Card. Rylko: Pan-African conference on challenges of evangelization
(Vatican Radio) The Pan-African Conference of Catholic Laity opens in Yaoundé, Cameroon
on Tuesday, September 4th. Listen to our report:
Under the
sponsorship of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the gathering is bringing together
participants in every state of life within the Church, from all over the continent,
to discuss the theme: Being Witnesses of Jesus Christ in Africa today – salt of the
earth … light of the world. The President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity,
Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, is leading the proceedings. He spoke with Vatican Radio
about the goals and focus of the Conference. “First of all,” said Cardinal Rylko,
“The Congress wants to awaken lay Catholics to the spirit of shared responsibility
and commitment, which is essential to the mission of proclaiming Christ in the great
African continent.” Cardinal Rylko went on to say, “Being missionaries and witnesses
to our faith are both part of our identity as Christians,” adding, “[t]he whole Church
is missionary by her very nature.” In our times, the Cardinal continued, “The evangelizing
mission of the Church in Africa is facing difficult challenges, is confronted with
new and, in some ways, unprecedented scenarios in the religious, social, cultural,
economic and political spheres.” Cardinal Rylko identified the “reading” of those
challenges and reflection on the responses that the Catholic laity African can give
to them as, “one of the main objectives,” of the Congress. The Pan-African Conference
of Catholic Laity closes on Sunday, September 9th.