Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The Bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo thank His Holiness Benedict XVI for “having visited our land of Africa, for having confirmed our faith in Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, and for having brought hope for the future back to our continent,” reads a declaration sent to Agenzia Fides, signed by Bishop Nicolas Lola Diomo of Tshume, President of the Congolese Bishops' Conference (CENCO).
Pope Benedict XVI, the Congolese Bishops said, “came to bear witness to the love of Christ and share in our pastoral challenges on our continent, which will be the focus of the upcoming Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. With this in minds, he presented the African Church with the Instrumentum laboris, which will serve as an immediate preparation for the assembly.”
“The messages that Benedict XVI launched from Yaounde (Cameroon) and Luanda (Angola),” the statement says, “have the same objective: transform the Church in Africa into salt of the earth and light of the social, cultural, and religious life of the black continent. This is how we understand the Pope's insistence on respect for life, the preservation of our African identity which is seriously threatened by a vigorous and aggressive globalization, the fight against corruption and the unjust exploitation of man by other men, and an appeal to African governments regarding their responsibilities in regards to their people and other nations.”
The Congolese Bishops' Conference thanks the Holy Father “for the profound depth of his words that have touched us and made us realize our responsibility in building an Africa that is not simply another irrelevant player on the international stage that no one takes interest in.”
In their statement, the Congolese Bishops express their regret and surprise for the controversy caused by “some mass media sources who have voluntarily created confusion,” taking the Pope's words on AIDS, “which are the consistent teaching of the Catholic Church,” “out of context.”
The Congolese Bishops articulate: “In all truth, the Pope's message which we received with joy has confirmed us in our fight against HIV/AIDS. We say no to condoms! This practice is not only an ethical disorder, but above all the proof of the trivialization of sexuality in our society. Instead of preventing the spread of the disease and without even guaranteeing complete security, it heightens human selfishness, worsens the problem, and encourages people to let themselves be driven by their sexual instincts and divests sexuality of its religious and symbolic functions.”
“Why the storm and controversy that has arisen over what is a worthy teaching of the Church and that the Holy Father has wished to call to mind to his brethren in Africa, with all his courage and love? Are these people really concerned about the freedom of the African people? However, paradoxically speaking, this strong commitment that Pope Benedict XVI speaks of is indispensable for modern man, if we want to keep humanity from falling into decadence. Only freedom that does not give in before the fleeting passion of desire, the blindness of one's own selfishness, and the tyranny of the convenience of the moment, can contribute to making man more noble and more responsible in his acts, in the prospect of a better future,” the Congolese Bishops conclude. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 29/4/2009)
