SECAM: On Pentecost Sunday, SECAM Caution on Selfish Hoarding, Encourage Sharing
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
As the Catholic Church prepares for the Solemnity of Pentecost to be commemorated Sunday, June 5, Church leaders in Africa have expressed concern on excessive accumulation of goods and called on Christians and all people of good will to share what they have with the needy in the society.
In a statement shared with AMECEA Online Friday, June 3, the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) highlighted that this year’s Pentecost comes amidst various challenges facing the world especially the continent of Africa and its Islands.
“The year 2022 is marked by unprecedented scale of hunger across the world, due to the effects of the Covid- 19 pandemic, climate change, prolonged wars and in particular the war in Ukraine,” reads part of the statement signed by SECAM President His Eminence Philippe Cardinal Nakellentuba Ouédraogo.
The Cardinal calls for sharing with the others affected saying, “We, the disciples of Jesus today, are invited to break the logic of the selfish hoarding of goods and learn to share with others (for) goods are a gift from God for all people and they belong to everyone.”
He explained further, “The Second Vatican Council has clearly noted that “God has destined the earth and all that it contains for the use of all men and peoples, so that created goods should come equally into the hands of all, according to justice, backed by charity.”
Sharing of goods for the benefit of all Cardinal Ouédraogo the Local Ordinary of Burkina Faso’s Ouagadougou Archdiocese said, “Calls for respect for social justice and the practice of solidarity, which prevents the monopolization of financial means by the richest, and promotes the inclusion of every man and woman in the society, as well as their fundamental dignity.”
Cardinal Ouédraogo has disclosed that in “sharing our bread with those who are hungry, we witness to God’s will to satisfy the “hunger” of the world and we allow God to meet the needy through our gestures of sharing and generosity,” which are generators of life in abundance.
Highlighting how Africa has been challenged by the crisis the Cardinal said, “According to the conclusions of the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2022, in 2021 some 193 million people were severely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance in 53 countries/territories and the outlook for global acute food insecurity in 2022 is projected to deteriorate further compared to 2021.”
In fact he says, “The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), levels of extreme food insecurity in Africa “almost quadrupled between 2019 and 2022,” with more than 281 million people exposed to hunger in 2021.”
The Bishops in Africa therefore appeal to the Governments and Humanitarian Organizations in Africa, “to do everything possible to ensure that no one dies from lack of basic food.”
Additionally the Church leaders say in their statement dated Thursday, June 2, that they “encourage the development of effective policies and programs that value local food production and combat food wastes, protect agricultural land and ensure its access to the peasant population.”
According to the prelates, solution to hunger will not be achieved through food aid only, but the aid “should be seen as a temporary solution and with the purpose of allowing a given population to survive in a crisis situation.”
As the Church commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, the SECAM leadership urges all Christians and people of good will to remember that Christ himself “had pity on the people and fed them, laid down his life for his sheep and nourishes us with the Holy Eucharist daily.”
“It is therefore our mission as disciples of Jesus today to fight against human hunger and to do everything in our power to give back life and hope to all those who live in misery, suffering, and despair,” they stressed adding that Pentecost is also a Solemnity of peace, “So we pray for peace in the world and especially on our continent.”
“May the Spirit of Pentecost make us all understand (governors, governed and the perpetrators of war) that “the construction of social peace in a country is never finished, but is a task that does not provide a truce and requires the commitment of all” as they call all people to be instruments of peace and work for peace.
