Father Lombardi: Pope brings 'hope' to Africa

"The Commitment of Africa"

The Pope speaks of Africa as “an immense spiritual lung for a humanity in a crisis of faith and hope”. It is a continent that is rich not only in natural resources – as the many who try to exploit it well know – but also in human and spiritual wealth, in love for life, in creativity, and in culture. Listening to the Gospel, and the resulting “commitment of Africa for Christ” (this is the title of the Exhortation the Pope will present in Benin) can therefore not only raise the peoples of the continent from their troubles but make them protagonists on the journey of the new millennium.

The thread that unites the Pope’s speeches and that runs through his Exhortation is “hope”. This is the key word, a word that returns continuously in the various stages of the journey towards the construction of reconciliation, justice and peace. This is the word that the Pope cries out emphatically to leaders of nations and peoples: “Do not deprive your people of hope!” all the while urging them to wisdom, accountability, and good governance. The Catholic Church participates every day in the life of the people, dealing very concretely with their health, their education, their human and cultural growth, and encouraging them in their free participation in social and political life. The hope about which the Church speaks not only inspires earthly commitment but ennobles it, opening it up to spiritual and eternal horizons. Who loves Africa so much that today they have the courage to tell her that it can be a “continent of hope”? The Catholic Church, which feels animated by the creator Spirit of God and truly feels African, has the gift of this love and this courage.