Pope to Africa: Reconciliation, justice and peace!

In Benin on Saturday, Pope Benedict formally signed the Apostolic Exhortation for the Second Synod of Bishops for Africa held in 2009. The document contains the Pope's conclusions following this synod which were based on the guidelines drawn up by the bishops during the month-long gathering in the Vatican. The Holy Father signed the post-Synodal document during a visit to the seaside town of Ouidah and will hand it over to the bishops of Africa at a mass on Sunday morning. Tracey McClure tells us more:

Reconciliation, justice and peace – that was the theme that bishops of the 2009 synod prayed and reflected on- and it was the urgency and importance of attaining these in Africa that Pope Benedict highlighted in the post-Synodal document he formally signed on Saturday in Benin. In a brief address to Bishops, clergy and lay at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the Pope stressed his “interest and concern for all the peoples of the African continent and…neighbouring islands” and he was in Benin to make his commitment clear.

The post-Synodal document is, of course, addressed to the entire Church in Africa, and presents, the Pope said, “the bishops’ reflections synthetically as part of a broad pastoral vision.”

Recalling another post-Synodal Exhortation - Ecclesia in Africa - that of his predecessor Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict reflected on the concept developed in that document of the “Church as God’s Family.” The Holy Father noted that this concept has “borne many spiritual fruits” and urged the Church in Africa to increasingly see herself as a family open to cooperation with all members of society, particularly with representatives of the Churches and ecclesial communities not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church, as well as with members of non-Christian religions, “above all,” he said, “those of traditional religions and Islam.”

The theme of reconciliation, justice and peace, the Pope said, “are important issues for the world in general, but they take on a particular urgency in Africa. We need but recall the tensions, the acts of violence, the wars, the injustices and abuses of all sorts, new and old, which have marked this year” the Holy Father said.

“But a Church reconciled within herself and among all her members, the Pope stressed, “can become a prophetic sign of reconciliation in society within each country and the continent as a whole.”

Recalling the continent’s disturbing history at the hands of slave traders, the Pope urged the Church in Africa “to combat every form of slavery” and “to never give up the search for new paths of peace” for which “we need to have courage and the reconciliation born of forgiveness.”

He called on men and women to reconcile and find peace with God and neighbour and to work for greater justice in society to promote the welfare of all people, “especially the disadvantaged and those in need of employment, schools and hospitals.”

Reconciliation, justice and peace were also at the heart of Pope Benedict’s discourse earlier Saturday to seminarians, religious and lay at St. Gall’s Seminary in Ouidah. There, he reminded priests that the responsibility for promoting these “fall in a special way to you” and that they are called to be “men of communion” who are called to be holy, humble, balanced, wise and magnanimous.

The Pope called lay people to build families forged in love and forgiveness so that they will contribute to greater justice and peace, and to the building of a strong Church.

Referring perhaps to the pervasive practice of voodooism even among Catholics in some African countries, the Pope reminded all those present that love of the sacraments and the Church “are an efficacious antidote against a syncretism which deceives.” This love, he continued, “ favours the correct integration of the authentic values of cultures into the Christian faith… and liberates from occultism and vanquishes evil spirits for its is moved by the power of the Holy Trinity itself.”

I'm Tracey McClure

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