Sunday "Angelus" - Pope moved by Africa’s joy and reverence

(March 30, 2009) Joy and a sense of the sacred are two aspects of the peoples of Africa that most impressed Pope Benedict XVI during his recent pastoral visit to the continent. In his weekly midday Angelus address on Sunday, the Pope reflected on the fruits of his March 17-23 trip to Cameroon and Angola. During this his first pastoral visit to the African continent the Pope said he experienced "deep emotion" upon meeting the Catholic communities there. The Pontiff pointed to two aspects that impressed him. The first aspect that impressed him most was “the visible joy in the faces of the people, the joy of feeling part of the family of God,” and he felt grateful to God for being able to share their moments of simple choral and faith-filled celebration. The second aspect was the strong sense of the sacred that one breathes in the liturgical celebrations, a feature common to all the peoples of Africa, which the Holy Father said was there every moment he was among them. The Holy Father said the visit helped him to understand the "reality of the Church in Africa in the variety of the experiences and challenges that she finds before her at this time."
Pope Benedict then offered a reflection on Sunday’s Gospel: “If the grain of wheat that falls to the earth does not die, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.” "Only in this way can a new humanity sprout and grow, free from the domination of sin and able to live in fraternity, as the sons and daughters of the one Father who is in heaven," the Pope explained. This new humanity, he said, is very much alive in Africa despite its limitations. He thanked the missionaries there who, like Jesus, gave and continue to give their lives for the Gospel, reaping abundant fruit.
Pope Benedict did not hide the joy he felt at seeing numerous young African students gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to thank him for the message of hope he brought to the continent. Young men and women, some religious or seminarians, waving flags that represented various African countries, expressed their appreciation for the Pontiff's March 17-23 trip to Cameroon and Angola. Led by Guinean Archbishop Robert Sarah, secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the students also gathered to show their solidarity with the Holy Father after he came under fire for saying that the distribution of condoms is not the solution for fighting AIDS. The head of the Committee of African Students in Rome, Pierre Baba Mansare, explained to Zenit news agency that the event was organized after seeing the coverage of the Pope's visit in the media: “Of the Holy Father’s whole pastoral message, the Western media only focused on the statement about condoms with the purpose of starting a polemic.” Mansare said they decided to respond with a small demonstration of gratitude to the Holy Father for his lucid and objective diagnosis of the African reality, a diagnosis that the international community, distracted by the media polemic, did not hear. He said the African students wanted to send a clear message to the Western media - "Don’t talk about Africa without knowing the reality, trampling on its values!"
Earlier on Sunday Pope Benedict XVI visited the community of a poor immigrant parish in Rome, encouraging it to have faith that even though God can't be seen, He is near to those in need. "We know that the 'sun,' although hidden, exists, that God is near, that he helps us and accompanies us," the Pontiff said today upon addressing the small parish of The Holy Face of Jesus at Magliana, which is located on the outskirts of the city. "So, in this sense we want to journey toward Easter knowing that there are suffering and difficulties in our life but with the awareness that behind it there is the sun of divine Goodness," he added. The Holy Father Benedict XVI exhorted his listeners, many of whom gathered in the rain outside the small church, to put themselves in the service of their neighbour, especially those who have problems because of the economic crisis.