DEVELOPMENT OF EVERY PERSON AND OF THE WHOLE PERSON IS THE HEART OF EVANGELISATION

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. has sent a letter, in the Holy Father's name, to Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, for the opening of the first Integrated Meeting for the Pastoral Care of the Road/Street for the Continent of Africa and Madagascar, which is currently taking place in that city.

"As the Synod Fathers at the two Special Assemblies for Africa of the Synod of Bishops prophetically acknowledged, the Church's concern for the development of every person and the whole person, especially of the poorest and most neglected, is at the heart of her mission of evangelisation in Africa", the English-language text reads.

"His Holiness trusts that the present meeting will lead to greater cooperation and coordinated efforts among the particular Churches for the sake of safeguarding every life at risk on African streets and roads. He asks that special attention be paid to the pastoral needs of those women and children who find themselves on the streets, whether as a result of concrete social, economic and political factors, or as victims of organised national and international exploiters. He is likewise confident that the meeting will address situations affecting the lives of those who travel in their work and, not least, the road insecurity which threatens the lives of millions on African soil.

"With these sentiments, the Holy Father offers fervent prayers that the meeting will confirm the Church in Africa and Madagascar in its witness to the Gospel and its contribution to the building up of civil society and to the forging of a new Africa".