SECAM: Church in Africa Appreciates Pope Francis’ Effort on Reaching out to Peripheries
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
As Pope Francis marks 10th anniversary of his Pontificate, the Church in Africa through the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has acknowledged the Holy Father’s effort on reaching out to the peripheries and the marginalized especially in Africa.
“Holy Father, the ten years of your papacy have been marked by your special attention to the Lord Jesus’ preferred ones: the poor, migrants, refugees and all those who live in geographical and existential peripheries,” the President of SECAM His Eminence Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo, shared in a congratulatory message to the Pope adding, “Here you have touched with hand and heart the 1,340,598,147 inhabitants of Africa who live in these challenging situations.”
The Cardinal who was reappointed this month to Vatican’s Council of Cardinals quoted Pope Francis’ message in Encyclical Letters Fratelli Tutti and Laudato Si’ on the need to show affection to all people irrespective of their physical proximity and having the knowledge that human ecology is a concept of common good for all.
“These are ten years of prophetic and servant leadership that goes beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church and dialogues with the whole world: “If we want a more fraternal world, we must educate the new generations to recognize, value and love all people regardless of their physical proximity, regardless of the point on earth where each one was born or lives,” the Cardinal said on behalf of the bishops in Africa and the Islands in the message dated Sunday, March 12.
He added, “Human ecology is inseparable from the notion of the common good, a principle that plays a central and unifying role in social ethics.”
The Church in Africa further appreciated the Pontiff’s visit in various counties across the continent, a gesture which Cardinal Ambongo of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo says has been welcomed with joy.
“Your Holiness, during these 10 years, Africa has had the joy of welcoming you on four occasions. The Continent is deeply grateful to you for coming to us as a pilgrim of hope, and praying with us for peace, justice and reconciliation and helping us to raise our voices for our economic independence,” the Cardinal narrated addressing the pope in the Sunday message.
During his ten years of pontificate, Pope Francis has visited ten African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic, Egypt, Morocco, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
In their appreciation, the Bishops in Africa and the Islands highlighted that in the past decade, the Church has “seen the development of a missionary option which, by transforming everything, makes customs, language and the whole ecclesial structure become a channel for evangelization of the present world rather than a means of self-preservation.”
Besides, the Pope has revealed himself as an apostle of divine mercy when he proclaimed the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy “in the hope of seeing the face of a Church that rediscovers the bowels of mercy and goes out to meet the many wounded in need of listening, understanding and love.”
In the period from 11 March 2023 to 19 March 2023, various liturgical and para-liturgical celebrations were held in all corners of the African continent and its Islands in thanksgiving for the gift of Pope Francis’ pontificate and also as a way of the Church in Africa renewing adherence to the teachings of the Bishop of Rome.
“Your Holiness, the Church in Africa prays for your health and your ministry,” Cardinal Ambongo a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap) concluded his congratulatory message to the Pope.
