Pope: "Africa, Continent of Hope"

Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message to participants at the Pan-African Congress for the Laity taking place in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The main aim of the six-day meeting is to be an event of hope in the evangelising mission and to help rediscover the beauty of being Christians in the African Continent.

Listen to Linda Bordoni’s report…

That Africa is close to the heart of Benedict XVI no one can deny. This is demonstrated by the fact that he has visited the continent twice, called for a second special assembly for Africa by the Synod of Bishops, and delivered the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Africae Munus on the occasion of his visit to Benin last November.

In his message to participants of the Yaoundé Congress, the Pope makes it quite clear that he does not look on Africa as simply a place of suffering for its people: infact he says Africa is called to be the “Continent of Hope” with its wealth of spiritual resources which are part of traditional African Values. “The love for life and for the family, a sense of joy and sharing, the enthusiasm of living the faith, all values” – Pope Benedict points out – “ that I have seen during my travels in Africa, and that are still etched in my heart. Never – he continues - let the dark and nihilistic relativist mentality that affects various parts of the world, open a breach in your reality.

And to the some 300 delegates drawn from Episcopal Conferences, Lay Associations, Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, the Pope says “making Africa the “Continent of Hope" is a commitment that must guide the mission of the lay faithful in Africa today”.