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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On Africa Trip
"Build a Future of
Reconciliation and Stable Peace for All"
H.H. Benedict XVI
April 1, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As I announced last Sunday in the Angelus, I will reflect today on my
recent apostolic journey to Africa, the first of my pontificate to that
continent. It was limited to Cameroon and Angola, but ideally, with my
visit I wished to embrace all the African people and bless them in the
name of the Lord. I experienced the traditional warm African welcome,
given to me everywhere, and I am pleased to take advantage of this
occasion to express again my profound gratitude to the episcopates of
both countries, to the heads of state, to all the authorities and to all
those who in different ways contributed to the success of this pastoral
visit of mine.
My stay in African land began on March 17 in Yaoundé, capital of
Cameroon, where I found myself immediately in the heart of Africa, and
not just geographically. This country, in fact, has many characteristics
of that great continent, the first of them being its profound religious
soul, which unites the very numerous ethnic groups that inhabit it. In
Cameroon, more than a quarter of the population is Catholic, and they
coexist peacefully with the other religious communities. This is why in
1995 my beloved Predecessor John Paul II chose precisely the capital of
this nation to promulgate the apostolic exhortation "Ecclesia in
Africa," after the first synodal assembly dedicated precisely to the
African continent. This time, the Pope returned to hand over the "instrumentum
laboris" of the second Synodal Assembly for Africa, planned in Rome for
next October, and whose theme will be: "The Church in Africa at the
Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace: 'You Are the Salt of the
Earth .... You Are the Light of the World' (Matthew 5:13-14)."
In the meetings I had -- two days apart -- with the episcopates of
Cameroon, and Angola and São Tomé, I wished -- all the more so in this
Pauline Year -- to speak about the urgency of evangelization, which is
primarily the province of the bishops, underlining the collegial
dimension, based on sacramental communion. I exhorted them to be always
an example for their priests and for all the faithful, and to follow
closely the formation of seminarians that, thanks be to God, are
numerous, and of catechists, who are increasingly necessary for the life
of the Church. I encouraged the bishops to promote the pastoral care of
marriage and the family, of the liturgy and of culture, also to enable
the laity to resist the attack of sects and esoteric groups. I wanted to
confirm them with affection in the service of charity and of the defense
of the rights of the poor.
I recall the solemn celebration of Vespers that took place in Yaoundé,
in the Church of Mary Queen of the Apostles, Patroness of Cameroon, a
large and modern church, which rises in the place where the first
evangelizers of Cameroon worked, the Spiritan Missionaries. On the eve
of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, to whose careful custody God entrusted
his most precious treasures, Mary and Jesus, we gave glory to the one
Father who is in heaven, together with the representatives of other
Churches and ecclesial communities. Contemplating the spiritual figure
of St. Joseph, who consecrated his life to Christ and the Virgin Mary, I
invited priests, consecrated persons and members of ecclesial movements
to be always faithful to their vocation, living in the presence of God
and in joyful obedience of his Word.
In the apostolic nunciature of Yaoundé I had the opportunity to meet
also with the representatives of the Muslim communities of Cameroon,
verifying the importance of interreligious dialogue and collaboration
between Christians and Muslims to help the world to open to God. It was
a truly cordial meeting.
Undoubtedly one of the culminating moments of the journey was the
handing over of the "instrumentum laboris" of the Second Synodal
Assembly for Africa, which took place on March 19 -- the feastday of St.
Joseph and my name day -- in the stadium of Yaoundé, at the end of the
solemn Eucharistic celebration in honor of St. Joseph. This occurred in
the cordiality of the people of God, "with glad shouts and songs of
thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival" -- as the Psalm says (42:5),
of which we have had a concrete experience. The Synodal Assembly will
take place in Rome, but in a certain sense it has already started in the
heart of the African continent, in the heart of the Christian family
that lives, suffers and hopes there. That is why the publication of the
"working instrument" seemed to me to be a happy coincidence with the
feast of St. Joseph, model of faith and hope as Abraham, the first
patriarch. Faith in the "God who is close," who has shown us in Jesus
his face of love, is the guarantee of a sure hope, for Africa and for
the whole world, guarantee of a future of reconciliation, justice and
peace.
After the solemn liturgical assembly and the festive presentation of the
working document, I was able to spend time in the apostolic nunciature
with members of the Special Council for Africa of the Synod of Bishops,
and to live with them a moment of intense communion: We reflected
together on the history of Africa from a theological and pastoral
perspective. It was almost as the first meeting of the synod itself, in
a fraternal debate between the various episcopates and the Pope in view
of the synod of reconciliation and peace in Africa. From the beginning
Christianity, in fact, and this was visible, has grown deep roots in
African soil, as attested by the numerous martyrs and saints, pastors,
doctors and catechists that flourished first in the north and later, in
subsequent periods, in the rest of the continent: Let us think of
Cyprian, Augustine and his mother Monica, Athanasius and then of the
martyrs of Uganda, of Giuseppina Bakhita and so many others. In the
present age, which witnesses an Africa determined to consolidate its
political independence and the building of its national identities in a
globalized context, the Church accompanies Africans offering the great
message of Vatican Council II, implemented through the first, and now
the second special synodal assembly. In the midst of conflicts,
unfortunately numerous and tragic, that still afflict the different
regions of this continent, the Church knows she is a sign and instrument
of unity and reconciliation so that the whole of Africa can build,
united, a future of justice, solidarity and peace, carrying out the
teachings of the Gospel.
A strong sign of the humanizing action of Christ's message is without a
doubt the Cardinal Leger Center of Yaoundé, dedicated to the
rehabilitation of disabled people. Its founder was Canadian cardinal
Paul-Émil Léger, who wished to retire there after the council in 1968,
to work among the poor. In the center, subsequently ceded to the state,
I met with numerous brothers and sisters who live in a situation of
suffering, sharing with them -- but also receiving from them -- the hope
that comes from faith, also in situations of suffering.
Second stage -- and second part of my journey -- was Angola, a country
that in certain aspects is emblematic: Having come out of a long
internal war, it is now committed to the work of reconciliation and
national reconstruction. But how could this reconciliation and
reconstruction be genuine if they took place at the cost of the poorest,
who have the right as do all to participate in the resources of their
land? Herein is the reason why, with this visit of mine, whose first
objective as obviously to confirm the faith of the Church, I also wished
to encourage the social process in progress. In Angola one touches with
one's hand what my venerated predecessors have repeated: Everything is
lost with war, everything can be reborn with peace. But to reconstruct a
nation, many moral energies are necessary. And because of this, once
again, the role of the Church is important, called to develop an
educational function, working in depth to renew and form consciences.
St. Paul is the patron of the city of Luanda, capital of Angola: That is
why I wanted to celebrate the Eucharist with the priests, seminarians,
religious, catechists and the other pastoral agents on Saturday, March
21, in the church dedicated to the Apostle. Once again St. Paul's
personal experience spoke to us of his meeting with the Risen Christ,
capable of transforming persons and society. The historical contexts
change -- and it is necessary to take this into account -- but Christ
remains as the true force of the radical renewal of man and of the human
community. That is why to return to God, to be converted to Christ,
means to go forward, toward the fullness of life.
To express the Church's closeness to Angola's efforts of reconstruction
and of so many African regions, I wished to dedicate two special
meetings in Luanda to young people and to women respectively. With young
people, in the stadium, it was a celebration of joy and hope, saddened
unfortunately by the death of two girls, trampled by the crowd at the
entrance. Africa is a very young continent, but many of its sons,
children and adolescents, have already suffered serious wounds, that
only Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, can heal by infusing in them,
with his Spirit, the strength to love and to be committed to justice and
peace. Then I paid homage to the women for the service that many of them
offer to faith, human dignity, life and the family. I reaffirmed their
full right to be involved in public life, without hurting, however,
their role in the family, an essential mission to develop, always
sharing responsibly with the other elements of the society and above all
with husbands and fathers.
This is, therefore, the message I gave to the new generations and to the
feminine world, extending it also to all in the great Eucharistic
assembly of Sunday, March 22, concelebrated with the bishops of the
countries of Southern Africa, with the participation of a million
faithful. If the African people -- I said to them -- do as ancient
Israel did, and base their hope on the Word of God, rich in their
religious and cultural heritage, they will really be able to build a
future of reconciliation and stable peace for all.
Dear brothers and sisters, how many considerations I have in my heart
and how many memories come to mind thinking of this journey! I ask you
to thank the Lord for the wonders he has done and continues to do in
Africa thanks to the generous action of missionaries, men and women
religious, volunteers, priests, catechists, and young communities full
of enthusiasm and faith. I also ask you to pray for the peoples of
Africa, very dear to me, so that they will be able to address with
courage the great social, economic and spiritual challenges of the
present moment. I entrust everything and everyone to the maternal
intercession of Mary Most Holy, Queen of Africa and of the African
saints and blessed.
[Translation by ZENIT]
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