- Introduction
Once again, the Catholic Church in Africa is celebrating SECAM Day with gratitude – the day on which the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) (www.SECAM.org/) was founded by African Bishops. SECAM is continental body of liaison, study and consultation created to preserve, encourage and promote communion, common action and collaboration between all the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, and with the precise mission of completely evangelizing the continent and its islands.
This year, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the canonization of the Martyrs of Uganda (1964-2024), we are celebrating SECAM Day in a very special way. In fact, it was after the solemn celebration of Mission Sunday on 18 October 1964, when the 22 Martyrs were canonized in Rome in the presence of all the participants at the Second Vatican Council, that Pope Paul VI decided to visit Uganda.
This historic visit, the first by a Pope to Africa, took place from 31 July to 2 August 1969. It had been preceded by the first meeting, the first symposium of the Catholic bishops of Africa in Africa, which took place at the Pastoral Institute in Gaba, Uganda from 29 to 31 July. The act of creating SECAM took place on 29 July 1969 and presided over by my predecessor, His Eminence Paul Cardinal Zoungrana, mentor and first president of SECAM. Therefore, 29 July is SECAM Day.
On the same day as his arrival in Uganda (31 July), Pope Paul VI presided over the closing ceremony of the first African Bishops' Symposium. In giving his blessing at the official launch of SECAM, he left this immortal legacy: “You Africans are Missionaries to Yourselves”.
- ‘You Africans are Missionaries to Yourselves’
Today marks 55 years since Pope Paul VI uttered this noble and meaningful phrase, and the Church in Africa has taken this pronouncement very seriously. In fact, since that historic pontifical visit to the present day, the Church in Africa has grown a lot and in many ways. Today, the Catholic Church in Africa represents about 18% of the African population, with around 256 million believers and it is in Africa where the Catholic Church is experiencing record growth.
The Catholic Church in Africa has taken root and is now an adult Church: most of the hierarchy in Africa now comes from indigenous clergy, both secular and religious, and there is a growing number of African religious involved in leadership positions in these international missionary societies. An increasing number of African diocesan priests are beginning to make themselves available for limited periods as fidei donum. The African provinces of religious institutes of pontifical right, both male and female, have also seen an increase in members. The number of dioceses is increasing and each diocese has created regular diocesan structures: church buildings, educational establishments and health centers, religious institutes, seminaries and religious formation centers.
The Catholic Church in Africa has been a champion of human development. In many places, the Church makes up for State deficiencies, without which there would be no life, no hope and no future. In the absence of State provision, the Church is concerned with the education and health of its people, providing training centers, hospitals and health centers. The Church has been involved in the work of being the voice of the voiceless and advocating for the reduction or cancellation of the unjust debt burden of the African people.
The Church in Africa is vibrantly building herself up as the Family of God and enriching herself with the experience of Small Christian Communities, which are the hallmark of the Church of Jesus Christ in Africa and its islands.
- The Church in Africa is a Missionary Church
Despite this remarkable growth, Africa continues to hunger and thirst for Jesus and the Gospel. In fact, Christians are 30% of the African population (18% Catholics and 12% other Christian denominations). So, since/as there are millions of African people not yet evangelized, it is absolutely necessary and urgent for the Church in Africa to commit herself to the task of the first proclamation, because ‘revealing Jesus Christ and his Gospel to those who do not know him has been, since the morning of Pentecost, the fundamental programme that the Church took on as received from her Founder’ (Instrumentum Laboris – Special Assembly for Africa of The Synod of Bishops,10 April-8 May 1994, n. 24).
Although it respects and esteems the non-Christian religions professed by many Africans, the Catholic Church in Africa feels it is its duty to proclaim Jesus Christ to these non-Christians, because they too have the right to know the riches of the mystery of Christ (EA, 47).
This mission of being a missionary Church in Africa includes the task of the new evangelization of those already baptized. In fact, it is necessary to help those already baptized to maturity of faith and in their conviction in following Christ, so that they remain firm, even in times of crisis, and avoid looking for solutions either in African Traditional Religions or in Independent Churches.
In this mission to evangelize our continent, the aspect of inculturation of the Gospel and the Christian faith must always be taken into account. In fact, inculturation aims to enable people to receive Jesus Christ in an integral way, for it follows that the Gospel penetrates deeply into people’s hearts and minds. The Gospel message cannot remain alien to the people with whom it lives. It must take root and be reshaped in people's thinking. It has to be integrated into people's lives in such a way that it acquires a home in their culture, so that it can/and thus touch their whole lives in their own social environment.
The work of evangelization will only be effective if the Christian faith is deeply rooted in people's way of life and touches people's lives in the context of their culture. The lack of this process has reduced the once flourishing Christianity in North Africa to zero.
- ‘Be reconciled with God’ (2 Cor 5:20)
The African continent is full of problems: real poverty, political instability, violence, ethnic and religious conflicts, wars, terrorism, migration and refugees, bad governance, corruption, environmental degradation, trafficking in arms and drugs as well as people. There is despair and bad management of natural resources.
Before all these base situations, the Church in Africa is called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ which is hope, peace, joy, harmony, love and unity (Ecclesia in Africa, 40), because our continent is still hungry for Jesus Christ, who is the only source of true reconciliation. The African Christian must take the Good News of Christ seriously so as to radiate that reconciling love of Christ, and at the same time become for others a source of peace and agents of reconciliation.
In fact, it was in this vein that the African Synod emphasized that the proclamation of justice and peace is an integral part of the task of evangelization (Ecclesia in Africa, 107). A commitment to peace, justice, human rights and human promotion is also a witness to the Gospel when it is a sign of concern for persons and is directed towards integral human development (Kampala Document, 209). Evangelization must promote initiatives which contribute to the development and ennoblement of individuals in their spiritual and material existence and must denounce and combat all that degrades and destroys the person (Ecclesia in Africa, 70).
Therefore, every member of the Church-Family of God in Africa, is called to proclaim the Gospel of Hope wherever they are: Christians who are in positions where they exercise the power of the State, whether in the administration of public affairs or those who are activists in a political party. Those working in the field of economics must assume their responsibilities in accordance with the dictates of the Gospel and thus become the leaven that transforms institutions and society from within, making the structures of sin, violence, corruption and injustice disappear. Only in this way will the Church in Africa truly be the Family of God, where members are reconciled with God, with society and with each other: salt of the earth and light of the world, servants of reconciliation, justice and peace.
- Rise up, Church in Africa, and Proclaim the Gospel to the World
The Catholic Church in Africa, born from the preaching of foreign missionaries, is also a Church in mission today, taking part in the evangelization of the world. In fact, the Church in Africa is aware that she is called to bear witness to Christ not only on the continent, because the Risen Lord also says to her: ‘You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).
Therefore, through her various members, the Church in Africa is supplying missionaries to other regions of the world and this includes diocesan priests, who make themselves available for limited periods as fidei donum.
In this Ad Gentes mission, as a gesture of recognition and gratitude, account should be taken of the European continent, whose missionaries have taken on the task of evangelizing the whole of Africa and which is now experiencing a decrease in personnel because of secularism that is driving more and more people away from the Church. The same attention is requested for the missionary-poor areas within our continent, especially in the north and south of Africa.
- Conclusion: Synodal Church in Mission
The school of synodality reminds us of our call to evangelize the world and to walk together in the Church's mission. Through Baptism, we all have an active part in the life and mission of the Church. The Church is in mission: she is being sent to the ends of the earth to proclaim the Good News of human salvation.
The Church in Africa, renewed by the synodal journey and cemented in the spirit of communion lived in the Small Christian Communities, is called, in listening to one another and to the Holy Spirit, to embrace the evangelizing mission until it reaches all kinds of peripheries, with new ardour, new methods and renewed structures.
I conclude by inviting all members of the Church-Family of God in Africa and its Islands to celebrate SECAM DAY with gratitude to God for the grace of this continental forum of ours. As you know, in accordance with the decision taken at the SECAM Plenary Assembly in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in July 2013, this day is also an occasion to talk about the Symposium, to enable Catholics throughout the continent and the islands to be better informed about the existence and mission of SECAM, and to invite them to identify with and support SECAM.
To this end, the celebration of SECAM Day is being moved to the nearest Sunday, when 29 July falls on a weekday, and a special collection is taken to support the activities of the Symposium. We, therefore, reiterate our call for prayers for the Symposium on Sunday, July 28 and Monday, July 29, 2024.
Happy SECAM DAY !!!
+ Fridolin Cardinal AMBONGO
Archbishop of Kinshasa
President of SECAM
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
Source: Apo-Opa
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