Pope identifies basic tasks
for bishops of Africa
The Holy Father met today with the five bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Liberia-Gambia-Sierra Leone who are completing their ad limina visit to Rome.
He met individually with them earlier this week. This time, he addressed them as a group. Here is the text of his address, delivered in English:
Dear Brother Bishops,
I am pleased to welcome you, the Bishops of Liberia, The Gambia and Sierra Leone on your Ad Limina visit to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
I am grateful for the sentiments of communion and affection expressed by Bishop Koroma on your behalf, and I ask you to convey my warm greetings and encouragement to your beloved people as they strive to lead a life worthy of their calling (cf. Eph 4:1).
The Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops was a rich experience of communion and a providential occasion for renewing your own episcopal ministry and reflecting on its essential task, namely, "to help the People of God to give to the word of revelation the obedience of faith and to embrace fully the teachings of Christ" (Pastores Gregis, 31).
I am pleased to see from your Quinquennial Reports that, while dedicated to the administration of your Dioceses, you personally strive to preach the Gospel at confirmations, in your visits to parishes, when meeting with groups of priests, religious or lay people and in your pastoral letters.
Through your teaching the Lord preserves your people from evil, ignorance and superstition, and transforms them into children of his Kingdom. Strive to build vibrant and expansive communities of men and women strong in their faith, contemplative and joyful in the liturgy, and well instructed on "how to live in the way that pleases God" (1 Th 4:1).
In an environment marked by divorce and polygamy, promote the unity and well-being of the Christian family built on the sacrament of marriage. Initiatives and associations dedicated to the sanctification of this basic community deserve your full support.
Continue to uphold the dignity of women in the context of human rights and defend your people against attempts to introduce an anti-birth mentality disguised as a form of cultural progress (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 28).
Your mission also requires that you give attention to the adequate discernment and preparation of vocations and to the ongoing formation of priests, who are your closest collaborators in the task of evangelization.
Continue to lead them by word and example to be men of prayer, sound and clear in their teaching, mature and respectful in their dealings with others, faithful to their spiritual commitments and strong in compassion towards all in need. Likewise do not hesitate to invite missionaries from other countries to assist the good work being done by your clergy, religious and catechists.
In your countries the Church is held in high regard for her contribution to the good of society especially in education, development and health care, offered to all without distinction. This tribute speaks well of the vitality of your Christian charity, that divine legacy given to the Universal Church by her founder (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 27).
I appreciate in a special way the assistance you offer to refugees and immigrants and I urge you to seek, when possible, pastoral cooperation from their countries of origin.
The struggle against poverty must be carried out with respect for the dignity of all concerned by encouraging them to be the protagonists of their own integral development.
Much good can be done through small-scale community engagements and microeconomic initiatives at the service of families. In developing and sustaining such strategies, improved education will always be a decisive factor.
Hence I encourage you to continue providing school programmes that prepare and motivate new generations to become responsible citizens, socially active for the good of their community and their country.
You rightly encourage people in positions of authority to lead in the struggle against corruption by calling attention to the gravity and injustice of such sins. In this regard, the spiritual and moral formation of lay men and women for leadership, through specialized courses in Catholic Social Doctrine, is an important contribution to the common good.
I commend you for your attention to the great gift which is peace. I pray that the process of reconciliation in justice and truth, which you have rightly supported in the region, may produce lasting respect for all God-given human rights and defuse tendencies to retaliation and vengeance.
In your service to peace continue to promote dialogue with other religions, especially with Islam, so as to sustain the existing good relations and forestall any form of intolerance, injustice or oppression, detrimental to the promotion of mutual trust.
Working together in the defence of life and in the struggle against disease and malnutrition will not fail to build understanding, respect and acceptance. Above all, a climate of dialogue and communion must characterize the local Church.
By your own example, lead your priests, religious and lay faithful to grow in understanding and cooperation, in listening to one another and in sharing initiatives. The Church as the sign and instrument of the one Family of God must bear clear witness to the love of Jesus our Lord and Saviour that extends beyond ethnic frontiers and embraces all men and women.
Dear Brother Bishops, I know that you find inspiration and encouragement in the words of the Risen Christ to his Apostles: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you" (Jn 20:21).
On your return home to continue your mission as successors of the Apostles, please convey my affectionate and prayerful good wishes to your priests, religious, catechists and all your beloved people. To each of you, and to those entrusted to your pastoral care, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.
Earlier today, the Holy Father received the credentials of the new ambassador from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Pope urges a 'fresh start' on
the 50th anniversary of Democratic Congo
(29 Apr 10 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday called on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to make a fresh start as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of its independence.
The Pope was speaking to the new Ambassador from the Congo to the Holy See, Jean-Pierre Hamuli Mupenda, who is the first resident ambassador to the Holy See from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a number of years.
Pope Benedict told him his arrival reflects the desire of strengthening the relations between the two states.
The Central African country, after throwing off the dictatorship of Joseph Mobutu in 1997, entered into a period of civil wars and violence that it still has not entirely escaped.
About half of the country is Catholic, and Pope Benedict said the Church will continue to contribute to the gradual rebuilding of the the social fabric which has been so badly wounded by the ongoing conflict in the country.
He said the country must encourage and strengthen the family, and work for an integrated Congolese education, which can help the work for justice and peace.
Speaking of the violence so prevalent in the country, the Holy Father said he was particularly concerned about the effect on women and children, whose dignity has been trampled on by the excessive violation of their rights.
Pope Benedict called on the Congo to use all political means to end the human suffering in the country.
He said the Catholic Church will continue to contribute to this task, including with its institutions dedicated to education and healthcare.
{The Pope spoke in French, so I still have to translate it.]
Pope urges world community
to end DR Congo suffering
VATICAN CITY, April 29 (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI called on the world community Thursday to mobilise for peace in Democratic Republic of Congo and put an end to years of brutal abuses endured by its people.
"Blind, pitiless violence has beaten down on a large chunk of the population, bowing it down with brutality and sowing ruin and destruction," the Pope said as he welcomed the DRC's new ambassador to the Vatican.
The Pope said women and children in the central African nation -- this week dubbed the "rape capital of the world" by a top UN official -- had long been victims of "outrageous assaults on their right and dignity."
"It is time now to employ all the political and human means to put an end to this suffering, and to provide justice and reparation," the pope said as he welcomed the new ambassador, Jean-Pierre Hamuli Mupenda.
Some two million people are believed to have died in ten years of warfare in the DRC, and more than 1.25 million people uprooted or displaced by violence, according to non-governmental organisations.
A United Nations force has been deployed in the vast, mineral-rich country since 1999, backing government troops in the east against armed groups including Hutu rebels from Rwanda, but has failed to end the violence.
Peace accords signed in the eastern city of Goma in 2008 by all the armed groups active in the region were supposed to commit all sides to pulling back from the front line, demobilising troops and freeing all child soldiers.
Benedict said it was "more than ever" necessary to work to implement the Goma accords, which have formed the backbone of efforts to restore peace to Africa's Great Lakes region in recent years.
Kinshasa has asked for a complete pullout of the 20,000-strong UN force, MONUC, by August 2011, starting by June 30 when the country celebrates 50 years since its independence from Belgium.
But most members of the Security Council fear a full withdrawal of the UN's largest peacekeeping mission by next year would be premature.
NB: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as Congo-Kinshasa, after its capital, was the former Belgian Congo, known briefly as Zaire (around the time of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman's Rumble in the Jungle), and dwarfs the other Congo, formally the Republic of Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville, which was the former French Congo. The DRC, with 68 million people, is the fourth largest country by area in Africa. At present, it has the lowest GDP per capita of all the world's countries. The civil war has killed about 5.4 million people and is considered the world's worst conflict after the Second World War.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 29/04/2010 23:10]