Pope Benedict begins first pastoral visit to Africa

(March 18, 2009) Pope Benedict is on a pastoral visit to Cameroon and Angola. The main purpose of his March 17-23 visit is to issue to the African Church the working document of the Second Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa, scheduled for this October in Rome, on the theme, “The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace: ‘You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world.’ The Pope flew out of Rome on March 17 orning and arrived at Cameroon’s capital Yaounde in the afternoon to a tumultuous welcome.
In his first speech on African soil at the airport, Pope Benedict XVI outlined the mission of his current visit saying he was among them “as a pastor” to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith. This, the Pope said was the role that Christ entrusted to Peter at the Last Supper, and it is the role of Peter’s successors. How fitting then, he said, that Peter’s successor should come to Africa, to celebrate with them the life-giving faith in Christ that sustains and nourishes so many of the sons and daughters of this great continent!
Pope Benedict recalled his predecessor late Pope John Paul who had come to Yaoundé in 1995 to promulgate the Post-Synodal Exhortation of the First Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa, held in Rome in 1994. And now he was among them to issue the working document the Second Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa, scheduled for this October in Rome. Calling the upcoming synod a “moment of grace” Pope Benedict said it is a summons to all the Bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful of the continent to rededicate themselves to the mission of the Church to bring hope to the hearts of the people of Africa, and indeed to people throughout the world.
Pope Benedict stressed that “Even amid the greatest suffering, the Christian message always brings hope.” He recalled modern African Saint Josephine Bakhita saying her life “offers a shining example of the transformation that an encounter with the living God can bring to a situation of great hardship and injustice.” “In the face of suffering or violence, poverty or hunger, corruption or abuse of power,” the Pope said, “a Christian can never remain silent.” Pope Benedict stressed that the saving message of the Gospel needs to be proclaimed loud and clear, so that the light of Christ can shine into the darkness of people’s lives. Here in Africa, as in so many parts of the world, he said, countless men and women long to hear a word of hope and comfort. Regional conflicts leave thousands homeless or destitute, orphaned or widowed. “In a continent which, in times past, saw so many of its people cruelly uprooted and traded overseas to work as slaves,” the Pope lamented “today human trafficking, especially of defenceless women and children, has become a new form of slavery.” “At a time of global food shortages, financial turmoil, and disturbing patterns of climate change, Africa,” he said, “suffers disproportionately: more and more of her people are falling prey to hunger, poverty, and disease.”
Pope Benedict said these people cry out for reconciliation, justice and peace, and that is what the Church offers them. Not new forms of economic or political oppression, but the glorious freedom of the children of God. Not the imposition of cultural models that ignore the rights of the unborn, but the pure healing water of the Gospel of life. Not bitter interethnic or interreligious rivalry, but the righteousness, peace and joy of God’s kingdom, so aptly described by Pope Paul VI as “the civilization of love.”
Pope Benedict noted that with over a quarter of the population Catholic, the Church in Cameroon is well placed to carry forward her mission of healing and reconciliation. He expressed satisfaction that that AIDS sufferers are able to receive treatment free of charge in the country. He also pointed to education as another key element of the Church’s ministry in the country. Pope Benedict praised Cameroon as truly a land of hope for many in Central Africa where thousands of refugees from war-torn countries in the region have received a welcome. It is a land of life, with a Government that speaks out in defence of the rights of the unborn. It is a land of peace as it has settled a contention with Nigeria through patient diplomacy and dialogue. It is a land of youth, blessed with a young population full of vitality and eager to build a more just and peaceful world. Rightly is it described as “Africa in miniature”, home to over two hundred different ethnic groups living in harmony with one another.