SIXTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, 8 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Sixth General Congregation of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops took place in the Vatican's Synod Hall this morning. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and 227 Synod Fathers were present.

  Extracts from some of the Synod Father's speeches are given below:

FR. KIERAN O'REILLY, SUPERIOR GENERAL OF THE SOCIETY OF AFRICAN MISSIONS. "Inspired by their faith commitment, and informed by Catholic social teaching, a number of missionary and religious congregations have formed networks to meet this challenge. I refer in particular to the work of the Africa Faith and Justice Network. The particular concern of these networks is to address issues of structural injustice rooted in European and United States policies that affect Africa adversely. As the 'family of God' the Church is challenged to witness and promote the universality of God's love for all people and the future unity of humanity.... The witness of international missionary and religious communities is both relevant and urgent. ... Africa is poorly served by the mass media, which focuses almost exclusively on the bad news, thus creating a widely accepted narrative of a continent in a constant state of crisis. The 'Aid Industry', too, feeds on selling negative and outmoded stereotypes of Africans as helpless victims of endless wars and constant famines. The people of Africa must become more central to the narrative of Africa that is propagated abroad, international missionary congregations and institutes are ideally situated to assist in this process".

ARCHBISHOP MARCEL UTEMBI TAPA OF KISANGANI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. "The political dimension of peace invites the Church in Africa to invent new methods of presenting her social teaching, founded on Gospel values capable of favouring peace and understanding among peoples. In agreeing that peace is above all a gift from God, we propose that the Church in Africa show even greater commitment, so that: (1) The African political class may effectively be at the service of common good. To this end, the Church must care for and reinforce the guidance and formation of politicians in the light of the social teachings of the Church. (2) A transversal and ecumenical programme for civic education of the people must be established, to promote citizens' consciences and the responsible participation of local people in the management of the patrimony of their countries".

BISHOP LOUIS NCAMISO NDLOVU, O.S.M. OF MANZINI, SWAZILAND. "The Catholic Church in Swaziland is still young having arrived in 1914 and numbers some fifty-five thousand adherents in a population of one million, meaning that only five percent of Swazis are Catholics. Even though the Church is a minority it remains the largest single Christian Church in the country. ... In recent years, the relationship between the Church and traditional and political leaders has become ambivalent. The Church continues to receive much praise from government for her interventions in the area of education, health, and development programmes. As a Church we continue to question the system of governance as we believe that it contributes to the high levels of poverty in the country. The government criticises the Church for speaking on issues of governance, insisting that the duty of the Church should be confined to the liturgy and worship and not to be present in the social and political life of the people. This has seen us being befriended by members of civic society, including trade unions and the banned political parties and movements. As a Church we therefore find ourselves in the middle of two opposing forces. This presents a unique opportunity for the Church as she can minister to the government and members of civic society".

BISHOP NICOLAS DJOMO LOLA OF TSHUMBE, PRESIDENT OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. "We deplore the fact that the suffering and the human lives lost in the Democratic Republic of Congo through war have not aroused the same indignation and the same condemnation as occurs for other countries. Otherwise how can we explain the resurgence and virulence of the violence that we continue to condemn verbally, without planning effective actions to put an end, once and for all, to the causes behind it. Do we not share the same humanity? ... We suggest that this Synod invite all Christians - in the name of Jesus Christ Who through His supreme sacrifice on the Cross gave us the true measure of each human being's dignity - and all men and all women of good will, on behalf of our human community, publicly to condemn and denounce those that back wars and violence in Africa. Otherwise we become accomplices in the evil done to our fellows".

BISHOP PETER MARTIN MUSIKUWA OF CHIKWAWA, MALAWI. "Being 'domestic Churches', places of forgiveness, reconciliation and peace, most African families are not enjoying total harmony. They are facing a lot of challenges such as HIV/AIDS-related problems, multicultural globalisation, deterioration of the cultural value of marriage, political influence and lack of role models. True love and reconciliation is lacking. There is still then a need for a qualitative pastoral follow up, continuous catechesis of marriage and family life. This can be done at various levels: episcopal conference, diocese and parish. Besides this, Christian movements/associations, such as Family Movements and Christian Marriage Encounter can be of much assistance".

ARCHBISHOP BUTI JOSEPH TLHAGALE O.M.I. OF JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, PRESIDENT OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF SOUTH AFRICA. "Moral values embedded in the diverse African cultures, alongside the Gospel values, are threatened by the new global ethic which aggressively seeks to persuade African governments and communities to accept new and different meanings of concepts of family, marriage and human sexuality. The cultures of Africa are under heavy strain from liberalism, secularism and from lobbyists who squat at the United Nations. Africa faces a second wave of colonisation both subtle and ruthless at the same time. ... Lay people, by virtue of their Baptism, have a significant role to play. They are expected to witness in the public square, in their families and places of work. Their Christian voice in the face of the many challenges in Africa, is weak, muffled or simply silent. The hierarchy is without credible partners in the work of the transformation of Africa. Lay Catholics need to be given a voice in order to stand up and be counted for their Catholic faith. The hierarchy cannot do it alone".
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