to ravage every fabric of the Ghanaian society. Present-day Ghana is openly and pervasively corrupt. People at all levels of society, including some Christians, are engaged in naked corruption with impunity. We commend the Government for the recent prosecution of some high level personalities in government and for setting up various Commissions of enquiry into alleged corrupt practices at high levels. We do think, however, that our Government could do more to nip this canker in the bud. Certainly, individuals and private businesses should do their part to end corruption in our country. Reports of corruption from the media and on-going national commissions of enquiry such as the Judgment Debts, GYEEDA and SADA, National Service Scheme and the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well as allegations of corruption in CHRAJ are worrying. We decry the mismanagement and apparent failure of these programmes and institutions and call on Government to do all it can to ensure that they deliver on their mandate. We also expect Government to act without fear or favour in dealing with those who will be found culpable in the reports of the on-going investigations.

We urge the financial institutions, especially the banks, to beware of money laundering and the reported cases of cheating unsuspecting clients by some unscrupulous workers in the banks and financial institutions. We appeal to the Bank of Ghana to come to the aid of all those who loose their monies through some failed microfinance institutions.

Greed breeds hard-heartedness, theft, blackmail, bribery and corruption and even murder. Corruption encourages and condones incompetence, mediocrity at work and disrespect for higher authority as well as unnecessary bureaucracy. It drives away investment and leads to unnecessary suffering and poverty. We therefore call on all Ghanaians to make a serious self-examination of conscience concerning bribery and corruption and repent. We must all resolve from today never to engage in acts of bribery and corruption or condone the same.

Road Accidents and the Family

We have observed with growing concern the increasing rate of preventable fatal accidents on our roads. Roads in many parts of the country are deplorable and those in better shape are not properly marked or sign-posted. According to the national Roads Safety Commission in 2013, about two thousand people lost their lives in road and transport accidents. The trend for this year suggests that we may exceed this figure by the end of the year if we do not make immediate and radical changes in the way we use our roads. The lasting trauma and the other untold hardships to the bereaved families are obvious. The country in turn loses its precious citizens and becomes poorer.

We therefore urge all Ghanaians, especially transport owners, all drivers and other road users, as a matter of urgency, to exercise maximum vigilance and abide by all road and transport regulations. Passengers and pedestrians should protest, and try to restrain and report all drivers who drive carelessly to the appropriate authorities. Further, we urge all our priests and ministers of other religions to use the pulpit to educate and remind their followers about the do’s and don’ts on our roads. All in Ghana need to know that the fatal accidents on our roads are neither the will of God for us nor due to our destiny. Rather, they are the result of our own carelessness and indiscipline. God has given us the responsibility to prevent these accidents from happening.

Strike Actions and the Family

As Pastors of God’s people, we cannot remain unconcerned about the spate of strike actions which have hit our country recently. We wish to call on the Government and Organised Labour to always use dialogue and negotiations in dealing with labour disputes and agitations. We are prepared to play a mediation role in the resolution of the ongoing impasse among the parties.

The Threat of Ebola, Cholera and the Family

We regret that the Ebola Viral Disease which has hit the West African region, especially Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, has so far claimed more than 5,000 lives. We pray for the families which have lost their loved ones and ask that intensive prayers be offered for an end to this scourge, even as we urge all Ghanaians to continue to observe all health safety precautions and to refer to and abide by the instructions we issued on the Ebola disease just last August. On cholera, we urge the continued observance of hygienic conditions to completely deal with it and prevent its recurrence. We appeal to all Ghanaians to take seriously the directives by the Ministry of Health on how to prevent these diseases.

New Policy Considerations in Education and the Family

We learn that the Ministry of Education is in the process of proposing a new consolidated bill on Education which aims at effectively decentralizing education service delivery and management. We are not opposed to education reforms but feel the need for broad-based consultation on such reforms, especially with all major stakeholders including the Church. Since parents have conferred life on their children, they have the most natural and divine obligation to educate their children in schools and institutions of their choice. This inalienable right has been significantly usurped by the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), a system we continue to decry for reasons many Ghanaians are beginning to understand.   Parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children. We therefore call on Government to be transparent on any on-going policy considerations on education reforms. We urge the Government to expedite action on the formalization of the Partnership Agreement on Education submitted by Religious and Other Bodies whose schools are in the public system.

Some Pastoral Recommendations for Marriage and Family Life

In the face of these and other formidable challenges to the family and our society, we, your Pastors exhort you our Faithful to be responsible citizens and to be loyal to what Scripture and the Church teach about the family and marriage.

Given the demands of married life, we exhort all who are called by God to this vocation to prepare themselves adequately. We call on the National Catechetical Commission to develop a structured and sustained programme of on-going formation for prospective and married couples.

We encourage the formation of Christian Family Movements to promote Christian marriage. Further, we propose a Family Week to be celebrated annually and we urge all Priests, Religious and Laity to observe this week as such. We equally call on our priests and religious to recognize that home visitation to families is part of their ordinary pastoral duties. We urge all Parishes and Dioceses to create occasions for the unmarried, especially the youth, to come together for retreats, workshops etc., to prepare for their life’s vocations.

Formators in our major seminaries and other formation houses should continue to deepen candidates’ knowledge in marriage and family life, while priests and religious in the field should equip themselves with periodic on-going pastoral formation and study sessions to keep abreast of Church teaching on marriage.

We ask the whole Church to show special love and attention to childless couples. The marriages of spouses to whom God has not granted children should radiate a fruitfulness of charity, of hospitality and of sacrifice.

Commendation of Faithful Couples and Families

We, your Shepherds, commend the good work of all faithful couples who witness to family values inspired by the Gospel in spite of the many challenges. We call on all pastoral agents to give special attention to the family in their ministry, especially to families in distress. Let all parents and guardians take their responsibility more seriously, mindful of the fact that they are the very first agents of the human and religious formation of their families and society at large. As your Pastors, we pledge to continue to work with our pastoral agents and the State to ensure that the fundamental human values, such as belief in God, the respect for life, the virtues of sincerity, honesty and hard work, are acquired first from the home.

Conclusion

The Church will continue to proclaim the unwavering truth that monogamy is what God has ordained and that polygamy is contrary to conjugal love and incompatible with the unity of marriage. She will continue to teach that marriage is between a man and a woman and not people of the same sex. The Church will also continue to teach that divorce from a living and lawful spouse is not permitted by the Church because it separates what God has joined together. She suffers with those who are not admitted to communion due to their marital status and will continue to journey with them in the faith to encourage them not to despair.

It is without doubt that the family of today faces formidable pastoral and socio-economic challenges which threaten its fundamental role as the basic unit of society and the Church. We your Pastors assure all families of our encouragement and prayers in the face of these challenges. We call on all Christians and people of goodwill to continue to be strong and committed to the family.

May the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, continue to intercede for all families and for all of us. May the God of all consolation and peace fill you with His grace and peace (1 Cor. 1:3).

MOST REV. JOSEPH OSEI-BONSU

BISHOP OF KONONGO-MAMPONG &

PRESIDENT, GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE

God Hears and Answers Prayer, Nigerian Archbishop Tells Compatriots

Vatican Radio || 17 November, 2014

 

Remarks by Most Rev. Ignatius A. Kaigama, Archbishop of Jos and President, Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, during the National Prayer Pilgrimage to pray for Nigeria in Abuja, 13th/14th November, 2014.

Catholics in Nigeria have ended the all night prayers aimed at interceding on behalf of the nation from the evening of Thursday, 13 November 2014, to the early hours of Friday, 14 November 2014. The prayers come on the heels of unrelenting terrorist attacks from Islamic insurgents, Boko Haram.  

Since the insurgency started in 2010, Boko Haram are said to have killed more than 13, 000 people mainly in the Northeastern part of Nigeria. In Adamawa state alone, almost 9,500 persons have been displaced.  Boko Haram has overrun a string of towns and villages as they perpetrate a reign of terror. Three states, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, have been under emergency rule since May last year

The weekend prayer vigil was held at the National Christian Centre in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. The national prayers featuring a candle-light procession, recitation of the Rosary, Scripture readings and various devotional services drew Bishops and Catholics from different parts of Nigeria. .

In his keynote address to the faithful, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama assured the nation that God answers prayers. Below is the address of Archbishop Kaigama as obtained by Vatican Radio.

GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYER

About two years ago, the Catholic Bishops Conference organized a National Prayer Pilgrimage here at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, to beg God to have mercy on our dear nation, create in Nigerians a feeling of strong patriotism and to eject from us the many evils that tend to cripple our progress.

We requested God to bless our leaders, inject in them a very high dose of patriotism and selfless service and for security for all. We also prayed for work for the youth, unity among the diverse ethnic and religious groups and politics of sound social justice and development instead of polarization, conflict and acrimony.

We thank God for his mercy and faithfulness. We may not have received everything we prayed for, but by His grace most of us are still alive and we have remained one people and one nation. Today, gauging the general despair and disillusionment in the land, we converge here again to cry on to the Lord for enduring peace and for God to stir strongly in the hearts of Nigerians the spirit to transcend narrow ethnic, religious, and political boundaries so as to always pursue the common good.

Very concerned about the happenings in the country we, the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, called on all our families, parishes, Dioceses and Provinces through a synchronized effort in prayer just as Catholics do world over with the angelus to pray for the nation. I welcome you all to this national segment which has brought together our lay people, priests, religious, and bishops in fervent prayers for our beloved country.

As Catholics, we believe that Prayer, made with deep faith, can move mountains and calm storms and that prayer is our most powerful weapon as we face the multidimensional challenges in contemporary Nigeria.

Jesus Himself, taught us to pray in thanksgiving and to ask ( Lk 11:1-13). The Apostle Paul is also very clear in his letters on the need to pray continually. In Ephesians 6:18, he says, "pray always with all prayer and supplication.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."In I Thess. 5:17, he urges us to "pray at all times. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God concerning you." Col. 4:2, says "be persistent in prayer, being watchful and thankful" while Romans 12:12, says "Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times".

We further believe that our prayers, whether answered or yet to be answered, draw us closer to God. This is what we seek - to be close to God at the vertical level and to be close to fellow Nigerians irrespective of ethnic, religious, political or social status at the horizontal level.

We are aware that prayer alone without good works is inadequate. Nigerians may pray in Churches and other places of worship, go on pilgrimages in huge numbers, and call on the name of God at every event but without the corresponding commitment to our social obligations, this is tantamount to calling the name of God in vain.

Not to do our work well, to wish your neighbor harm or to engage in bitter, hostile, antagonistic political, religious or ethnic struggles that lead to loss of lives and the destruction of property and still claim to be people of faith is mere religious externalism devoid of godliness.

Our invitation to prayer is not meant to be a substitute for individual responsibility where we each play our parts to contribute to the welfare of all of us and our nation. With good behavior, good works and fervent prayers, we can overcome all obstacles and rise to the highest heights.

There are still ongoing terrorist activities that are not only causing the loss of lives and so much havoc but are enjoying territorial expansion. Bombings and slaughter of innocent Nigerians, especially in the North East, have become regular.

These cruel acts have not yet found counter active security solutions and are seemingly yet to truly touch or move the hearts of our elders (in and out of government), to explore avenues to bring sanity and order, rather than using the unfortunate situation as a political weapon.

Our darling innocent school girls from Chibok are still being held over six months since their abduction. Only God knows the psychological and physical trauma they are going through.

Apart from sectarian clashes here and there, there are already signals and  indications that the impending 2015 elections will create a political situation that will be explosive. There are indications that the "do or die" politics of mud-slinging and character assassination still prevail.  The political aggressive quest for power already being exhibited makes us wonder if Nigerian politics is truly about improving the lot of the common people.

Resources which belong to the people are spent in a reckless manner. To seek to be a counsellor, chairman, commissioner, minister, legislator, governor, or president is no doubt a laudable aspiration because it is about service, but in our country seeking these offices are considered the quickest access to enjoying our patrimony.  No wonder, kidnapping, either for ransom or as an expression of political discontent and forceful conversion, are very much with us.

Youths are languishing without jobs even after University education. What is more disturbing is that when these issues are mentioned or people express worry openly about them, depending on which political party is in control in a State or at the centre, you are termed an ingrate or a member of the opposition. We, in our prophetic roles, mention these not to put down anyone but to encourage selfless social action in favour of the people to whom we are pastors.

Brothers and sisters, there is no better time to storm the heavens with prayers and petitions than now. As we gather here, thousands of our brothers and sisters in parts of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have been displaced and their villages have been sacked. Many have lost relations and properties and are now internally displaced people.  

Our brother, Bishop Oliver Doeme of Maiduguri Diocese, can testify that many of their parishes have been closed and the people scattered while many have been killed. Bishop Stephen Mamza of Yola Diocese can also testify that thousands of people from the Borno and Adamawa axis have been displaced and made refugees in their ancestral homes. They have sought refuge and turned to the Church for consolation and support.

We thank Bishop Oliver and Bishop Stephen Mamza for their courageous presence with the thousands of displaced people and for offering them relief through the Church's limited resources by  the well coordinated activities of the Catholic Justice, Peace and Development Commission (JDPC) without any discrimination based on religion.

NEMA should be able to collaborate and draw from the experience of the Catholic Church's JDPC in terms of registration of displaced people and the orderly , effective and equitable distribution of relief. Such collaboration will ensure the real victims of crises are the ones who get the relief supplies. 

Our patriotism must be evident. As ordinary Nigerians, do we truly love ourselves and our country? Do our leaders love this country up to the point of not only engaging in hot electoral contests but also being ready to sacrifice their lives for the socio economic upliftment of the people they represent and the unity of all? Many leaders expect others to sacrifice their lives for their comfort and that of their families when all of us should all be sacrificing for the sake of Nigeria and Nigerians.

On the 20th of October we received the heart-warming news that Nigeria has been declared by the WHO to be free of the Ebola disease. This was due to the meticulous and strategic manner the government confronted the disease. We thank God for saving us from the dreaded Ebola disease.

If God can hear our collective supplications over the dreaded Ebola, He will surely hear our cry for lasting peace and security and the conversion of the hearts of all those who do evil.

Some people have the wrong impression that Catholic Bishops in their public statements which concern good governance, especially in our communiqués, do not appreciate adequately the effort of government. We are trained to be prophetic and objective and not to be led by sentiments.  

When the government banned gay unions we wrote to Mr. President to commend him. When Ebola was being tackled we commended the government and fully cooperated by issuing concrete directives in Catholic Churches. When lives are being needlessly lost we shout out, sometimes, in anger.

When there are defects in our educational or medical programmes, when political injustice and corruption are noticed, we object and some think that this is an action against government. This prayer event is an effort to support our government.

We obey authority as instructed by St. Paul in Romans 13:1-7. We may not find political favour because of our style of approach to issues but one thing we know for sure is that we are not disloyal and we do not wish our leaders or our country ill. When it matters we simply speak out for the people without mincing words.

Even though this is a Catholic Christian event, we call on all people of faith to join us in prayer., praying according to their religious tradition. Instead of using religion to cause strife, division and violence, we should unite and cry on to God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 reminds us of God's consoling words: "if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

I thank the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria for conceiving this programme and the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria for its usual logistic efficiency in bringing this programme to reality.

The Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria informed me that a substantial part of the  funds for the programme was donated by Arik Airline through Bishop Matthew Kukah. Kindly convey our profound gratitude. We thank the Archdiocese of Abuja for always being a great host. I thank you all on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria for heeding our call to prayer.

May the Lord answer all the prayers we make here and heal our nation. May he watch over us throughout this prayer programme and at the end as we depart to our respective destinations, may the Angels of God protect and guide us happily back to our homes.

Our Lady Queen of Nigeria, pray for us. Source...

Pope Francis Receives in Audience the Bishops of Zambia

Vatican Information Service || 17 November, 2014

The fruits of the labour of missionaries, attention to the family, guidance of the young, care for AIDS sufferers and the need to collaborate with political leaders for the common good are the central points of the written discourse that Pope Francis handed to the bishops of the Zambia Episcopal Conference whom he received in audience this morning at the end of their five-yearly “ad Limina” visit.

The Pope recalls the “rich deposit of faith” brought to Zambia by missionary religious, remarking that “despite the sometimes painful meeting of ancient ways with the new hope that Christ the Lord brings to all cultures, the word of faith took deep root”. The “plentiful spiritual harvest is evident in the many Catholic-run clinics, hospitals and schools, and parishes throughout Zambia, a wide diversity of lay ministries, and substantial numbers of vocations to the priesthood in a society that has been transformed by Christian values.

The great challenges that pastors face in this moment relate in particular to the family, since, as the prelates affirmed in their meeting with the Pontiff, “many, especially the poor in their struggle for survival, are led astray by empty promises in false teachings that seem to offer quick relief in times of desperation”.

Therefore, Francis urges the bishops, alongside their priests, to form solid Christian families through catechesis, who “will know, understand and love the truths of the faith more deeply”, and “affirm Catholic couples in their desire for fidelity in their conjugal life and in their yearning to provide a stable spiritual home for their children”. He also urged them to be close to the young “as they seek to establish and articulate their identity in a disorienting age”.

He adds, “Help them to find their purpose in the challenge and joy of co-creation with God that is the vocation to married life … or in the vocations to the priesthood or religious life, which the Church has been given for the salvation of souls”.

“In a special way, invite those who have grown lukewarm and feel lost to return to the full practice of the faith. As pastors of the flock, do not forget to seek out the weakest members of Zambian society, among whom are the materially poor and those afflicted with AIDS; for the great majority of the poor have a special openness to the faith; they need God and we must not fail to offer them His friendship, His blessing, His word, the celebration of the Sacraments and a journey of growth and maturity in the faith”.

“Never tire of being kind and firm fathers to your priests, helping them resist materialism and the standards of the world, while recognising their just needs. Continue also to promote the treasure of religious life in your dioceses. …

In this challenging time after the death of President Sata, I invite you to continue working with your political leaders for the common good, deepening your prophetic witness in defence of the poor in order to uplift the lives of the weak”, concludes Francis, reminding the prelates that “the Church’s mission to evangelise never ends: 'it is imperative to evangelise cultures in order to inculturate the Gospel... Each culture and social group needs purification and growth'”.

 Below is the Pope's English language remarks to the Bishops of Zambia, available from Vatican Radio

 

Dear Brother Bishops,

I welcome you to the City of the Apostles, where you have come as shepherd pilgrims ad Limina Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, and I thank Archbishop Mpundu for his gracious words on behalf of all the bishops, priests and people of your country.  As Christ our light and our life draws us together as brothers in the Church, may he deepen the ties between the Successor of Peter and the Bishops of Zambia. 

This time in Rome offers you a fresh opportunity to reflect on the many ways in which the Lord’s flock entrusted to you has been growing in Africa.  Pray in these days to discern the way ahead in solidarity and fraternity, towards the plentiful harvest (Jn 10:2) to which the Holy Spirit is leading you.

Looking back to the beginnings of the Church in Zambia, it is well known that the rich deposit of faith brought by missionary religious from lands overflowing with growth prompted your forebears to respond with their own works of charity, whose effects are felt throughout your country today.  Preparing for generations unborn, these spiritual leaders actively planted the word which the Holy Spirit had proposed to them (cf. 1 Cor 3:6). 

Despite the sometimes painful meeting of ancient ways with the new hope that Christ the Lord brings to all cultures, the word of faith took deep root, multiplying a hundredfold, and a new Zambian society transformed by Christian values emerged. It is at once evident how plentiful the spiritual harvest in your vast land already is – blessed with Catholic-run clinics, hospitals and schools, many parishes alive and growing across Zambia, a wide diversity of lay ministries, and substantial numbers of vocations to the priesthood.  With the whole Church, we can give thanks to God for what he has already accomplished in the people entrusted to your care.

In our own days, Zambians continue to seek a happy and fulfilling future in the Church and in society, despite great challenges  which militate against stability in social and ecclesial life, in particular for families.  When family life is endangered, then the life of faith is also put at risk.  As you yourselves have recounted, many – especially the poor in their struggle for survival – are led astray by empty promises in false teachings that seem to offer quick relief in times of desperation.  

In regard to these difficulties, I am convinced that “the weakening of [family] bonds is particularly serious because the family is the fundamental cell of society, where we learn to live with others despite our differences and to belong to one another; it is also the place where parents pass on the faith to their children” (Evangelii Gaudium, 66).  Be solicitous whether in or out of season, by supporting this “sanctuary of life” (Africae Munus, 42) which is the family, for it is here that the Church’s well-being in Zambia must grow and be fostered.

I ask you, with your priests, to form strong Christian families, who – by your catechizing – will know, understand and love the truths of the faith more deeply, and thus be protected from those currents which may tempt them to fall away.  Affirm Catholic couples in their desire for fidelity in conjugal life and in their yearning to provide a stable spiritual home for their children, helping them to nurture the life of virtue in the family.  By so doing, your authentic teaching of the doctrines of the faith will touch the daily life of Zambian households.

I urge you to be close to your young people as they seek to establish and articulate their identity in a disorienting age.  Help them to find their purpose in the challenge and joy of co-creation with God that is the vocation to married life, fulfilled in the blessing of children; or indeed in the celibate vocations to the sacred priesthood or religious life, which the Church has been given for the salvation of souls.  Encourage young Catholics by living lives of virtue to experience the liberating gift of chastity as adults.  I pray that you will foster ever greater cooperation with Zambia’s networks of active Catholic youth, who can in turn lead many others into the Church’s family. 

In a special way invite those who have grown lukewarm and feel lost to return to the full practice of the faith.  As pastors of the flock, do not forget to seek out the weakest members of Zambian society, among whom are the materially poor and those afflicted with AIDS; for “the great majority of the poor have a special openness to the faith; they need God and we must not fail to offer them his friendship, his blessing, his word, the celebration of the sacraments and a journey of growth and maturity in the faith” (Evangelii Gaudium, 200).

Despite all that the Church in Zambia faces, it is a time not to be discouraged but rather to offer the true freedom which only the Lord can give, sustained by the sacraments.  I encourage you to remain sensitive as shepherds to the spiritual and human needs of your closest coworkers: never tire of being kind and firm fathers to your priests, helping them resist materialism and the standards of the world, while recognizing their just needs.  Continue also to promote the treasure of religious life in your Dioceses, so that outstanding examples may be brought forth of Zambian men and women seeking to love the Lord with undivided hearts.

In this challenging time after the death of President Sata, I invite you to continue working with your political leaders for the common good, deepening your prophetic witness in defence of the poor in order to uplift the lives of the weak (cf. Pastoral Statement of the Zambia Episcopal Conference, “Act Justly and Walk Humbly with Your God”, 27 January 2013).

In all things, cooperate with the graces of the Holy Spirit, in unity of belief and purpose.  In union with priests, deacons, religious, catechists and lay leaders, irrigate with your corporal and spiritual works of mercy the vineyard of the Lord which stretches across Zambia like the great Zambezi River.  

The Church’s mission to evangelize never ends: “it is imperative to evangelize cultures in order to inculturate the Gospel... Each culture and social group needs purification and growth” (Evangelii Gaudium, 69).  Then the People of God in Zambia will receive the gift of the Gospel from you with fresh vigour, as you offer them Christ’s joy and mercy anew.  May their lives conform ever more deeply to the pattern of the Gospel; then the Lord’s Kingdom of peace will spread and grow in your beloved nation.

The Lord of the harvest is preparing to send the rains he promises in due season (Lev 26:4); for you are cultivating his fields until he returns at harvest time (Mt 13:30).  Until then, knowing well how much your work demands personal sacrifice, patience and love, draw on the faith and sacrifice of the Apostles to whose threshold you have come, in order to return strengthened to the Church in Zambia.

Dear Brothers, trusting in the saving grace of Almighty God, and commending you – along with all priests, religious and lay faithful in your Dioceses – to the intercession of Mary “Mother of the Church which evangelizes” (Evangelii Gaudium, 284), I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in the Risen Lord.

Natural Family Planning Workshop in Kenya Inaugurates a Continental Training Body

CANAA || 17 November, 2014

A continental body for training trainers in Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods was recently inaugurated at the conclusion of a (NFP) workshop in Nairobi, Kenya.

The workshop had been organized by the National Family Life Office of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) and took place at the Dimesse Spiritual Center.

According to a message sent to CANAA on Monday, November 17, the launched NFP continental training body will be known as World Organization Ovulation Method Billings (WOOMB) Africa.

“WOOMB is an international organization with regional offices and it organizes trainings for Teachers in Billing Ovulation Method (BOM), a natural family planning method,” the message sent to CANAA reads in part.

“The WOOMB Africa regional office was proposed for inauguration during BOM training in Melbourne in 2011 in which eight representatives from different African countries were nominated,” the message continues.

WOOMB Africa has since formed an executive committee and developed a strategic plan. The members of the executive committee are:

1. 1.Rev. Prof. Aidan Msafiri (Tanzania)-Chairman
2. 2.Dr. Chantal Amisi Anifa (DRC) Vice Chair
3. 3.Mrs Theresa Mera Abuya (Kenya) Secretary
4. 4.Maximilia Muninzwa (Kenya) Vice Secretary
5. 5.Dr. Andrew Kuria (Kenya) Member
6. 6.Sr. Anaurite Manyahi (Zimbabwe)Member
7. 7.Emily Iradukunda (Uganda) Member
8. 8.Hon. Nyanawut Deng (S. Sudan) Member
9. 9.A member from Ethiopia to be identified as Member

“WOOMB-Africa hopes to facilitate more training in BOM in African countries as a way of encouraging the use of Natural Family planning methods in the continent,” the message concludes.

The Nairobi workshop took place from November 2-8, 2014.

The original message was compiled by Angela Silima Muchai and availed to CANAA by Waumini Communications, KCCB.

Catholic Church in Uganda to Intensify Campaign against Domestic Violence in Advent

Vatican Radio || 13 November, 2014

The Catholic Church in Uganda has decided to scale-up its national campaign against domestic violence. This is according to a statement made available to Vatican Radio by the Uganda Episcopal Conference.

Starting on 30 November 2014, which is the first Sunday of Advent, all Catholic parishes and  sub-parishes in Uganda are being encouraged to organise liturgical services in such a way that the topic of domestic violence in all its forms becomes more pronounced during advent. Families have been requested to pray and be committed to individually taking-up responsibility to end domestic violence.

The Archbishop of Gulu and Chairman of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, John Baptist Odama says the theme chosen for the campaign is, “SHARED DECISIONS, SHARED DEVELOPMENT, SHARED HAPINESS”. This is with the belief that families working together and praying together will be violence-free.

The Archbishop has appealed to the Catholic faithful to join hands with the Church in the fight against the vice so that families and communities may truly be places where the dignity of every person is respected and where peace, joy, and love is experienced.

The main campaign against domestic violence in Uganda has been going on since 2010 in partnership with the Irish organisations, Trócaire and Irish Aid. The advent campaign seeks to create awareness about the problem of domestic violence and to bring about behaviour change. Source...

Male Religious Superiors in Kenya Support Catholic Bishops’ Opposition to Tetanus Vaccination Campaign

CANAA || 13 November, 2014

Religious orders in Kenya have expressed their solidarity with the recent message of the Catholic Bishops of Kenya, in which the Bishops reaffirmed their opposition to the ongoing countrywide tetanus vaccination campaign, describing the program as “a disguised population control program.”

The solidarity with the Bishops was expressed by the delegates at the end of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Religious Superiors’ Conference of Kenya (RSCK), which took place at Bethany House of the Consolata Missionaries, Sagana, in the Diocese of Murang’a, last week from November 5 to 7, 2014.

“At the conclusion of the meeting, the delegates to the RSCK AGM voiced solidarity with the message issued on 6 November by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops,” the message sent to CANAA by RSCK Executive Secretary, Br. David P.Mahoney, reads in part.

In the cited message, the bishops also voiced their concerns about insecurity and corruption in Kenya.

“We are deeply concerned about clear lapses in our Government’s security response mechanisms. News that the slain officers at Kapedo appealed for backup and no response was forthcoming for more than 30 hours, is a clear indication that there are dangerous gaps in our security apparatus, and that there is an urgent need for overhaul,” the Bishops lamented in direct reference to the killing of over 20 security officers as a result of an ambush in Turkana County.

“We shall not get tired of reminding the Government and all Kenyans, that corruption is a cancer that is swiftly eating into every part of our society; one that is robbing our children of their legacy,” the Bishops stated with regard to corruption, adding, “Unless there is a united front against this vice, we will lose our Nation to forces of evil.”

Four new members were elected to the Executive Committee by the thirty-six delegates who turned up for the RSCK AGM, out of seventy-three men’s institutes of consecrated life in Kenya represented by their superiors or by delegates of the superiors.

Fr. Felix J. Phiri from Zambia, the Delegate Superior of the Kenyan Sector of the Eastern African Province of the Missionaries of Africa will be taking over from Fr. Gianni Rolandi, a Salesian of Don Bosco from Italy, as RSCK Chairman.

The RSCK AGM also witnessed a presentation concerning the upcoming Year of Consecrated Life, which will be formally opened in Kenya by a Eucharistic Celebration for all religious men and women at Nairobi’s Resurrection Garden on Thursday, 27 November 2014, at 10 a.m.

Catholic Bishops of Ghana Discuss Pastoral Challenges of the Family

CANAA || By Damian Avevor, Ghana || 13 November, 2014

Members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference converged in Accra for their annual Plenary Assembly to discuss and deliberate on the Pastoral Challenges of the family.

The theme for the 10-day Assembly attended by all the Catholic Bishops of Ghana was The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of the New Evangelisation.

The President of Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu at the opening of the Plenary on Monday, November 10^th said the theme was chosen to deliberate on the best pastoral approach to adopt as a local Church to handle the numerous challenges faced by the family in the context of Ghana in particular and Africa in general.

He said the Assembly would examine the meaning of the family as the vital building block of society and the Ecclesiastical community; the role of the family as the sanctuary where life is born, nurtured and welcomed as a gift and as a community of life and love and the role that the family could play in the New Evangelization as a place where the Gospel was transmitted and from which it could radiate.

Bishop Osei-Bonsu said the family which plays a vital role in the Church and society was undergoing crises, which needed urgent attention, noting that urban economic pressures, financial burdens, marital infidelity, sexual promiscuity and the secular philosophy of relativism were some of the challenges putting the stability of society at risk.

“It is therefore urgent as part of our Christian duty that we engage in a more careful pastoral reflection on the family to let the understanding of it influence whatever decision they take regarding the family,” Bishop Osei-Bonsu said.

The GCBC President noted that at the recently-concluded Synod of Bishops on the Family in Rome, which he attended, the Synod Fathers discussed the meaning of family today, the values of the family, the challenges of marriage and family life and the Church’s response to issues of family and marriage in contemporary society.

“The Synod affirmed that the traditional teachings of the Church on the family as contained in Scripture and in the Church’s Magisterium, should be upheld at all times so that the family can continue its role as the vital cell of society while playing a useful role in the Church’s New Evangelisation”, he said.

Bishop Osei-Bonsu was hopeful that the GCBC’s reflections on the theme would help address the questions of the faithful regarding indissolubility of marriage, the prohibition on the use of artificial contraceptives, cohabitation, divorce and re-marriage and the Sacraments.

“At the end of our Conference, we hope to come out with concrete and practical recommendations on how the Church and the Ghanaian society as a whole can resolve the problems surrounding family and marriage so that the family can play its role as intended by God – the source of all life”, he said.

The Bishops were also to discuss and approve the pastoral guidelines drafted from the talks, discussions, reports and recommendations of the recent Second National Pastoral Congress held at Sunyani in August this year for implementation in all Arch/Dioceses.

Also present at the official opening of the Bishops’ Plenary Assembly were Most Rev. Jean-Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana who was a Special Guest, Most Rev. Peter K. Sarpong and Most Rev. Thomas Mensah, Emeriti Archbishops of Kumasi.

Other dignitaries included Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana; Alhaji Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, Ameer and Missionary-in-Charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana; Apostle Samuel Antwi, General Secretary of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, among others.

“Quality rather than quantity of priests” Recommended at Pope Francis’ Meeting with Bishops of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau

Vatican Information Service || 10 November 2014

 

The prelates of the Conference of Bishops of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau were received in audience by the Holy Father this morning, at the end of their five-yearly “ad Limina” visit. In the written discourse that he handed to them at the end of the visit, the Pope writes that the bishops' visit to the See of Peter is “an opportunity to strengthen the communion the particular Churches maintain with the Church of Rome and with her bishop.

However, it is also an opportunity to strengthen the bonds of love between you … and to experience collegiality. This represents a great challenge for an episcopal conference that groups together the bishops of four countries – Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau – that are different in terms of language, geography, culture and history, but which nonetheless feel the need to be united and to support each other in their ministry”.

“Among the challenges you face, there is that of rooting faith more deeply in hearts so that it is put into practice in life. This is particularly true in areas experiencing first evangelisation, but it also applies where the Gospel has been announced a long time ago, as faith is a gift that must always be strengthened and which is under threat in many ways nowadays, owing to other religious proposals that prove easier and more attractive from a moral point of view, and as a result of the phenomenon of the secularisation that affects African societies”.

Therefore, “it is useful for laypeople to receive a solid doctrinal and spiritual formation, and continual support so that they are able to become witnesses of Christ in all areas of their lives, and to imbue society with the principles of the Gospel, avoiding the marginalisation of faith in public life. The pastoral care of families, as shown in the recent Synod of Bishops, must receive special attention since the family … is the place where the foundations of faith are laid, where the basic principles of community life are learned, and frequently where the priestly and religious vocations are nurtured – vocations your Churches need”.

“Priestly formation is decisive for the future”, writes Francis. “Your countries experience very different situations, but the primacy of quality above quantity is always important. I invite you to be close to your priests, especially those who are young, to ensure that after their ordination they continue their formation, persevere in their life of prayer, and are able to count on a spiritual guide, so that they are able to meet the challenges presented to them: for some, this means a certain isolation, for others, material poverty and the lack of resources, or worldly attractions. Contact with other religions is an important issue in many of your dioceses where there is an Islamic majority, in terms of mutual relations between different communities. I believe that it is important for the clergy to receive a formation to establish a constructive dialogue with Muslims, a dialogue that is increasingly necessary for peaceful coexistence. If we all, believers in God, wish to contribute to reconciliation, justice and peace, we need to work together to prevent all forms of discrimination, intolerance and religious fundamentalism”.

“More generally, it seems to me that it is important not to hesitate in occupying all the space that is yours in civil society. I know that you work tirelessly, in particular in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, for peace and reconciliation, and for this I rejoice. I urge you to maintain good relations with the political authorities in order to promote the official acknowledgement of Church structures, which will be of great help in facilitating evangelisation. Some of you, such as the bishops of Cape Verde, already benefit from the existence of a framework agreement between the State and the Holy See. Even where the Church is in a minority, or is completely at the margins of civil life, she is appreciated and recognised for her important contribution in the fields of human development, healthcare and education. I thank you for what you achieve in your dioceses, often due to the efforts of many religious congregations and laypeople”.

“Dear brothers”, the Pontiff concludes, “some of your Churches are small and fragile, but they are courageous and generous in the proclamation of faith and you are witnesses to their dynamism. I offer thanks to God for the wonders He performs through you, and likewise I thank again those who participate in our common task of evangelisation”.

Moroccan-Born Archbishop Succeeds U.S. Cardinal at Vatican's Highest Court

Pope Francis has appointed Moroccan-born Archbishop Dominique Mamberti Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, succeeding Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, now nominated to be Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

Until his appointment to Vatican’s highest court, Archbishop Mamberti was the Secretary for Relations with States in the Roman curia, an office he has held since September 2006.

In the Saturday November 8^th announcement published in Italian in the Holy See's daily bulletin, Pope Francis also appointed the Apostolic Nuncio of Australia, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States – succeeding Archbishop Mamberti.

Archbishop Mamberti was born in Marrakesh in Morocco on March 7, 1952. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Ajaccio in France on September 20, 1981.

Considered an expert on Africa, Latin America, the United Nations, the Middle East and Islam, Archbishop Mamberti was appointed by Pope Saint John Paul II in May 2002 to be Titular Archbishop of Sagona, Apostolic Nuncio to Sudan and Apostolic Delegate to Somalia. In February 2004, he was appointed also Apostolic Nuncio to Eritrea, Somalia being removed from his jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, according to a report by Aleteia, Cardinal Burke’s new Malta appointment, though Rome-based, “is a purely honorary position normally given to retired cardinals or is held by cardinals exercising an office of governance elsewhere in the Church” and therefore removes Cardinal Burke “from the Roman Curia and from any position of governance in the Church.”

“Despite his open criticism of the handling of the recent Synod, the American cardinal has insisted on his fidelity to Pope Francis as Successor of Peter, and has stated that his whole purpose in speaking out has been and is to clear up confusion among the faithful regarding the Church's teaching and Magisterium in the synod's aftermath,” a report by Aleteia narrates.

Kenya Government Forms Team to Probe Catholic Church Claims on Tetanus Vaccine

CANAA || 10 November 2014

The Ministry of Health in Kenya has formed a committee to investigate the controversial tetanus vaccine, an ongoing vaccination campaign that has met strong opposition from the Catholic Church.

According to The Standard, “Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the committee, to be constituted this week, will address the concerns raised by the Church.”

Catholic Church leaders and representatives from the Kenya Catholic Doctors' Association (KCDA) are expected to be part of the team being constituted.

In a joint-statement dated November 6^th, the Catholic Bishops of Kenya reaffirmed their strong opposition to the ongoing tetanus vaccination campaign, terming it “a disguised population control program” because the vaccine is “laced with Beta-HCG.”

Government officials have insisted that the tetanus vaccine is clean and instead advanced the argument that the medical doctors the Catholic Church leaders are relying on have erroneously interpreted their laboratory results.

"This is medical science but we want to make sure that we bring all stakeholders on board and move as a united front," Health Cabinet Secretary has been quoted as saying in reference to the process of constituting the team to probe the Church’s claims.

Having expressed similar concerns in the earlier vaccination campaign in March, the Catholic Church leaders, in their recent statement, expressed shock “at the level of dishonesty and casual manner in which such a serious issue is being handled by the Government.”

“The Catholic Church struggled and acquired several vials of the vaccine, which we sent to Four unrelated Government and private laboratories in Kenya and abroad,” the Church leaders revealed in their recent Statement, adding, “We want to announce here, that all the tests showed that the vaccine used in Kenya in March and October 2014 was indeed laced with the Beta- HCG hormone.”

In another development, a teachers’ union in Kenya has joined the Catholic Church leaders in voicing against the tetanus vaccine.

According to Kenya’s Daily Nation, “The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has also called for investigations into the concerns raised by the church.”

The local daily quotes Kuppet Secretary General, Akello Misori, describing the campaign by the health ministry as a threat to their jobs.

“A generation will come when we will not have children to teach. We will, therefore, end up with no jobs,” Kuppet Secretary General is quoted as saying.

In Kenya, the October vaccination was round three, with the first having been carried out in September 2013 and the second in March this year.

Pope Francis Receives in Audience the President of Ghana

CANAA || 10 November 2014

Pope Francis on Monday received in audience the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama.

According to Vatican Radio, and Vatican Information Service, Pope Francis and President Mahama “noted the good relations between the Holy See and Ghana and underlined the positive contribution offered by the Catholic Church in the social, educational and healthcare spheres, as well as in relation to the promotion of dialogue between the different members of society. Furthermore, mention was made of the promotion of the good of the family.”

The discussions, which have been described as “cordial,” also addressed the serious humanitarian crisis in West Africa caused by the Ebola epidemic.

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) recently called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to postpone the AFCON 2015 scheduled for next year in Morocco due to the Ebola situation on the Continent. As CANAA reported, the Catholic Bishops also called on the government of Ghana “to continue the renovation works at the Ridge Hospital, the setting up of Ebola centres at Tema and all the Regional Hospitals, the acquisition of the needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), the training of medical staff on the use of the PPEs, the handling of cases and the continuous screening of all people arriving in the country, while taking the necessary measures to screen all who enter the country through the borders.”

According to reports, President Mahama also met with the Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, newly appointed Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, which is Vatican’s highest court.

New Bishop for Lugazi Diocese in Uganda Appointed, Dodoma in Tanzania elevated to Archdiocese

CANAA || 06 November 2014

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Matthias Ssekamanya as the Chief Shepherd of Lugazi in Uganda in accordance with can. 401,§ 1 of the Code of Canon Law, and appointed Bishop Christopher Kakooza as the new Bishop of Lugazi. Bishop Kakooza has been the auxiliary Bishop of Kampala Archdiocese.

According to a report by Vatican Radio “The new Bishop of  Lugazi, Christopher Kakooza was born on 15 of November 1952. He was ordained priest on 3 June 1983 at St Mbaaga’s Major Seminary, Ggaba in Uganda. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Kampala on 30 January 1999.”

Bishop Matthias Ssekamanya, now 78, had also served as the auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kampala  before he was appointed the first Bishop of Lugazi on November 30, 1996.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, November 6, 2014, Pope Francis elevated the diocese of Dodoma, Tanzania, to the status of Metropolitan Archdiocese, and assigned it Singida and Kondoa as suffragan dioceses. Bishop Beatus Kinyaiya, O.F.M. Cap., who has been the Bishop of Mbulu diocese, has been appointed the first Archbishop of Dodoma Archdiocese.

According to Vatican Information Service, the new Archdiocese of Dodoma has an area of 38,743, population of 1,578,173, with 301,593 Catholics, 80priests, and 397religious.

According to a report by Vatican Radio, “The new Archbishop of Dodoma, Beatus Kinyaiya, OFM Cap., was born on 9 May 1957 in the Diocese of Moshi. He made his perpetual profession as a Capuchin, in 1988 and was ordained priest on 25 June 1989. From 1999 to 2005, he was the Provincial Superior for Tanzania and President of the Capuchin Superiors Major of EACC.”

Pope Francis Appreciates “Commitment to family life” among Malawians

Vatican Information Service || 06 November 2014

“I offer a joyful welcome to you who have come from the 'warm heart of Africa', as you make your pilgrimage to Rome, 'the warm heart of the Church'”; thus Pope Francis greets the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi in the written discourse he handed to them this morning as he received them in audience at the end of their five-yearly “ad Limina” visit.

He also notes that the effectiveness of their pastoral and administrative efforts is the fruit of your faith as well as of the unity and fraternal spirit that characterise their episcopal conference.

The Holy Father also expresses his appreciation for “the admirable spirit of the Malawian people, who, though faced with many serious obstacles in terms of development, economic progress and standards of living, remain strong in their commitment to family life”, as it is in this institution, which teaches “love, sacrifice, commitment and fidelity”, that the Church and society in Malawi will find the resources necessary to renew and build up a culture of solidarity.

“You yourselves know well the challenges and the value of family life, and, as fathers and shepherds, you are called to nurture, protect and strengthen it in the context of the “family of faith”, which is the Church. … There is scarcely a greater commitment that the Church can make to the future of Malawi – and indeed, to her own development – than that of a thorough and joyful apostolate to families. … Thus, by doing everything you can to support, educate and evangelise families, especially those in situations of material hardship, breakdown, violence or infidelity, you will bring inestimable benefit to the Church and all of Malawian society”.

Among the results of this apostolate, it is hoped that there will be “an increase in young men and women who are willing and able to dedicate themselves to the service of others in the priesthood and religious life”, based on “the strong foundations laid by generations of faithful missionaries” and fortified by the evangelising work of local men and women.

The Bishop of Rome exhorted the local prelates to be close to their priests and seminarians, loving them “as a father should” and furthering their efforts to guarantee a complete spiritual as well as intellectual and pastoral formation.

The “tragedy” of the limited life expectancy and extreme poverty experienced by the majority of the people of Malawi is another of the Pope's concerns. “My thoughts go to those suffering from HIV/AIDS, and particularly to the orphaned children and parents left without love and support as a result of this illness”, he writes, encouraging the bishops to be close to those in distress, to the sick, and especially to the children.

“I ask you, particularly, to offer my gratitude to the many men and women who present Christ’s tenderness and love in Catholic healthcare institutions. The service which the Church offers to the sick, through pastoral care, prayer, clinics and hospices, must always find its source and model in Christ, who loved us and gave himself up for us.

“Indeed, how else could we be followers of the Lord if we did not personally engage in ministry to the sick, the poor, the dying and the destitute? Our faith in Christ, born of having recognised our own need for Him, He Who has come to heal our wounds, to enrich us, to give us life, to nourish us, is the basis of our concern for the integral development of society’s most neglected members”. Source...

Tetanus Vaccination Campaign “A disguised population control programme,” Catholic Bishops of Kenya Reconfirm

CANAA || 06 November 2014

The Catholic Bishops of Kenya have reiterated their opposition to the ongoing tetanus vaccination campaign, terming the campaign “a disguised population control program” and expressing shock “at the level of dishonesty and casual manner in which such a serious issue is being handled by the Government.”

“On March 26, 2014 and October 13, 2014, we met the Cabinet Secretary in-charge of health and the Director of Medical Services among others and [raised] our concerns about the Vaccine and agreed to jointly test the vaccine. However the ministry did not cooperate and the joint tests were not done,” the Bishops lament in a press statement issued on Thursday, November 6, 2014.

“The Catholic Church struggled and acquired several vials of the vaccine, which we sent to Four unrelated Government and private laboratories in Kenya and abroad,” the Church leaders revealed, adding, “We want to announce here, that all the tests showed that the vaccine used in Kenya in March and October 2014 was indeed laced with the Beta- HCG hormone.”

The Bishops further make reference to a Parliamentary Committee report on Health tabled on November 4, 2014 by the Ministry of Health, which claimed that the Government had tested the Vaccine and found it clean of Beta- HCG hormone. The Church leaders describe the report as not only false but also “a deliberate attempt to distort the truth and mislead 42 million Kenyans.”

“We are dismayed by attempts to intimidate and blackmail medical professionals who have corroborated information about the vaccine, with threats of disciplinary action,” the Bishops decry, expressing their commendation and support for “all professionals who have stood by the truth.”

“We shall not waver in calling upon all Kenyans to avoid the tetanus vaccination campaign laced with Beta-HCG, because we are convinced that it is indeed a disguised population control programme,” the Catholic Bishops conclude in a Statement signed by the 27 Catholic Church leaders in Kenya.

Below is the full Press Statement by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) issued in Nakuru on Thursday, November 6, 2014 at the conclusion of their weeklong Ordinary Plenary Assembly, in which the Church leaders also express their “great concerns” about insecurity and corruption in the country. Also available here.

 PRESS STATEMENT BY THE KENYA CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

STAND BY THE TRUTH (JOHN 8: 32)

Preamble,
Dear Christians, fellow Kenyans and all people of good will, We, the Catholic Bishops in Kenya, meeting at St. Mary’s Pastoral Center in Nakuru, greet you in the name of Our Lord.

During our weeklong Ordinary Plenary Assembly, we have taken stock and reflected deeply on the state of the nation and have identified the following issues of great concern:

1. Insecurity
As we gathered to start our meeting, we received the sad news of the killing of scores of security officers at Kapedo and other areas in the nothern frontier. The horrific event is a sad reminder of the state of the alarming level of insecurity in our country, and only the latest in a series of events across the country in which many Kenyans have lost their lives.
We share the pain of the families and friends who have lost their dear ones. It is sad, that despite many promises that come after such catastrophes, nothing gets done and the same tragic cycle is repeated soon thereafter.

For example, the Government promised stern action after Kenyans lost their lives in Lamu County. To date, only two people have been taken to court.

How many more Kenyans, including security officers, must lose their lives before real order is restored? We now want to state categorically, that time has come for less talk and more action.
One major cause of rampant insecurity in parts of this country is inequitable development. It is regretable, that despite 50 years of independence, some parts of this country have not seen meaningful development, with no roads, no schools and other essential social services.

We reiterate that peace and development are inseparable: there can be no peace without development; and no development without peace.
To ensure lasting security in the country, it is imperative that the Government ensures that National resources and services are equitably distributed.

At the same time, the Government must ensure that all disputed boundaries in the country are clearly demarcated to stem simmering tensions between counties over newly discovered mineral resources.

We are deeply concerned about clear lapses in our Government’s security response mechanisms. News that the slain officers at Kapedo appealed for backup and no response was forthcoming for more than 30 hours, is a clear indication that there are dangerous gaps in our security apparatus, and that there is an urgent need for overhaul.

This is not the first time that we are raising this issue with the Government.

2. The Tetanus Vaccine

Dear Kenyans, due to the direction the debate on the ongoing Tetanus Vaccine campaign in Kenya is taking, We, the Catholic Bishops, in fulfilling our prophetic role, wish to restate our position as follows:

1. The Catholic Church is NOT opposed to regular vaccines administered in Kenya, both in our own Church health facilities and in public health institutions.

2. However, during the second phase of the Tetanus vaccination campaign in March 2014, that is sponsored by WHO/UNICEF, the Catholic Church questioned the secrecy of the exercise. We raised questions on whether the tetanus vaccine was linked to a population control program that has been reported in some countries, where a similar vaccine was laced with Beta- HCG hormone which causes infertility and multiple miscarriages in women.

3. On March 26, 2014 and October 13, 2014, we met the Cabinet Secretary in-charge of health and the Director of Medical Services among others and rasied our concerns about the Vaccine and agreed to jointly test the vaccine. However the ministry did not cooperate and the joint tests were not done.

4. The Catholic Church struggled and acquired several vials of the vaccine, which we sent to Four unrelated Government and private laboratories in Kenya and abroad.

5. We want to announce here, that all the tests showed that the vaccine used in Kenya in March and October 2014 was indeed laced with the Beta- HCG hormone.

6. On 13th of October 2014, the Catholic Church gave copies of the results to the cabinet secretary and the Director of Medical Services. The same was emailed to the Director of Medical Services on October 17, 2014.

Based on the above grounds, We, the Catholic Bishops in Kenya, wish to State the following:

I. That we are shocked at the level of dishonesty and casual manner in which such a serious issue is being handled by the Government.

II. That a report presented to the Parliamentary Committee on Health November 4, 2014 by the Ministry of Health, claiming that the Government had tested the Vaccine and found it clean of Beta- HCG hormone, is false and a deliberate attempt to distort the truth and mislead 42 million Kenyans.

III. That we are dismayed by attempts to intimidate and blackmail medical professionals who have corroborated information about the vaccine, with threats of disciplinary action. We commend and support all professionals who have stood by the truth.

IV. That we shall not waver in calling upon all Kenyans to avoid the tetanus vaccination campaign laced with Beta-HCG, because we are convinced that it is indeed a disguised population control programme.

3. Corruption and National Values
Dear Kenyans, we mourn the persistence of chronic corruption in all sectors of society-from the national police recruitment exercise that was nullified due to corruption concerns, national examinations whose integrity has been lost, land grabbing, missing land and court files, and disturbing reports of misappropriation of public resources.

We shall not get tired of reminding the Government and all Kenyans, that corruption is a cancer that is swiftly eating into every part of our society; one that is robbing our children of their legacy. Unless there is a united front against this vice, we will lose our Nation to forces of evil.

4. Conclusion

Dear Kenyans, and people of good will, We, the Catholic Bishops in Kenya, urge you to remain prayerful and vigilant. We want to assure you, that we shall not tire of reminding the Government of its constitutional mandate to you, dear Kenyans, to protect lives and provide basic services-that is our pledge to you.

May the Lord guide you and keep you safe now and forever more.

Signed:___________November 6th , 2014
His Eminence John Cardinal Njue
Chairman-Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops
Rt. Rev. Philip Anyolo Vice Chairman (KCCB), Homa Bay
Most Rev. Zacchaeus Okoth Kisumu
Most Rev. Peter Kairo Nyeri
Rt. Rev. Philip Sulumeti Kakamega
Rt. Rev. Paul Darmanin Garissa
Rt. Rev. Cornelius Arap Korir Eldoret
Rt. Rev. Joseph Mairura Okemwa Kisii
Rt. Rev. Alfred Rotich Military Ordinariate
Rt. Rev. Maurice Crowley Kitale
Rt. Rev. Norman Wambua King’oo Bungoma
Rt. Rev. Peter Kihara, IMC Marsabit
Rt. Rev. David Kamau Ng’ang’a Aux. Bishop Nairobi
Rt. Rev. Anthony Ireri Mukobo, IMC Isiolo Vicariate
Rt. Rev. Virgilio Pante Maralal
Rt. Rev. Salesius Mugambi Meru
Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Okombo Kericho
Rt. Rev. Martin Kivuva Musonde Machakos
Rt. Rev. Anthony Muheria Kitui
Rt. Rev. James Maria Wainaina Muranga
Rt. Rev. Paul Kariuki Njiru Embu
Rt. Rev. Maurice Muhatia Makumba Nakuru
Rt. Rev. Dominic Kimengich Lodwar
Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Barbara Malindi
Apostolic admin-Mombasa
Rt. Rev. Joseph Mbatia Nyahururu
Rt. Rev. John Oballa Owaa Ngong
Rt. Rev. Joseph Alessandro Co-Adjutor Bishop Garissa

Kenyan Catholic Priest among Five Sentenced to Death for Killing a Bishop, His Mother Dies of Shock

CANAA || 06 November 2014

A Kenyan Catholic priest, Father Guyo Waqo Malley, is among five men sentenced to death on Thursday by a Kenyan High Court judge after being found guilty of murdering Catholic Bishop Luigi Locati of the Apostolic Vicariate of Isiolo in 2005.

On Tuesday, Justice Fred Ochieng ruled that Father Guyo Waqo Malley, Mohammed Molu Bagajo, Adan Ibrahim Mohammed, Mahati Ali Halake and Diqa Wario Mohammed had conspired and executed the killing of Bishop Luigi Locati, an Italian national, nine years ago.

The judge gave the suspects 14 days to appeal the ruling before the sentence can be executed.

According to Kenya’s Daily Nation, “The judge said Fr Guyo played a key role in the elimination of the bishop by providing Sh50,000 to finance the plan and the acquisition of the G3 rifle as well as ferrying the other four men to the bishop’s residence.”

A sixth suspect, Roba Balla Bariche, who hired out a gun, was acquitted during the Tuesday ruling. According to reports, Bariche was tricked into hiring out the gun for Ksh. 3,000 (about US$34) after being told that the gun was going to be used for hunting Ostriches.

According to Justice Ochieng, while Mohammed Molu Bagajo was guilty of taking part in the planning meeting, confronting the security guard at Bishop Locati’s residence, and receiving money as payment for the murder, Adan Ibrahim Mohammed had been recruited to the plan, took part in the acquisition of the rifle, was armed with a pistol and waylaid the Bishop and the security guard the Bishop’s residence.

Mahati Ali Halake had been part of the whole planning and had accompanied Father Guyo to his house to deliver the gun and was present at the scene of the crime.

Meanwhile, according to reports, the court was told that Diqa Wario Mohammed had been the link between Father Guyo “and the rest as he received payment from him twice and distributed the money to the others besides communicating the plan. He is believed to have fired a shot from the rifle though it was not established if it is his shot that killed the bishop.”

Justice Ochieng is quoted as having said that he had no doubt that Bishop Locati’s death was caused by people who intended it to happen since the prosecution had established there was malice.

Meanwhile, the mother of Father Guyo collapsed and died on Wednesday when she learned of her son’s guilty verdict.

Bishop Luigi Locati was murdered on July 14, 2005.

The Catholic Church advocates for the abolition of the death penalty through her leadership. For instance, in January 1999, Pope Saint John Paul II appealed for an end to the death penalty describing it as not only cruel but also unnecessary. In his view, those guilty of crime should be offered an incentive and help to enable them change their behavior through rehabilitation.

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI equally advocated for the abolition of capital punishment. And Pope Francis has echoed similar pleas. In a message to participants of the Fifth World Congress Against the Death Penalty held in Madrid in June 2013, Pope Francis asked that “capital sentences be commuted to a lesser punishment that allows for time and incentives for the reform of the offender.”

The Crisis in Maiduguri: Let’s not Forget Africa

Aleteia || Philip Jenkins || 31 October 2014

In the battle for religious freedom, let's not forget Africa.

Unless they have family ties to Nigeria, few Western Christians are likely to know the name of Maiduguri. That has to change. Maiduguri is presently the setting for one of the world’s most significant struggles for religious freedom, and even for Christian survival outside the West.

In recent months, we have heard much of the ancient Middle Eastern communities devastated by ISIS and the Islamic State. Such coverage is necessary and appropriate, but it distracts attention from the quite comparable violence occurring in very different regions, especially in West Africa. The most important single battlefront is Nigeria, a country that is presently home to 85 million Christians, and that number may exceed 200 million by 2050. Nigeria is crucial to the fate of Christianity in black Africa, not to mention the vast global presence of its migrant communities.  

Christians constitute just under half the population of Nigeria, who are mainly concentrated in the country’s southern and central regions. The predominantly Muslim north is nevertheless home to some thriving communities, including Catholics and Anglicans besides locally-derived churches. In recent years, those churches have come under increasing pressure, as Muslim majority states have declared themselves under the rule of Sharia law, and even more acutely since 2009 with the rise of the lethal terrorist movement Boko Haram. In terms of its savage cruelty and intolerance, Boko Haram yields nothing to ISIS.

The story of Islamist violence features sporadically in Western media with reports of deadly suicide bombings and mass kidnappings. Most consumers of news find it difficult to contextualize such stories except as part of a generalized stereotype of African chaos and civil war. A single case-study, though, indicates the scale of the horror, and the issues at stake.

Maiduguri is the capital of Borno State, which lies in Nigeria’s far north-east, on the border with Niger and Chad. Historically, that region is strongly Muslim, and has long looked to its Islamic neighbors to the north and east. A Christian presence emerged during the twentieth century, and Christians — mainly Roman Catholics — now make up perhaps three percent of the state’s five million people. The Catholic diocese of Maiduguri covers the whole state.

In the past five years, Maiduguri has been one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. Maiduguri itself has witnessed repeated firefights, as a center of Boko Haram activism, and the movement recently claimed the nearby city of Gwoza as the seat of its caliphate, operating under full Islamic law. Islamist militants have repeatedly targeted Maiduguri, where they so easily find Christian victims. In 2009, hundreds of Christians were killed after refusing to convert to Islam, and Christian businesses have been repeatedly attacked. In 2011, 25 were killed in a bombing attack in a beer garden. Individual worshipers have been shot, or hacked to death with machetes. Rape is commonplace.

Churches have been the settings for some notorious attacks. Multiple churches were assailed on Christmas Day 2012, and several worshipers were killed in one of Maiduguri’s Baptist congregations. All denominations have suffered —Winner’s Chapel, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Brethren. Because they are so widespread and well attended, Catholic churches have repeatedly been hit. In 2011, several worshipers perished in a bomb attack on St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In 2013, one cleric claimed that 50 of 52 Catholic churches within the diocese had been destroyed, or severely damaged.

The statements put out by diocesan authorities are heart-rending. For the historically minded, they make us think of the words of churches in the fifth century facing the depredations of barbarian invaders during the fall of the Roman Empire, and pleading desperately for outside help:

It is over thirty days now that our church communities in Gulak, Shuwa, Kaya, Michika, Bazza... were sacked by the callous and nefarious attacks of the Boko Haram terrorists… Thousands displaced, many killed, and others forcibly conscripted… We have almost two hundred deserted church communities by worshipers, most of which have been razed down over the last few weeks.

The effects of such intimidation are easy to imagine. Reading scripture and history, Christians might accept that martyrdom is a possible consequence of faith, but it takes a truly heroic believer to risk that peril for him — or herself, or to place one’s children in jeopardy. Is it worth the risk of attending a Christmas midnight mass if the celebration is likely to be bombed or machine-gunned? Numbers attending services have fallen disastrously, and many churches stand shuttered, waiting for the restoration of security. That could be a very long wait. Nigerian authorities show little willingness or ability to eradicate the terrorist menace, which consolidates and grows daily.

In the face of such a crisis, Christian numbers are likely to contract rapidly, mainly through forced migration or exile, or even conversion to Islam. A few heroic diehards will linger, but the long-term fate of Christianity in Borno and neighboring states looks very tenuous. As in Northern Iraq, much of northern Nigeria could become a Christian-free zone. After that, we can only speculate how much more widely the Islamists will advance, until they threaten the country’s Christian heartlands.

What is happening in Maiduguri today could foreshadow events much further afield. Western governments and churches have to formulate a response while there are still Christians to protect. Source...


Philip Jenkins is a Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University and author of The Great and Holy War: How World War I Became a Religious Crusade.

Faith in the Face of Ebola: Not Being Able to Comfort the Dying, Salesians Stay Close

Aleteia || John Burger || 31 October 2014

One of the hardest things for Father Sony Pottenplackal, living in the midst of an Ebola epidemic in Liberia, has been the fact that he is unable to do the things he normally would do as a priest.

That means being there when people need him the most.

“It’s very painful for us as pastors of people not being able to be close to them in moments like this,” said Father Pottenplackal, a Salesian priest from Kerala, India, who serves as principal of the Don Bosco Technical High School in Monrovia. “Moments of sickness and death are times when people feel the need for a priest.”

But when a person is dying of a disease that is as highly contagious as Ebola, a priest contracting the virus means that he could end up infecting many more people — and may in fact mean that he himself dies of the illness, reducing the number of priests able to serve the community.

Father Pottenplackal and his brother Salesians do what they can, take precautions, and trust in God.

“But people also have a great understanding and they tell us, ‘Father, don’t come,’” Father Pottenplackal said in a telephone interview earlier this week. “‘But pray for us,’ they say.”

Being in touch with people by phone, especially those who are under treatment, has been a good substitute. And in some cases, priests do go to the home of a sick person, as long as he is careful to keep his distance and keep the visit brief, he said.

There are other ways the Church is helping, through its ordained ministers and lay collaborators, and the Salesian communities — there are two in Monrovia — are good examples.

The public health crisis prevented the Don Bosco School, like all schools in the country, from opening this session, so youngsters stay at home with little to do. If conditions permit, the school might be able to bring back small groups of youngsters at a time—small enough that everyone could keep a safe distance from others.

Father Pottenplackal went on the country’s Catholic radio station recently to give parents ideas about what they can do with their children at home. For the few who are able to access Facebook, he communicates encouraging messages, designed to inspire students to keep reading and learning. 

The parish also organized a group of some 45 youth and trained them to go into various neighborhoods in and around Monrovia to educate people, create awareness and sensitize people in order to take precautions against Ebola infection.

"They perform street dramas, sing songs on Ebola composed by themselves, give speeches, distribute posters and leaflets, and detergents, chlorine, buckets, etc.," Father Pottenplackal said. "We take as much precautions as possible. They have been given several workshops and training sessions by doctors and health professionals before they started. Three Salesians (a priest and two brothers) accompany them.

We also give them basic protection by way of boots, gloves, etc. They avoid physical contact with people especially when they are on these visits.... Above all, they pray before and after and there are also prayer days set aside and group Eucharist."

The other Salesian parish in Monrovia, Holy Innocents, is doing something similar. Father Raphael Airoboman, pastor, said that some of the 4000 young people who usually attend the now-closed Don Bosco Youth Center go out into the streets to "dramatize the crisis of Ebola, then give a lecture on Ebola. Sixty-five young people go in pairs and talk individually to local residents, to talk about the virus, then distribute sanitary supplies, chlorine and food," said Father Airoboman, a Salesian from Nigeria. 

In addition to ongoing efforts to educate people about the dangers, Father Pottenplackal's parish also felt it was important to address the stigmatization of people who have contracted Ebola and recovered. Many in Liberian society believe in the superstition that once you have had Ebola you are a carrier of the virus.

Survivors thus become pariahs in some neighborhoods, such as a woman who was evicted from her apartment or a man who could not buy food in the local market because merchants feared his money would be infected. Sadly, even some children who lost both parnts to Ebola have been rejected in their communities.

“We’ve had some people who recovered come to church to talk to people...addressing the problem of stigma, to help people understand just what their experience was.” Father Pottenplackal said. “There were some who shared very touching and moving experiences.”

Another common misperception, based on the observation that many people go to Ebola treatment units or hospitals and end up not coming back, has led to some families keeping the sick in their homes. And that has led to entire families becoming ill and dying.

"But that’s changing because more people are recovering," Father Pottenplackl said.

There's another way the Church is helping. Many of Father Pottenplackal’s fellow Salesians are foreign missionaries who could go back home to avoid possible infection.

"We as a community have stayed on. None of us has run away from the country," he said. "It’s one way of communicating our closeness to people. We want to, by our witness, show them that we are with them even in this moment of crisis." Source...

This is Part 3 of a series. Part 1 can be read here and Part 2 here. 

John Burger is news editor for Aleteia's English edition.

Kenyan Bishop Lauds Security Officers, Mourns Death of More than 20 Over the Weekend

CANAA || By Francis Njuguna, Kenya || 02 November 2014

The Catholic Bishop of Meru Diocese in Kenya, Bishop Salesius Mugambi, on Sunday commended security officers for their role in providing security for ordinary people and led the congregation at the Nairobi’s Holy Family Minor Basilica in mourning the death of over 20 police officers and reservists killed in the line of duty at Kapedo area in Turkana County over the weekend.

Over 20 officers were ambushed by bandits at Kapedo area in Turkana County during the early hours of Saturday, an attack that also claimed the lives of at least two civilians according to reports.

Bishop Mugambi, who is also responsible for the Chaplaincy of Kenya’s Uniformed Disciplined Services comprising of the Kenya Police, Administration Police, Kenya Prison, Wildlife, Forest and National Youth Service units, was presiding over the Eucharistic celebration for the National Joint Thanksgiving Service for the Uniformed Disciplined Services, an annual event that took place on Sunday, November 2 at the Holy Family Minor Basilica, Nairobi.

“Let us pray for the souls of the fallen officers, who met their death while in the line of duty,” prayed Bishop Mugambi, remembering also the families of the officers.

The bishop appealed to Kenyans to exercise love for each other irrespective of their tribal, religious or political affiliations.

“We are all created in the image of God, hence we should exercise love for each other,” emphasized Bishop Mugambi.

Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto, thanked the Catholic Church in Kenya for providing chaplaincy services among the security officers and their families, considering the numerous challenges the officers face as they tackle issues such as cattle rustling and terrorism.

“In such situations, spiritual enrichment is of outmost importance,” the Deputy President emphasized, assuring Kenyans that the Government will do everything within its power to ensure the defense and the protection of the people.

“The Government will not rest until those involved in insecurity matters are apprehended and brought to book,” he reiterated.

The occasion was graced with the presence of the First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta.

This year’s theme was, Consecrate them in the Truth, taken from the Gospel According to John 17:17.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday led a contingent of top security personnel to Kapedo area, ordering pastoralists on the border of Turkana and Baringo Counties to reveal the bandits who had killed over 20 police officers and to surrender the firearms and uniforms belonging to the slain officers.

“I’m here today because you took the lives of over 20 officers who were in the line of duty,” the President is quoted as saying, adding, “I hereby order that you give us the names of those behind the killings by the end of today. If you can kill officers in such a manner, you are sending a message that there is no government. The government is there and will deal firmly with such lawlessness.”

Final editing by CANAA.

Ghanaian Catholic Bishops Urge CAF to Postpone 2015 Tournament Due to Ebola

CANAA || By Damian Avevor, Ghana || 02 November 2014

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to postpone the AFCON 2015 scheduled for next year in Morocco due to the Ebola situation on the Continent.

In a letter signed by GCBC President, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, the Catholic bishops urge the government of Ghana to do what South Africa did, namely, “come out boldly to reject the offer” as an alternative host of the continental football tournament.

“We, the members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, have followed with keen interest and attention the public discussions on whether the 2015 African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2015) should be postponed or not in view of the threat posed by the spread of the Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) in West Africa and elsewhere and have come to the conclusion that it will not be prudent to hold the biennial football tournament in the coming year,” the letter states in its preamble and continues, “We, therefore, wish to add our voice to the numerous calls made by many other people and groups for the postponement of the tournament scheduled for next year.”

For the past weeks, Ghanaians had made appeals to Government never to make the attempt to succumb to the call by CAF for Ghana to host the tournament. The Youth and Sports Minister, Mahama Ayariga says Ghana is ready to host next year's African Cup of Nations, despite the threat of Ebola.

The original host, Morocco is asking CAF to postpone the tournament, failing which they would have no choice than to abandon the rights to host Africa's biggest football extravaganza.

Speaking to Ghanaians recently in London, President John Dramani Mahama insisted that Ghana was yet to take a decision on a request from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

The four-time winner of the competition has been approached by CAF to host after Morocco’s dilly-dallying due to fears of the deadly Ebola virus disease.

President Mahama asked his country folk to disregard any talks that Ghana has accepted the request from the continent’s governing body on football, saying that “We have not accepted to host.”

“In our candid opinion, Ghana should not host the tournament. The tournament is just two and half months away and we sincerely think that, apart from the health concern we have expressed, we will not be able to undertake all the necessary logistical and infrastructural preparations before the tournament starts in mid-January next year,” the bishops’ statement said.

“We are also aware that CAF has rejected the appeal to postpone the tournament, explaining that since its inception in 1957 the tournament has never been postponed and has gone ahead to request South Africa and Ghana to be on standby in case Morocco is not persuaded to rescind its decision,” the statement further said.

The Bishops went on to say, “Besides our concerns with the state of readiness and the limited time available to us, we wish to reiterate the real and palpable threat posed by Ebola in our sub-region. The World Health Organisation has named Ghana and 14 other countries as the likely destinations of the disease. In the event that Ghana hosts the tournament, we will be increasing the risk of the entry and spread of the disease in our homeland because of the mass congregation of people who may be attending the games.”

“In the present circumstances, we are of the opinion that we need to concentrate our attention on our status as the Ebola Response Centre for the sub-region and expedite efforts to help contain and deal with the disease,” the bishops state, urging the government of Ghana “to continue the renovation works at the Ridge Hospital, the setting up of Ebola centres at Tema and all the Regional Hospitals, the acquisition of the needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), the training of medical staff on the use of the PPEs, the handling of cases and the continuous screening of all people arriving in the country, while taking the necessary measures to screen all who enter the country through the borders.”

“We live in challenging times due to the threat of Ebola and so we must take the necessary precaution to handle the disease till such a time when we can safely say that the worst is over. Until that time, we think that anything that can increase the threat of the spread of the disease should be avoided as much as possible and that is certainly true of the hosting of the Cup of Nations,” the bishops conclude.

Meanwhile, CAF has given Morocco until Saturday November 8 to decide if they will host the tournament, reiterating its decision not to postpone the football extravaganza from January 2015.

Damian Avevor is the News Editor at the Accra-based Catholic Standard Newspapers and Magazines (SNAM) Ltd, publishers of the weekly Catholic Standard in Ghana. Final editing was done by CANAA.