Introduction
Once once again, the Catholic Church in Africa is commemorating SECAM Day with gratefulness– the day on which the Seminar of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) (www.SECAM.org/) was established by African Diocesans. SECAM is continental body of intermediary, research and assessment produced to maintain, urge and advertise communion, usual activity and partnership in between all the Episcopal Seminars of Africa and Madagascar, and with the exact objective of entirely evangelizing the continent and its islands.
This year, honoring the 60th wedding anniversary of the canonization of the Martyrs of Uganda (1964-2024), we are commemorating SECAM Day in an extremely unique means. As a matter of fact, it desired the austere event of Objective Sunday on 18 October 1964, when the 22 Martyrs were canonized in Rome in the existence of all the individuals at the 2nd Vatican Council, that Pope Paul VI chose to go to Uganda.
This historical see, the very first by a Pope to Africa, occurred from 31 July to 2 August 1969. It had actually been come before by the very first conference, the very first seminar of the Catholic diocesans of Africa in Africa, which occurred at the Pastoral Institute in Gaba, Uganda from 29 to 31 July. The act of developing SECAM occurred on 29 July 1969 and supervised by my precursor, His Renown Paul Cardinal Zoungrana, coach and very first head of state of SECAM. For that reason, 29 July is SECAM Day.
On the exact same day as his arrival in Uganda (31 July), Pope Paul VI supervised the closing event of the very first African Diocesans’ Seminar. In offering his true blessing at the main launch of SECAM, he left this never-ceasing heritage: ” You Africans are Missionaries to Yourselves“.
‘ You Africans are Missionaries to Yourselves’
Today marks 55 years because Pope Paul VI said this worthy and purposeful expression, and the Church in Africa has actually taken this declaration extremely seriously. As a matter of fact, because that historical pontifical see to the here and now day, the Church in Africa has actually expanded a great deal and in several methods. Today, the Catholic Church in Africa stands for concerning 18% of the African populace, with around 256 million followers and it remains in Africa where the Catholic Church is experiencing document development.
The Catholic Church in Africa has actually settled and is currently a grown-up Church: the majority of the power structure in Africa currently originates from native clergy, both nonreligious and spiritual, and there is an expanding variety of African spiritual associated with management placements in these worldwide missionary cultures. A raising variety of African diocesan clergymans are starting to make themselves readily available for restricted durations as fidei donum. The African districts of spiritual institutes of pontifical right, both man and woman, have actually additionally seen a rise in participants. The variety of dioceses is raising and each diocese has actually produced normal diocesan frameworks: church structures, instructional facilities and university hospital, spiritual institutes, academies and spiritual development facilities.
The Catholic Church in Africa has actually been a champ of human advancement. In several locations, the Church offsets State shortages, without which there would certainly be extinction, no hope and no future. In the lack of State arrangement, the Church is interested in the education and learning and health and wellness of its individuals, offering training facilities, health centers and university hospital. The Church has actually been associated with the job of being the voice of the voiceless and supporting for the decrease or termination of the unfair financial obligation problem of the African individuals.
The Church in Africa is vibrantly constructing herself up as the Family members of God and enhancing herself with the experience of Little Christian Areas, which are the trademark of the Church of Jesus Christ in Africa and its islands.
The Church in Africa is a Missionary Church
Despite this amazing development, Africa remains to cravings and crave Jesus and the Scripture. As a matter of fact, Christians are 30% of the African populace (18% Catholics and 12% various other Christian religions). So, since/as there are numerous African individuals not yet evangelized, it is definitely essential and immediate for the Church in Africa to devote herself to the job of the very first pronouncement, since ‘enlightening Jesus Christ and his Scripture to those that do not recognize him has actually been, because the early morning of Pentecost, the basic program that the Church tackled as obtained from her Owner’ (Instrumentum Laboris— Unique Setting Up for Africa of The Committee of Diocesans,10 April-8 Might 1994, n. 24).
Although it appreciates and respects the non-Christian faiths proclaimed by several Africans, the Catholic Church in Africa feels it is its responsibility to announce Jesus Christ to these non-Christians, since they as well deserve to recognize the treasures of the enigma of Christ (EA, 47).
This objective of being a missionary Church in Africa consists of the job of the brand-new evangelization of those currently baptized. As a matter of fact, it is essential to aid those currently baptized to maturation of confidence and in their sentence in complying with Christ, to make sure that they continue to be strong, also in times of dilemma, and prevent searching for services either in African Conventional Faiths or in Independent Churches.
In this objective to evangelize our continent, the facet of inculturation of the Scripture and the Christian confidence should constantly be taken into consideration. As a matter of fact, inculturation intends to make it possible for individuals to obtain Jesus Christ in an essential means, for it complies with that the Scripture passes through deeply right into individuals’s hearts and minds. The Scripture message can not continue to be unusual to individuals with whom it lives. It should settle and be improved in individuals’s reasoning. It needs to be incorporated right into individuals’s lives as if it obtains a home in their society, to make sure that it can/and hence touch their entire lives in their very own social setting.
The job of evangelization will just work if the Christian confidence is deeply rooted in individuals’s lifestyle and touches individuals’s lives in the context of their society. The absence of this procedure has actually minimized the when growing Christianity in North Africa to absolutely no.
‘ Be fixed up with God’ (2 Cor 5:20)
The African continent has plenty of issues: actual hardship, political instability, physical violence, ethnic and spiritual problems, battles, terrorism, movement and evacuees, poor administration, corruption, ecological destruction, trafficking in arms and medications along with individuals. There is misery and poor monitoring of natural deposits.
Prior to all these base circumstances, the Church in Africa is contacted us to announce fortunately of Jesus Christ which is hope, tranquility, happiness, consistency, love and unity (Ecclesia in Africa, 40), since our continent is still starving for Jesus Christ, that is the only resource of real settlement. The African Christian should take fortunately of Christ seriously so regarding emit that fixing up love of Christ, and at the exact same time end up being for others a resource of tranquility and representatives of settlement.
In truth, it remained in this blood vessel that the African Committee stressed that the pronouncement of justice and tranquility is an essential component of the job of evangelization (Ecclesia in Africa, 107). A dedication to tranquility, justice, civils rights and human promo is additionally a witness to the Scripture when it signifies worry for individuals and is guided in the direction of indispensable human advancement (Kampala Document, 209). Evangelization should advertise campaigns which add to the advancement and ennoblement of people in their spiritual and worldly presence and should knock and battle all that breaks down and ruins the individual (Ecclesia in Africa, 70).
For that reason, every participant of the Church-Family of God in Africa, is contacted us to announce the Scripture of Hope any place they are: Christians that remain in placements where they work out the power of the State, whether in the management of public events or those that are protestors in a political event. Those operating in the area of business economics should think their obligations based on the determines of the Scripture and hence end up being the leaven that changes organizations and culture from within, making the frameworks of transgression, physical violence, corruption and oppression vanish. Just this way will certainly the Church in Africa absolutely be the Family members of God, where participants are fixed up with God, with culture and with each various other: salt of the planet and light of the globe, slaves of settlement, justice and tranquility.
Rise, Church in Africa, and Announce the Scripture to the Globe
The Catholic Church in Africa, birthed from the preaching of international promoters, is additionally a Church in objective today, participating in the evangelization of the globe. As a matter of fact, the Church in Africa knows that she is contacted us to attest to Christ not just on the continent, since the Risen Lord additionally claims to her: ‘You will certainly be my witnesses throughout of the planet’ (Acts 1:8).
For that reason, via her numerous participants, the Church in Africa is providing promoters to various other areas of the globe and this consists of diocesan clergymans, that make themselves readily available for restricted durations as fidei donum.
In this Ad Gentes objective, as a motion of acknowledgment and gratefulness, account needs to be taken of the European continent, whose promoters have actually handled the job of evangelizing the entire of Africa and which is currently experiencing a reduction in employees due to secularism that is driving a growing number of individuals far from the Church. The exact same focus is asked for the missionary-poor locations within our continent, particularly in the north and south of Africa.
Final Thought: Synodal Church in Mission
The institution of synodality advises us of our contact us to evangelize the globe and to stroll with each other in the Church’s objective. Via Baptism, most of us have an energetic component in the life and objective of the Church. The Church remains in objective: she is being sent out throughout of the planet to announce fortunately of human redemption.
The Church in Africa, restored by the synodal trip and sealed in the spirit of communion resided in the Little Christian Areas, is called, in paying attention to each other and to the Holy Spirit, to welcome the evangelizing objective till it gets to all type of perimeters, with brand-new ardour, brand-new techniques and restored frameworks.
I end by welcoming all participants of the Church-Family of God in Africa and its Islands to commemorate SECAM DAY with gratefulness to God for the poise of this continental online forum of ours. As you recognize, based on the choice taken at the SECAM Plenary Setting Up in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in July 2013, this particular day is additionally an event to discuss the Seminar, to make it possible for Catholics throughout the continent and the islands to be far better educated concerning the presence and objective of SECAM, and to welcome them to relate to and sustain SECAM.
To this end, the event of SECAM Day is being transferred to the closest Sunday, when 29 July drops on a weekday, and an unique collection is required to sustain the tasks of the Seminar. We, consequently, state our ask for petitions for the Seminar on Sunday, July 28 and Monday, July 29, 2024.
Pleased SECAM DAY!!!
+ Fridolin Cardinal AMBONGO
Archbishop of Kinshasa
President of SECAM
Distributed by APO Team in support of Seminar of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
