MESSAGE OF THE AMECEA BISHOPS
FROM THE 9TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY IN MOSHI, TANZANIA

We, the Bishops of AMECEA, aware of the enormous problems facing Christian families in Eastern Africa today, have spent several days together with representatives of priests, religious and laity, praying and reflecting on solutions best suited to our cultural situations so as to help these families grow more and more into truly Christian and truly African families.

We are very grateful to God that he has blessed our countries with many good and happy African Christian families which are the backbone of Christian life in our region. We wish to encourage and support these families in their efforts to live up to the challenges of the Gospel message. We pray that such families may increase and through their life witness may act as pastoral agents in solving the problems of marriage and family life which we have been studying this week.

With diligence and genuine sense of pastoral concern, we have examined some of the major problems of family life and their root causes in which you have been involved in identifying over the last six years. Such problems include polygamy, broken marriages, migrant labour, cultural differences in cases of transcultural marriages, pre-marriage cohabitation, mixed marriages, drunkenness and marital infidelity. We have examined initiatives made hitherto on behalf of families, such as the promotion of marriage encounter programmes, natural family planning, the Christian Family Movement, the Pioneer Movement or Alcoholics Anonymous; the discouragements of these initiatives. These obstacles include among others, the opposition from governmental and non-governmental agencies which promote unorthodox ways of birth control; the disregard of traditional values; the lack of adequate preparation for marriage and maintenance of stable families; ignorance about Christian marriage; the lack of deep faith; the influence of mass media and the lack of trained personnel for various family programmes.

It is in view of the above background that we have come up with new initiatives. We appeal to the whole people of God to be fully involved in making these initiatives as effective as possible. For this reason, we have produced during this session guidelines for a catechesis for Christian families in which suggestions are made for deepening the sacramental life, the Biblical nourishment, the spirituality of the family and the emergence of ministries to deal with family problems according to the needs of our local church.

Marriage in preparatory stages

On this matter we observe that African traditional marriage is a process which takes various stages before finalization. With this in mind, we recommend that each Episcopal conference in AMECEA undertakes a research into traditional customary marriage in order to determine how the Catholic Church should be involved. The so called trial marriages are unacceptable for we believe marriage to be a total life commitment. We recommend the development of pastoral programmes which will present marriage as a covenant of love.

For the couples living in customary marriages, we recommend that diocesan pastoral programmes be developed to take care of these couples in the hop of bringing them to celebrate their union as a sacrament.

Polygamy

Polygamy is practised both in its traditional and modern forms in Eastern Africa. We take a very firm stand against it because it is incompatible with the Gospel message. AT the same time polygamous families are part of tour pastoral concern. With the good of these families at heart, we agree that a catechesis be developed in the hope of integrating them into the Christian communities an gradually leading them to freely fulfil the conditions required for full participation in the life of the Catholic Church.

Migrant labour

We note with grave concern problems caused to marriage and family life through prolonged separation of husband and wife due to migrant labour or any other such employment which can only be found far away from one's home. We appeal to governments and all other employers to try hard to provide adequate housing facilities for their employees' entire families in accordance with the Charter of the Rights of the Family (art. 12). We call on husbands and wives always to remember that a family can only be strengthened if the two stay together. It is only then that they will be able to deepen their love and give adequate education to their children.

Marriages in difficulties

With pastoral concern to assist families which find themselves in difficulties, we have recommended that each diocese within AMECEA ensures the establishment of a regular marriage tribunal to deal with broken marriages. We have agreed that, as provided for in Canon Law, No. 1425, each Episcopal Conference within AMECEA will discuss the issue of allowing one ecclesiastical judge in these marriage tribunals instead of the normal three. We want to involve competent lay people in these tribunals and where possible to select some of them to study church law to help in this apostolate.

We call on the pastoral workers to make these church marriage tribunals, their procedures and competence known to the Christians. Families that seek assistance should be helped early enough by the pastoral workers. Let priests and other pastoral agents listen attentively and sympathetically to the couples' difficulties in order to find solutions to them. Let priests work together with the competent lay leaders to solve marriage and family problems in their areas. Prevention is always better than cure. This should be a guiding principle in this regard.

Family planning

Among the many burning issues in the contemporary world is family planning. We realize that this issue is of great importance in our AMECEA countries. Family planning is being promoted by governmental, world, continental and national organizations. All types of methods of family planning are being promoted by such organizations to bring about their desired aim. In the secular world, family planning has come to mean simply the limiting of the number of children a married couple can get whereas in the Catholic sense, family planning is for the benefit of the couple, the family and society.

We remind all our Christians that the artificial methods of family planning are unacceptable to the Catholic doctrine and practice. Every local Catholic Church within AMECEA should inform the Christians of the grave dangers, both moral and medical, contained in these artificial methods and means. This information should reach all categories of people especially those who are particularly vulnerable either because of ignorance, poverty, or immaturity of age.

We have decided to take the following steps in the promotion of natural family planning:

· Each national Episcopal Conference is to find ways and means of communicating and putting into practice this natural family planning.

· In every diocese of AMECEA, natural family planning is to be strongly promoted.

· We call on the clergy and other pastoral workers to form courageously the consciences of their Christian in accordance with the magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church.

· The Catholic Church in AMECEA will encourage and promote the various organizations which have as aims the advancement of natural family planning.

· Within our Catholic hospitals, and trhough them, this method of natural family planning will be promoted in every way.

· We ask the Catholic medical doctors and nurses of this region to form their respective national associations and to find ways of meeting regularly to share views on this issue of family planning.

It is in view of this that we have included family planning education I the family catechesis guidelines that we want AMECEA countries to follow. We believe strongly that this area of family planning is essentially in the domain of the laity, especially the married couples. We, therefore, call on the laity to engage in it actively. Each local church should do what it can to train such lay leaders and coordinators for this apostolate to the families.

Conclusion

In our guidelines you will find three major headings. We have guidelines for married people, for pre-marriage catechesis and for the many people in our region who live a nomadic life and deserve a special apostolate and catechesis which is adapted to their culture and world-view.

It is our great conviction that in order to create and promote families which are truly Christian and truly African, family catechesis must start at an early age for every Christian. We outline what Christian children should be taught in this regard. We have also given guidelines for the pre-marriage catechesis for the youth in order to prepare them for solid adult Christian life. The married couples need this family catechesis for their ongoing formation in the vocation and mission of marriages and family life.

We firmly declare that since the Christian family is the Domestic Church and the indispensable school for Christian values, it is also our pastoral priority within the overall priority of small Christian communities.

We, therefore, call upon all pastoral agents mentioned in the guidelines to bring these guidelines to the attention of Christians and to use them in this all-important work of promoting families which are truly Christian and truly African.