Zenit: : Representatives from five continents addressed the Synod of Bishops for Africa,
underlining points of unity with the people of that land and proposing ways of intercontinental
collaboration. The five reports were presented on Monday at the second general congregation
of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to Africa, which began Sunday in Rome
and will end Oct. 25. A representative from North America, Archbishop Wilton Gregory
of Atlanta, Georgia, underlined the "one Faith that binds the Church in the United
States to all of the other Churches throughout the world." He affirmed that the Catholic
community on his continent "has benefitted directly during the past generation from
a growing number of clergy and religious from the great African continent, who now
serve Catholics throughout our nation generously and devotedly." “Our people,” said
the archbishop, “are likewise deeply grateful for the opportunity to assist the local
Churches in Africa." The president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences
of Oceania, Bishop Peter Ingham of Wollongong, Australia, also expressed the desire
to collaborate with Africa. He underlined the common fight against the "terrible scourge
of HIV/AIDS," especially in Papua New Guinea. Recalling the recent earthquake and
tsunami that claimed lives in Samoa and Tonga, the bishop stated, "In both Oceania
and Africa, great work is being done by the Church and its agencies to help people
recover and to manage risks that could arise from natural disasters." Bishop Ingham
noted that "Australia has begun to re-engage with Africa, particularly in the mining
industries," but he underlined the desire for these miners to be responsible to the
communities where they will work. The European representative, Hungarian Cardinal
Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, president of the council of bishops'
conferences from Europe, acknowledged ways in which, Africa can teach other countries.
In Central and Eastern Europe, similar to Africa, he said there is a need to "seek
reconciliation of hearts, purification of memory, and constructive brotherhood." The
prelate also expressed the desire to collaborate on Church issues, stating, "We wish
to better study your liturgical and catechetical experiences, the dynamic of your
priestly vocations, the opportunities to build together the Church of Christ in Europe,
in Africa, and everywhere throughout the world." Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno
Assis of Aparaceda, Brazil, president of the Latin American bishops' council (CELAM),
echoed his continent's desire to work together with Africa. The prelate proposed
offering seminarians the opportunity for priestly training "in some of the particular
Churches in Latin America with greater resources," as an occasion to "learn other
languages, which could be used to promote the exchange and the communion between the
two continents with such a vast Catholic presence." Also underlining the similarity
between the Church in Africa and on his continent, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato,
Philippines, general secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, described
both Catholic communities as "young,”and both continents as continents of the
poor . The prelate underlined the realities that Africa and Asia share, including
"the love of traditional family values that are truly human, the thousands of languages
spoken, and the encounter between Christianity, Islam, and indigenous traditional
religions." He expressed solidarity of his continent with Africa, as well as the desire
to meet the common challenges faced by the Church in both places.