AMECEA News 18/2001

AMECEA SECRETARIAT

IN SOLIDARITY WITH A CHURCH UNDER PERSECUTION: AMECEA VISITS THE SUDAN

Sudan as conference of Bishops joined AMECEA in 1979 long after the war situation was a reality in the country. Since that time AMECEA Bishops had the intention of visiting the Sudan to assess the situation and see what help they could offer. It was not possible until now. Fr. Peter Mulomole, Secretary General AMECEA who was part of the delegation shares with you his experience.
It was indeed a dream come true when on Saturday, December 1st, 2001, a three-man AMECEA delegation left Nairobi for Khartoum headed by Bishop Paul Duffy of Mongu diocese (Zambia). He and Bishop Ste-Marie of Dedza Diocese (Malawi) had arrived on Sunday November 18th, 2001 and patiently stayed at AMECEA Secretariat in Nairobi waiting for the visas that I had applied for on October 29th, 2001. We were later told that we needed at least three months to obtain visas to Sudan, the largest country on the African continent. We thanked the Merciful God, for making it possible for us to get them so fast and we thought we had set a record. It is true, perhaps, what some people say that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a non-Sudanese, worse still, an African Christian, to go to Khartoum?

Sudan is a country bathed in blood for it has hardly tasted peace since Independence in 1956. From the 17-year-old Anyanya war, it moved to the present resistance led by SPLA/M since 1983. More than two million lives are estimated to have so far been lost and about five million others are either internally displaced or have fled the country. Khartoum alone hosts up to two million displaced people mostly from the South, thrown on the fringes of the vast city.

The Southerners will tell you that this prolonged war is first and foremost one of survival. The Arabs in the North have a well-calculated and planned programme to make Southerners not only Muslims, but Arabs as well. They are therefore using education, child slavery, and bombardment of civilians and humanitarian aid to achieve their goal. Arabic is the gate to success and Sharia law has ruled Sudan since 1983.

No other religion, apart from Islam, and no other race other than the Arab one is tolerated in the Arab-governed Sudan. Catholics in the North, for example, have not been allowed to build churches since 1968. The last Catholic Parish to be built then was Sts Peter and Paul in Khartoum.

The government, however, denies this. They say that the Sudan is multi-religious and multi-racial. The constitution guarantees this and the Sharia law is not for non-Muslims. What is called slavery, they argue, is only "abduction" and this is an age-old custom among some black tribes in the South. The government is not to be blamed for it. There is total freedom of worship and movement, the government claims.

Well the fact is that Sudan is fighting a senseless war that is crippling the country. The suffering among the displaced in Khartoum, Kosti and El Obeid are evidence enough that this war cannot continue any longer. And attempts at peace have been there. Worthy of mention is the peace initiative by the Inter-governmental Action for Development (IGAD), presently headed by Kenya. Other countries are: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan.

In 1994 in Nairobi, they came up with what has come to be known as the Declaration of Principles (DOP). DOP includes the unity of the Sudan but also the right of self-determination after Referendum. The problem is that inspite of all the warring parties' signing the DOP, there is lack of serious commitment to it. Apparently too, the International community is lukewarm. Some multi-national oil companies, such as the Talisman from Canada are busy exploiting oil in Southern Sudan and indirectly fuelling the war. The government is said to be using oil revenues not for the development of the country, but to buy sophisticated weapons to suppress the rebellion militarily. Can the international community deny moral responsibility in all this?

The other moral question is why has it taken AMECEA this long to visit their suffering brothers and sisters in the Sudan? This is the question the delegation saw both written on the faces of those thousands displaced people as well as posed to them by Catholic professionals known as the "Magi" (the wise ones) in Khartoum, Kosti and El Obeid. Similar impressions were also observed in Jaborona and Al Haj Yousif camps in Khartoum and the "peace centers" in El Obeid from December 2nd to 5th , 2001. In the words of one of the senior church leaders, "the visit was overdue".

Though coming late, this visit has been for us a window opening to a new reality. Our consciences can never be at rest again till justice and peace flow in Sudan like the Mighty Nile. Our people and governments in the region need to be sensitized. Sudan is bleeding and therefore needs our help urgently. We should use all means possible: prayer, lobbying, solidarity visits etc., to help our brothers and sisters.

The International Community needs to take up the case of the Sudan much more seriously and ask oil companies from their home countries to stop exploiting our brothers and sisters in the Sudan? Moreover the Sudanese people should have a say in determining their own future through a referendum. AMECEA needs to wake up more to its basic principle of solidarity. The people of Sudan have seen so many peace initiatives such as the IGAD, Libyan / Egyptian and now the American Initiatives. They are becoming skeptical. Could AMECEA be a sign of hope, perhaps? I strongly feel that AMECEA can make a difference. Let us remember that those suffering in Sudan are our brothers and sisters and we are their keepers. We need to think twice and fast.

It is still true that justice delayed is justice denied. And in the Sudan justice has, perhaps, been denied since the British - Egyptian monitored Conference for the Independence of the country in Cairo in 1947.

Finally our delegation would like to thank all those people we met during our solidarity visit and who helped us understand better the situation in Sudan. These include Fr. Afore Camilo, Justice and Peace coordinator Sudan Catholic Bishops Regional Conference (SCBRC), Nairobi; Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) team in Narobi, Archbishop Gabriel Zubeir Wako and his Vicars(Khartoum); the Catholic professionals in both Khartoum and El Obeid. We are grateful to the second Vice president Prof. Macar; Bishop Antonio Menegazzo, Administrator of El Obeid; the Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference (SCBC) Secretariat staff and the SCBC Secretary General Fr. Joseph Nzaku. We thank all the displaced people we met and whose suffering reminded us of Jesus' own Suffering.

May God bless you all.

PLENARY UPDATE

It is true that AMECEA Bishops will hold a plenary assembly in Dar-es-Salaam in July, 2002. In view of the Plenary, a meeting for the moderating team was held on December 15th, 2001 to lay strategies and map out a plan to make the Bishops' Plenary a success. The four members appointed by the AMECEA Executive Board attended. These are Frs. Joseph Komakoma of Justice and Peace Commission (Zambia), John Mary Waliggo, Human rights (Uganda), Rodrigo Mejia SJ (Ethiopia) and Mr. Bernard Ojil (Kenya). The meeting was also attended, as observers, by the Secretary General, Heads of AMECEA Departments and Institutions and Fr. Pius Rutechura, Secretary General, Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC). The four on the moderating team were formed into a committee headed by Fr. Waliggo.

Speaking after the meeting about the plenary taking place in Dar-es-Salaaam, Tanzania, Fr. Rutechura said he sees it as like going back to the roots. AMECEA as an Association was first conceived in Tanzania around 1961. So, the Bishops coming to Dar-es-alaam can be compared to them trekking the road of the vision and mission of the founding members. Asked about the things already put in place for the event, he revealed that the chapel and another part of the Secretariat(go down) were being expanded to facilitate some of the activities of the plenary meeting.

INSTITUTIONS

40 GRADUATE FROM API

Another 40 participants from Ghana, Namibia, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Kenya have graduated from AMECEA Pastoral Institute (API) Eldoret. Speaking at the occasion October 21st, 2001, at the institute, Rt. Rev. Maurice Anthony Crowley, Bishop of Kitale Diocese, (Kenya), exhorted the participants to go out, without conditions, to all nations and people and make them a community of God. He told them that they should be people of love without limit, practice prayer in their lives.

In his speech at the same occasion, Fr. Benjamin Kiriswa, the new API Director, thanked AMECEA Bishops, Secretary General, Donors and facilitators for their support during the training session. He appreciated the contribution of the participants as they "contributed towards the improvement and reshaping of API course… and were very serious, open minded, committed and mature group." He admonished them to remain in the hands of God, as he is faithful and caring.

The occasion was preceded, at the eve of the graduation, by bidding farewell to Fr. Joseph Kato who served as Director of API for five years. Speaking at the occasion, Fr. Peter Mulomole, Secretary General of AMECEA, hailed the great work that Fr. Joseph Kato did during his office. "As you go out today, you are leaving behind an API with a new face. You have laid the foundation we will put up the walls and the roof", Fr. Peter said. Fr. Joseph Kato has been appointed to the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) to teach in the Faculty of Theology (department of pastoral theology).

Among those who were present at the occasion was Rev. Fr .Vincent Moriasi, Vicar General of Eldoret Diocese. Others were relatives and friends of the graduands.

The AMECEA Pastoral Institute was started by AMECEA Bishops at Gaba, Kampala in 1967 and later moved to Eldoret, Kenya, 1976; with an aim to train Priests, religious and laity in current biblical, theological, and liturgical reflections as they apply to the African pastoral situation.

ETHIOPIA

NEW BISHOP APPOINTED

His Holiness Pope Paul II has appointed Rev. Abba Tesfay Medhin as a new Bishop of the Eparchy of Adigrat, Ethiopia.
Rev. Tesfay succeeds Bishop Kidane-Mariam Tekle-haimanot of the Eparchy of Adigrat, whose resignation has been accepted by the Holy Father in accordance with Canon 210 par. 1 of the Canons of Eastern Churches. Until now Rev. Tesfay has been General Secretary of the Catholic Secretariat of Adigrat (16 Nov).

Bishop-Elect Medhin was born 8 January 1953 in Adigrat, Ethiopia. He was ordained 20 April 1980. He holds a licentiate in Philosophy. He has been teaching moral theology and communicational science and philosophy at the Major Seminary of Adigrat for 15 years. (CISA)

KENYA

VIOLENCE CONDEMNED

Religious leaders all over Kenya have reacted angrily at the clashes that happened in Kibera Slum at the start of this month. In a joint statement issued on December 10th 2001 Christians and Muslim Religious leaders said: "…the effects of conflict, violence and insecurity to the country are well known. We the religious groups denounce in the strongest terms the violence being spread in some parts of the country." They regretted that 15 people were killed as a result of the skirmishes while an estimated 700,000 people in other slums around Nairobi live in fear and suspicion.

The Statement was signed by representatives of Kenya Episcopal Conference (KEC), National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), Supreme Council of Kenya Moslems (SUPKEM), and Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK). Others who signed were: Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), Methodist Church in Kenya (MCK), Hindu Council of Kenya, Muslim Consultative Council and Organization of Africa Instituted Churches (OAIC).

The statement urged the government and politicians to facilitate the process of reconciliation, to enable the warring parties to arrive at an amicable solution to the problem.

The Statement castigated the presence of the security forces, which instead of quelling the riot, enhanced the exodus of residents.

In a related incident, His Grace Raphael Ndingi Mwana 'a Nzeki Archbishop of Nairobi, December 8th, 2001, attributed the cause of fights in various parts of Kenya to the country's leaders. Archbishop Ndingi conducting a confirmation ceremony at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Kibera, was reported to have said that youth were paid by leaders to cause problems. He advised parents to counsel them.

Earlier on, December 5th, 2001, the Archdiocese of Nairobi released a statement which raised a scathing attack on the President, Cabinet minister Odinga and the government for the fracas in Kibera slums. " These two are wholly to blame for the deaths, the maiming and the destruction that Kibera is now witnessing."

The statement further castigated the irresponsible utterance saying that the Catholic Church is concerned with the contradicting statements that the president has continued to make. The statement alluded to the recent orders the president made about primary school fees.

It criticized also the relationship between violence and the run up to elections. "It is also no longer strange to Kenyans and the world that these confrontations always happen when the country is going into general elections."
Kibera Slum in Nairobi City is a home of about 700,000 people. At the start of December,2001, about 15 people were killed following clashes between tenants and landlords over house rent. In the eastern district of Tana River about forty people were killed and a hundred homes burnt down in what was attributed to struggle over land.

On November 31st 2001, President Moi while addressing a public meeting within Kibera directed the commissioner of Lands and the Nairobi Provincial Commissioner Mr. Cyrus Maina to resolve the land problem and resettle squatters somewhere else. Moi also is said to have asked the landlords to lower rent. Consequently a landlord who had gone to ask for rent and two other tenants were killed in the skirmishes that ensued. The situation worsened as clashes increased, resulting into more deaths and injuries. Some homes and churches were looted and burnt down and people fled from the area.

Three days later the area member of parliament Mr. Raila Odinga visited the slums and insisted that rents should be reduced.
Most of Kibera landlords are of Nubian origin from southern Sudan who were settled there by the British Colonialists after fighting on their side in the World War I.

Despite what happened nobody has been arrested as the cause of the skirmishes. (CISA)

TANZANIA

SAUT'S 3RD GRADUATION

Only the absentees do not have a story to tell. All roads led to St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) November 24th,2001. One hundred and forty four students received degrees, diplomas and certificates. Jubilations and ululations were heard from the frenzied graduands.

It was a day of celebration, congratulation and rejoicing. Who could conceive that on this day, the humble institute turned university, would produce the first ever degree graduates! But here was a reality too clear and distinct to be denied. The skeptic will take pains to disprove the multitude of those who turned up to witness this historical event.

One wonders how many people envied the graduates! In their blue and black academic gowns topped with brown and yellow hoods, the only image they portrayed was nothing else but the heavenly angelic choir as they perform before God in heaven. Their smiling faces and excitement was an assurance of a great achievement.

The occasion was preceded by Eucharistic Celebration that was presided over by the Most Rev. Norbert Mtega Chairman of the Board of Trustees of SAUT.

The Head of State, His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa, President of the peoples Republic of Tanzania was present to witness this important occasion. Most Rev. Nobert Mtega, after welcoming the President, could not hide his joy in announcing that it was the third graduation of SAUT and the first time to have graduates for degrees. For long the Catholic Bishops in Tanzania, who treasured education as an important tool for evangelization and social development, had since the coming of Christianity in Tanzania, been involved in the primary and secondary education. They had succeeded. However, one thing was lacking: a Catholic University. The joys for the day were justified.

Nineteen students were awarded Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication. These were the very first fruits of SAUT to acquire degrees. Twelve and thirty-two others received Advanced Diplomas in Journalism and Accountancy respectively. Certificates were also awarded in Accountancy (32), Journalism (37), and hospital management (5).

President Mkapa on his part congratulated the church for the work well done. He emphasized equal opportunities to both male and female if education in the university is to be balanced and successful. He underscored the role of higher education as the tool of leadership and employment saying that those who get education must know that it is for development of society.

To the graduands, he told them that they had all reasons to rejoice because the day they waited for had come.
Mkapa exhorted them to take their life seriously and live a virtuous life saying that "what you are, is God's gift, what you will be is your gift to God".

To the journalist graduates, Mkapa, who is a trained journalist, asked them to be leaven to development. He warned them against evils of society like bribes and other favours.

Present also was Rt. Rev. Severine Niwemugizi, Chancellor of the University, Polycarp Cardinal Pengo of Dar-es-Salaam Archdiocese, Most Rev. Anthony Mayala of Mwanza Archdiocese, who is the Pro Chancellor, Rt. Rev. Amedeus Msarikie of Moshi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Aloysius Balina of Shinyanga and Fr. Pius Rutechura, Secretary General, Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC). Others were regional government leaders in the Lake region, friends and relatives of graduands, school children and neighbours of SAUT.

According to the Vice Chancellor Fr. Deogratias Rweyongeza, SAUT has experienced an increase in graduates and intake compared to the previous year. While this year, 144 graduated and 225 have been admitted, last year only 112 graduated and 172 had been admitted. This has also seen an increase in the total number of students at the campus: 325 for last year and 404 for this year.

SAUT is currently owned and managed by the Catholic Hierarchy in Tanzania. It is the first Catholic University to be started in Tanzania; where it is estimated that seven out of every 100,000 get admitted to the university As an institution it presently offers two faculties: humanities / mass communication and business administration. SAUT was established in 1998 succeeding the former Nyegezi Social Training Institute.