AMECEA NEWS 10/1999

APPOINTMENTS
KENYA

MURANG'A DIOCESE GETS A BISHOP

His Holiness Pope John Paul II on 19th June 1999, vigil of the feast of Our Lady of Consolata appointed Father Peter Kihara Kariuki, IMC as the new Bishop of Murang'a Diocese. The Diocese comprises of Kirinyanga, Murang'a, Maragua and part of Thika Districts.

Father Peter Kihara succeeds Bishop Peter Kairo who was the first Bishop of the diocese after its creation on 17th March 1983 and was transferred to Nakuru on 12th May 1997.

Father Peter was born on 6th February 1954 at Thunguri, Othaya, in Nyeri Archdiocese. He went for his elementary education at Kigumo Primary School and later secondary education at Rurunguti and Othaya Boys Schools.

He joined the Consolata Missionaries in 1976 and was ordained a deacon on 5th December 1982 after his formation. On 17th December 1983 and he was ordained a priest. He has worker in Colombia as an assistant parish Priest, in Allomano House as Vice-rector and in Sagana, Kenya as an Assistant Novice Master and later Novice Master before his appointment.

He will ordained on 11th September 1999 in Muran'ga.

SUDAN

TORIT DIOCESE GETS AN AUXILIARY BISHOP

The Holy Father, Pope Paul II on 18th May 1999 appointed Fr. Jackson Akio Muttek as an Auxiliary Bishop of Torit Diocese in the Sudan.

Father Akio was born 2nd January 1958 at Lodwara Tala in Torit Diocese. He went to primary school in Uganda due to civil war. I 1982 he began philosophy studies a Juba Major Seminary and Khartoum Seminary for theology studies.

He was ordained a priest on 18th December 1988. He has ministered at Khartoum Parish and Bahati Parish in Nakuru Diocese in Kenya; parish Priest at Torit and at Kampala when Torit was taken by the government. He later went for a Diploma Course in Social Communication at Maryknoll School of Theology in United States.

He has been a Vicar General of the same Diocese since 1996. He was consecrated a Bishop on 15th August 1999.

AMECEA GETS A NEW SECRETARY GENERAL

During the AMECEA 13th Plenary Assembly held at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, from 26th July to 8th August 1999, the Bishops of AMECEA appointed Fr. Peter Mulomole, the new AMECEA Secretary General. Until his appointment, Fr. Mulomole was the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi. He hails from Zomba Diocese in Malawi. He replaces Fr. Peter Lwaminda who bas been in office since 1989.

The Bishops also appointed Fr. Patrick Mbyemeire of Mbarara Archdiocese in Uganda, the Deputy Secretary General. This is the first time AMECEA has created the office of the Deputy Secretary General.

The Bishops re-elected Most Rev. Josaphat Louis Lebulu of Arusha Archdiocese the Chairman of AMECEA and Rt. Rev. Noel O'Regan, Solwezi Diocese in Zambia as the Vice-Chairman.

Meanwhile, the Outing Secretary General of AMECEA, Rev. Fr. Peter Lwaminda will proceed to Ghana where he was appointed the 1st Deputy Secretary General of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) during SECAM's 11th Plenary Assembly in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 1997. He hails from Kasama Archdiocese in Zambia.

ATTACKS AGAINST CHURCH LEADERS THREATEN
THE FUTURE HARMONY OF THE AFRICA CONTINENT

In Rwanda a real defamation campaign is under way against the Catholic Church in order to make her appear responsible for the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi ethnic group which left over half a million dead.

During this massacre three bishops, 123 priests and over 300 sisters lost their lives. The Most Rev. Augustine Misago, Bishop of Gikongoro since 1992 was the first victim of this campaign. He was arrested on 14th April this year along Kigali Road. He has been accused of taking part in the massacre of 150,000 Tutsis in is diocese and in particular killing 30 female students who had asked is protection. However, the government in the meeting with Rwanda Bishops said that Bishop Misago was arrested as an individual not as a member of the Catholic Church!
But the Church is Christ 's body where all suffer when one member suffers
Another Church eider, retired Bishop Phocas Nikwigize was arrested on his return from exile and has never been seen again. . The former Bishop of Kibgayi suffered humiliation as he was celebrating his 60 priestly ordination anniversary in Switzerland where he went to live after his retirement in September 1993 when during the Holy Mass, an ethnic group of Rwandan immigrants demonstrated in front of the in Church doors, distributing cartoons and caclostyled handbills accusing him of being a "genocidarian". Although the genocide occurred in 1994 when the Bishop was still in Switzerland he was accused on the basis of a pastoral letter of 11th February 1959 where he was asking the authorities for justice and charity. He said "In our Rwanda, social differences and inequalities are largely collected with racial differences, in the sense that wealth, political and even judicial power are really - to a considerable extent in the hands of people belonging to the same race".

The Catholic Bishops of AMECEA at the end of their Plenary Assembly sent a solidarity letter to the Bishops of Rwanda assuring them of their prayers and called on them to throw off everything that weigh them down and keep on running in the race which lies ahead of them and keep their eyes fixed on Jesus who endured the cross, disregarding its' shame, and has taken is seat at the right hand of God's throne.

ANNUAL SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS MEETING
TUMAINI CENTRE, NAIROBI-KENYA 26TH - 31ST AUGUST 1999

The AMECEA Social Communications department organized a successful AMECEA 30th Annual Social Communications Meeting. In this meeting all the national communications secretaries from all the AMECEA countries attended. Members of international Communications organizations also attended. These were Catholic Media Council (CAMECO), OCIC-UNDA and Interregional Meeting for Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA).

The meeting was officially opened by Fr. Cecilio Rotor, Secretary of the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya. Fr. Rotor told the communicators that true communicators need to be clear conductors of the truth, without cringing in the face of lack of acceptance of their message. He stressed that although presently communications is linked to power their communication should be aimed at putting across the message of God's Word, so that anyone who receives this message finds life and light.

In the closing address, the Most Rev. James Odongo, Archbishop of Tororo Archdiocese in Uganda and the first Chairman of AMECEA Social Communications Department told the participants that as a united body of communicators their efforts can collectively bring change through their messages of life and words to the world around them and beyond. He also quoted the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen saying : "what the world needs is a voice that is right not when the world is right but a voice that is, right when the world is wrong!"
During the meeting the following recommendations were made:
· Priority to be given to the training of Diocesan Coordinators.
· AMECEA Association of Publishers to be revived.
· To organize a travelling workshop for training purposes.
· In future Annual AMECEA Social Communications meetings to be held before the Plenary Assembly when their is one in order to enable AMECEA Communications Secretaries to attend all Plenary Assembly Sessions.

The next meeting will be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from 1st - 6th August 2000.

AMECEA PUBLISHERS: RE-SURFACES!

During the AMECEA 30th Annual Social Communications meeting held in Nairobi (26th - 31st July 1999) the National Secretaries noticed with concerned the sudden "absence" of the AMECEA Association of Publishers. It was resolved in the same meeting that the Association be revived.

The first step the AMECEA Social Communications Office wishes to take to revive the Association is to know who and where the publishers are. Therefore we are appealing to all Publishers in AMECEA Region to support us in this exercise by forwarding their contacts.

AMECEA - IMBISA LAUNCH COMMUNICATION MANUALS

During the just ended 13th Plenary Assembly of AMECEA, the immediate former AMECEA Secretary General Rev. Fr. Peter Lwaminda presented to the Bishops and delegates manuals on Communication jointly produced by IMBISA and AMECEA Social Communications Departments. The Manuals are aimed at helping in promoting evangelization through means of effective Social Communications in Major Seminaries in both regions.

The Daughters of St. Paul in Nairobi did the publishing in three volumes and will also translate the English text into Portuguese. The first volume "Basic Human Communications" offers an introduction to the fundamentals of communication, second volume "Communication, Culture and Community" and third volume "Communication in the Church and Society". The whole set is costing US$ 15. The manuals are available in the Paulines Bookshops in the English Speaking Countries.

JOINT MEETING OF THE SECRETARIES GENERAL AND CEPACS

The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communication (CEPACS) organized a joint meeting of Regional Communications Secretaries, Regional and National Secretaries General of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. The meeting was held at St. Paul's Major Seminary, Sowutuom in Accra, Ghana from 22nd - 28th August 1999 under the Chairmanship of the President of SECAM, Most Rev. Laurent Mosengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kisangani (Democratic Republic of Congo).

The meeting was officially opened by the President of CEPACS, the Most Rev. Bernard Agre Archbishop of Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire). In is speech, the President recalled the importance of the means of social communication quoting "The Church in Africa is convinced that if evangelization is at the centre of the mission of the Church, Communication is then the core of evangelization" (Final communique of the 9th Plenary of SECAM).

The meeting brought together more than forty participants from All over Africa and delegates from International Catholic Media organization namely, Radio Vatican, International Catholic Association of Radio and Television (UNDA) - International Catholic Association of Cinema and Audio Visual (OCIC), International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP), Catholic Media Council (CAMECO) and Caritas International. Also present was Rt. Rev. Pierfranco Pastore, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications representing the Holy See.

AMECEA Region was represented by six delegates. The meeting was concluded by the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of CEPACS on 28th August 1999.

AMECEA - IMBISA COLLABORATION WIDENS

The Coordinator of Inter Regional Meeting Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) attended the AMECEA 30th Annual Social Communications Meeting which was held in Nairobi (26th-31st July 1999). On the other hand, the AMECEA Social Communications Secretary also attended IMBISA Social Communication Meeting in Harare (15th - 20th August 1999).

Meanwhile, the IMBISA Assistant Communications Coordinator, Sr. Veronica Dingi was offered a free opportunity by Ukweli Video Productions in Nairobi, AMECEA Region, for a five-week practical experience in video productions.

PASTORAL LETTERS
KENYA

LET JUSTICE FLOW LIKE A STREAM, AND
RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE A RIVER THAT NEVER GOES DRY

The Catholic Bishops of Kenya on 8th June 1999 said they were concerned with the current situation of their country where people are poverty stricken, massive unemployment and pervasive sense of hopelessness.

They said that Kenya's greatest economic resource is its people, traditions and values both African and Religious. They also said they cannot ignore Jesus teaching on the poor and the marginalized in their society where he instructed his followers to be in solidarity with them. They also highlighted the following ethical norms from the Bible and Church teaching:-

· The principles of economics must be based on love and solidarity with all people.
· Creation of wealth is for the Common good. Wealth should be earned and not acquired through unjust means.
· Respecting the rights of all people must do Justice.
· Rights of workers must be respected and protected.
· The economic policies and practices must be aimed at overcoming marginalisation and powerlessness.
· Human rights must be respected, especially the right to life, employment, food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and basic education.
· All economic policies must be aimed at strengthening the family at the minimum; they should never undermine the family.

The Bishops called on all Government officials to be open and be accountable at all levels through prosecuting bribery and fraud among Government officials, disclosing all the personal and business interests of top government officials in legislative, judicial, or top administrative positions and recruit and retention of public officials to be based on merit and performance.

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