MESSAGE OF THE AMECEA BISHOPS
FROM THE 11TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY IN LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
To Our Sisters and Brothers, the Catholic People of Eastern Africa, and all People of Good Will:
May the Peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
During the weeks of 16th to 29th August, we have met together in Lusaka to reflect on our call to promote evangelization in the countries of Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Malawi. As the leaders of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), we have studied the issues facing our people and the responses to which we are called by the Holy Spirit.
We have met a historic moment in our African societies, a critical moment both of opportunity and danger. Many of our countries are experiencing the hopes of new democracies as our political systems move toward greater accountability and transparency. We are grateful to God for the recent positive changes in our region. But the economic restructuring which is going on within our countries is proving to be very harsh. It is increasing in particular the suffering of the poor among us.
This is also a historic moment in our church, an exciting moment of grace and promise. In the near future the Special Assembly of Synod of Bishops for Africa (African Synod) will meet to explore ways of deepening our faith in Jesus Christ and sharing it more widely on this continent. For the past two years we have been preparing for this Synod, encouraging our people to express their hopes and desires for making our church a more effective instrument in the task of evangelization.
Now we have spent two weeks in business and study sessions, together with representatives of our laity, religious and priests, to discern the steps we should be taking to move forward as the People of God at this historic moment.
In viewing the social context of our mission here in Eastern Africa, we have been painfully aware of the great suffering of so many of our people. Drought and famine devastate our land; AIDS wastes our most precious resource, our people; wars and oppression cause refugees to flee their homes. Because of the intense persecution of Christians in the Sudan, we have sent a special appeal for help to the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity, and the international community. Islamic Fundamentalism poses a serious threat to the political and religious freedoms of the people of our region. Therefore we call upon leaders to promote respect and tolerance of all citizens. We also want to express our fraternal solidarity with the church in Malawi at this difficult time and we deplore the violation of human rights in that country. While aware of some recent signs of hope, we nevertheless urge that there be continuing progress in the promotion of human rights and justice. The situation in Kenya is a cause of great concern for us, and we pray for an end to ethnic conflict and a peaceful transition to democracy. And as we hear these days of the terrible plight of the people of Somalia, we offer our prayers for God's merciful blessings.
We have reflected on ways of strengthening our church response to meeting the challenges of these times. First, we explored the meaning and implementation of Inculturation, making Jesus Christ at home in our African setting. As repeatedly challenged by the Popes, the church in Africa must become more truly African. Inculturation is the normal process of evangelization and the necessary way of sharing the Good News of Jesus. It is central to our liberation. We recognize that the work of inculturation must touch not only our liturgy but also our catechesis, our style of governing, our whole way of living as Christians today. Therefore, we pledge ourselves to promote more in-depth research and more free experimentation.
Second, we renewed our commitment, originally made in 1973, to the building of Small Christian Communities (SCCs) as the major pastoral priority of AMECEA. We have much to thank God for in the graced history of the development of these communities, where the Word of God has been shared and mature faith and responsible action has been nurtured. But while we can rejoice in the stories of success, we also realistically acknowledge that we still have a long ways to go before the SCCs are all that we want them to be. So we repeat that SCCs are not optional in our churches; they are central to the life of faith and the ministry of evangelization.
Third, we emphasized that the tasks of inculturation and building Small Christian Communities require well-trained priests, religious and laity. We studied the present orientations in formation programmes for ministry. There must be greater empowerment of the laity to serve in the church and to work for the transformation of society according to the church's social teaching. In particular, the family- so seriously threatened today because of the economic problems and the breakdown of traditional values - must be helped through special ministries working through the Small Christian Communities. We acknowledge the important contributions which lay women and religious women make to our church and to our society, and we urge that they be given greater respect and a wider role in decision-making. Youth are by far the majority of people in our countries. We repeat the call we made in our Plenary Session three years ago for youth to take up their rightful responsibilities to shape the church and society of the future.
In order to be more effective in our collaboration in this region, we did an in depth review of the AMECEA institutions. We pledge ourselves to strengthen these institutions so that they can embody a vision of the African church for beyond the year 2000: creatively serving God's People in a way that is self-ministering, self-propagating and self-supporting. Greater ecumenical cooperation will be fostered where possible.
Finally, we appeal to the Catholic people of the AMECEA region to walk with us toward the year 2000, trusting in the power of Jesus. He is the one who calls us anew to share the Good News with our sisters and brothers through our word and witness. In particular, we urge all our churches to make ever more serious efforts to prepare by prayer, study and action for the coming African Synod. The Synod will be a powerful moment for inculturating the faith in Africa and establishing here God's Kingdom of justice, peace and love.
All that we are about is God's work. We therefore urge you to join with us sin the months ahead by praying daily for the success of the Synod:
Loving Father,
In your desire to communicate eternal life, you sent Jesus your Son to bring all people into your kingdom.
As the Church in Africa prepares to answer the call to be witnesses
to the Gospel, through the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, we humbly
implore you to strengthen your people for their mission to evangelize all
the nations of our continent.
Where there is ignorance,
give knowledge.
Where there is fear,
courage.
Where there is indifference,
love.
Where there is oppression,
justice.
Where there is conflict,
peace.
May the Holy Spirit guide us in forming and living our pastoral plan to make disciples of all peoples of Africa, teaching them to know and observe all that you have commanded.
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
St. Dominic's Major Seminary
Lusaka, Zambia
29 August 1992