2012-02-16 16:11:01

Africa-Europe: new evangelization, communion and pastoral collaboration


Over seventy bishops representing African and European Episcopal Conferences are attending a Symposium in Rome that focuses on New Evangelization, communion and pastoral collaboration between the two continents.

Participants were received on Thursday morning by Pope Benedict XVI in an audience on Thursday after a Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica, and on Friday they wrap up with a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Holy Face of Manoppello.

The Symposium, organized by the European Council of Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) is the second such event and stems from the need of the African and European bishops to join forces and capabilities to better proclaim the Gospel to the men and women of our day, in all countries and continents.

The Archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Thlagale, told Linda Bordoni that the symposium is an opportunity to strengthen the communion between the Churches of Europe and Africa, to reinforce friendly relations, and to jointly analyze a common pastoral and evangelizing mission.

Archbishop Thlagale says “there was a time when we expected everything to come from Europe. But now we are saying: Africa is an adult (…) we’ve reached a stage where we can develop a very strong partnership”.

As regards new evangelization, he says, “Africa should be in the position when called upon by Europe to come to Europe’s assistance, in the sense that Europe no longer has as many vocations as it used to have, and if you are going to achieve anything of this new evangelization, you need new missionaries, those missionaries are going to come from Africa or from other parts of the world”.

One of the other focuses on the Symposium, archbishop Thlagale reveals, is the issue of cultural diversity of different nations. He says Africa must be “more in dialogue with Rome on these issues, so we are not advocating uniformity all the time, but we also recognise that catholicity means different spiritualities, different liturgical forms, different devotions": that’s part of its richness…

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