'Salt of the earth ... light of the World'" is the theme of the forthcoming Pan African
Congress for Catholic Laity, which has been organised by the Pontifical Council for
the Laity and is due to take place in Yaounde, Cameroon, from 4 to 9 September. The
initiative is part of the council's tradition of organising continental and/or regional
congresses for Catholic lay people in various parts of the world. The event will
be held at the Catholic University of Central Africa, and the decision to hold the
congress in Africa is related to the Holy Father's apostolic trip to Cameroon and
Angola in 2009 and, more recently, his visit to Benin in November 2011 to sign the
Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Africae Munus". According to a communique released
today: "the meeting demonstrates the commitment of the Pontifical Council for the
Laity to journey together with the particular Churches. It also helps the laity to
live their faith in communion with their pastors and to rediscover their co-responsibility
for the Church’s mission in its many fields of apostolate". (VIS)