Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Dar-Es-Salaam (Agenzia Fides) - From the 15th to the 18th January 2007, SECAM held a Pan-African Congress at Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania on the theme: "Evangelisation in Africa: Ecclesia in Africa in Retrospect and the Way Forward", in relation to the impending Second African Synod whose theme is: "The Church in Africa at the Service of Justice, Reconciliation and Peace". This was immediately followed by SECAM 14th Plenary Assembly from 18-21 January, (see Fides 13/1/2007). The closing statement signed by Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, elected SECAM President during the plenary assembly (see Fides 22/1/2007), highlights the main stages of the congress.
Among those present at the Opening Ceremony were the following personalities: His Eminence, Ivan Cardinal Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Vatican, the Apostolic Nuncio to Tanzania, Most Rev. Joseph Chennoth and His Excellency Mr. Edward Lowassa, the Prime Minister of Tanzania who represented the President of his country.
In their addresses to the Congress, they all emphasised the dramatic situation in Africa and expressed their solidarity with SECAM in her numerous challenges. Archbishop Jude Ruwa'ichi, President of the Episcopal Conference of Tanzania, welcomed participants and thanked SECAM for choosing Dar-Es-Salaam for this all-important Pan-African Congress and its 14th Plenary Assembly. He rendered an apology on behalf of His Eminence Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, Archbishop of Dar-Es-Salaam, who was in Kinshasa for the burial of His Eminence Frederick Cardinal Etsou Nsambi Bamungwabi. The participants observed a minute's silence, prayed for him and recommended the repose of his soul to the Good Lord whom he had so faithfully served.
His Eminence Cardinal Dias conveyed to members of the Congress the cordial salutations of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. He also read a message of support and encouragement from the Holy Father signed by the Secretary of State, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone. The Cardinal expressed his joy about his presence in this territory familiar to him when, he was Secretary at the Nunciature in Madagascar and later as Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Togo and Benin. He stressed the spirit of promoting Evangelisation and prayed that the hope that Africa holds for the Universal Church grows from strength to strength.
Following other goodwill messages delivered by representatives, Archbishop John Onaiyekan, the immediate past President of SECAM gave the genesis of the Congress whose theme had been suggested by His Excellency Most Rev. Robert Sarah, Secretary to the Congregation of the Evangelisation of Peoples. This Congress, he noted, intends to evaluate the progress of Evangelisation in Africa since the First Synod and to prepare for the Second. In his address, the Prime Minister of Tanzania praised the Catholic Church's involvement in helping Africa to resolve her problems. He therefore called for a partnership between the Church and African States so that together they could embark upon prophetic actions that would help Africa to make use of her immense riches and to help her take her destiny into her own hands. He stressed that both Church and State should work together to eradicate poverty, HIV/AIDS, corruption and bad governance.
In the Deliberations drafted at the end of the Congress the participants underlined that twelve years ago, all the indicators of well-being and prosperity for Africa pointed more or less to a situation of hopelessness. Humanly speaking, there was nothing good to hope for, except that Africa refused to die. The Holy Father, John Paul II and the Fathers of the first African Synod made the observation of this alarming and calamitous situation. However, the Pope also enumerated the human, cultural, institutional, moral, spiritual and religious resources still available in Africa affected by such devastation. More importantly, he portrayed Jesus Christ as the final expression of God's will to save humanity. The Good News of the Synod was that "We are members of the Family of God" and "The Brotherhood of Christ". That was indeed the Good News of the Synod: The Church as Family of God! Since the first Synod, things have not changed for the better, as the various presentations made at the Congress did reveal. The deliberations touched on the following seven main topics of the theme of the Pan-African Congress: "Evangelisation in Africa: Ecclesia in Africa in Retrospect and the Way Forward": Proclamation of the Good News, Conversion and a Call to Holiness, Means of Social Communications, Inculturation Dialogue, Justice, Reconciliation and Peace Self-Reliance and Development Preparation for the 2nd African Synod.
In the course of the discussions, the primary importance of modern technologies of information and communication was expressed by all the participants. The proclamation of the Good News must make good use of them in bringing Jesus Christ, the Communicator par excellence, the truth and the life, to all men and women of our time. Discussions during the Congress manifested a constant deepening of the identity of grace of the Church as Family of God. As family, Africa needs to rise up to the challenges posed by wars, conflicts of all sorts, chronic economic mismanagement of resources, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, hatred, negative self-image, tribalism, ethnocentrism, corruption, embezzlement, bad governance, etc. Deliberations at the Congress also showed how some of the Christian minority groups in some countries are not allowed to freely express their faith. Their testimony challenges all our Churches to insist on respect of religious liberty and to continue with the witness of life and love in their evangelising mission. For this reason also Congress participants appeal to our brothers and sisters of the Islamic faith to understand that evangelisation is not meant to proselytise but to be a free proposal of God's love manifested in Jesus Christ.
The evaluation made was oriented firmly towards the 2nd African Synod, the Bishops decided to intensify the formation of all the members of the People of God: priests, religious and especially the Laity whose mission is essentially to be present at the heart of temporal realities: culture, family, work, economics, politics. Indeed, all Christians are meant to be present at the heart of temporal realities to transform them with the light of Christ.
The participants stressed the importance of co-operation and solidarity between the Church in Africa and the Church on other continents, especially North America and Europe.
The Bishops and all participants, expressed warm sentiments of gratitude to the People of God in Tanzania as well as the State and all the People of Tanzania for their hospitality, and to all the people and the Partner Agencies from Europe and North America that contributed immensely
to the success of the Congress, and they made a special mention of a great son of Africa, namely Julius Nyerere, a Catholic, and the first president of Tanzania. Julius Nyerere died in 1999 and the cause for his beatification was opened by the local Church last year (see Fides 1/2/2006). (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 23/1/2007 righe 73 parole 1.028)
