SECAM: President Meets Malawi Bishops to Discuss the Church’s Role In Addressing Spiritual and Social Challenges in Africa.
Malawi Catholic bishops and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo (in white cassock). Picture courtesy of ECM
Brenard Mwanza
President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) His Eminence Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu said the Catholic Church in Africa requires a new approach to leadership and engagement, extending beyond local boundaries to address broader social issues affecting the continent.
Cardinal Ambongo who is also the Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, highlighted the interconnections between spiritual guidance and social responsibilities, noting that bishops must engage with political leaders to address the challenges faced by populations in Africa.
He made the remarks in an interview with the Catholic journalists at the end of his visit to Malawi where he, among other things, interacted with the bishops on the sidelines of their first annual plenary meeting held from January 27-31, 2025 at the Catholic Secretariat in the Capital Lilongwe.
“The way we have to build the Catholic Church in Africa is new for me. If we are here in Malawi, the Bishop of Malawi has to take care not only of the church in Malawi, but of the church in Africa. We have this core responsibility for the church,” he stated.
He further shared that he personally advocates for meetings with politicians to facilitate change, acknowledging the difficult situations affecting regional stability which in the end affects the church and its activities.
“We have to talk to them. In many countries I go, if possible, I meet the president to talk with them and the politicians because they are the first responsible for the people,” he added.
On the other hand, the Congolese Prelate highlighted how Pope Francis sees the church in Africa, recognizing the significant growth it is experiencing, with Catholics making up a notable percentage of the population.
“The church is growing in Africa. Now we can speak about…18% of the African population are Catholics and this is a great mark, yeah. So even the ecclesiastic studies, they confirm that in the globe of our church, it is in Africa that the Catholic Church is growing more. The future of the Church is in Africa,” he concluded.
President of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, His Grace the Most Reverend George Desmond Tambala, said the Cardinal’s visit from January 28-30, 2025 would inspire the collaboration in missionary work while tackling both spiritual and social challenges, following the recent synod on synodality.
“One of the things he has encouraged us to do is now explore the possibility of even visiting each other within Africa. It’s something that we have not done up to now, so that has been more in the scope,” said Archbishop Tambala.
“We have explored the different levels of collaboration in SECAM,” he added, “…. there are different levels of collaboration, whether it is in the area of evangelization, area of planting the different missionary works in the region, area of formation of priests, area of social work of the church.”
Cardinal Ambongo further applauded the good work that the church in Malawi is doing in meeting the social and spiritual needs of the people both Catholics and non-Catholics by, among other things, providing education and health services.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu is also a member of the Council of Cardinals, also known as the C9 which is a group of cardinals who advise Pope Francis.
