ACWECA: Vatican Cardinal says the 18th ACWECA Plenary Assembly theme speaks to the heart of Pope Francis
His Eminence Joáo Braz Cardinal de Aviz
By Sr. Grace Candiru, MSMMC
His Eminence Joáo Braz Cardinal de Aviz has told the Council of Delegates at the 18th ACWECA Plenary Assembly that the theme of their Assembly was in line with the desire of Pope Francis.
“This way of thinking of consecrated life is a great desire of Pope Francis,” said Cardinal de Aviz, during a keynote address at the opening of the 18th Plenary Assembly of the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa, ACWECA.
The Assembly with the theme: “Re-awaken our prophetic role: A call for Reformation towards Holistic transformation in the Region Today,” which is being held virtually is scheduled to run from 23rd to 27th August 2021.
The Cardinal who is also the Prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, (CICLSAL), called on the sisters to remind themselves of what Pope Francis already said in his letter for the year of Consecrated Life.
“I am counting on you ‘to wake up the world‘, since the distinctive sign of consecrated life is prophecy,” the Cardinal recalled of the Pope’s message issued in November 2014.
Reflecting on this message, he said Pope Francis in 2015 explained that prophecy was about telling people there’s a path to happiness which is a the path to Jesus and that people have to see this lived in consecrated men and women.
“If we are simple and ready to serve, then values like mercy and compassion will come out and when this is done, then fraternity – brotherhood and sisterhood will emerge from this,” he affirmed.
The Cardinal however explained that radical evangelical living was not only for religious men and women but for all. But while the condition for following Jesus were the same for all the baptised, he said the religious follow Christ in a special way – which the Pope says is in a prophetic way.
“This is our call to consecrated men and women, – we want them to be prophets who help Jesus live on this earth,” he said, adding that the religious have to announce this by their lives and not just by their words. He went on to explain that it was important for them to give witness – the witness that is given together.
Expounding on the aspect of prophecy in the theme of the Plenary Assembly, Cardinal de Aviz said prophecy links us to the past, which he said was very important. “We must remember what God did in our past – that God loves us all, he saved us, he freed us and made us a people,” he said. But while we might be like the people of the Old Testament and not be faithful, he said God is always faithful.
He said it was important for the sisters to reflect on the present and see what the situation of the people of God today is, and reach out to them accordingly. He said current situation of the Coronavirus pandemic is one example that helps us to understand this.
“Who of us hasn’t witnessed someone close to us who has died, or who of us hasn’t lost someone dear to us whom we didn’t get time to greet?”, he asked. And how often do we have to stay close to our homes without moving out,?” he asked, of the impact of COVID-19.
“In this time, broken by the Covid-19 pandemic, we need a prophetic response from religious life that helps us to recognise the presence of God in the history of our people,” he said.
“We see new poverty added to the old ones,” he went onto say of the current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that many people are finding it difficult to act in ways that help them not to catch this illness.
But while many lack access to the right information, he said many had lost their jobs and warned that there were people who exploit the situation without any scruples. He therefore called on the sisters to invent new ways to be close to the people, saying the theme of the Assembly had brought this up beautifully.
“When you know God, you feel the necessity to defend life,” the Brazilian Prelate said adding that this way of going towards others to serve God makes visible what we are living. “It helps the dream of God become a reality and it shows to us and to others the true meaning of life,” he further said.
He called on the sisters to heed to Pope Francis’ invitation to build our society in the midst of difficulties, saying Jesus proposes us the way to live this.
Still speaking on prophecy, he warned that at times we may confuse prophecy, thinking that it is simply being relevant. “We may think prophecy is about having power and authority over others – how many people think that having influence in the media makes them powerful,?” he asked.
Instead, he called on those who are in Christian life and have some authority to think of themselves as servants to others, saying it was how Jesus did it. “Jesus left his greatness of heaven to come to be small among us and this is what we must do,” he said
“A superior is not someone who commands the other sister, but someone who is close and accompanies the other,” he said, linking it to consecrated life.
And in the same way, he said a bishop cannot be dominating, he must be there to see how to solve the problems of others. He said sometimes it is important to listen to a person for an hour without speaking – to listen with love and understanding and see what problem the person is suffering from and offer healing at that moment.
But rather than reach out to those who experience difficulties, he warned that many people today leave our houses because they no longer feel at home. This, he said is a challenge saying we have to love each other as they are and that not doing so means we are not living the gospel.
