Pope Benedict in Cameroon and Angola
Pope Benedict is visiting Cameroon and Angola in an effort to foster hope and reconciliation ahead of the Africa Synod to be held at the Vatican later this year.
It's his first visit to Africa as Pope, although he did visit the continent - the Democratic Republic of Congo - as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1987. This is the third Papal visit to Cameroon - the second to Angola. The Holy Father's predecessor, Pope John Paul II visited Cameroon in 1985 and 1995 and Angola in 1992.
Cameroon is reported to have five million practicing Catholics of its 17 million population. Angola has some 8.6 million Catholics from a population of 16.5 million.
The meeting of African Bishops in Rome is scheduled for October will have the theme "The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace."
Check below for the full programme, Pope Benedict's speeches, how the Church helps tackle HIV and AIDS and useful links and resources.
Opening address
Pope Benedict's opening address from the welcome ceremony at Nsimalen International Airport of Yaoundé.
"I come among you as a pastor, I come to confirm my brothers and sisters in the faith. This was the role that Christ entrusted to Peter at the Last Supper, and it is the role of Peter’s successors. When Peter preached to the multitudes in Jerusalem at Pentecost, there were visitors from Africa present among them. And the witness of many great saints from this continent during the first centuries of Christianity – Saint Cyprian, Saint Monica, Saint Augustine, Saint Athanasius, to name but a few – guarantees a distinguished place for Africa in the annals of Church history."
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Pope Benedict XVI in Cameroon and Angola: Opening address (pdf)
Full programme
Pope Benedict is scheduled to meet the presidents of both countries - Paul Biya of Cameroon and José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola. Ahead of the meeting of African Bishops in Rome he is also scheduled to meet with the members of the Special Council for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.
Other highlights include meeting representatives of Cameroon’s large Muslim population at the Apostolic Nunciature of Yaoundé and a visit to a local hospital in Cameroon. In Angola, Pope Benedict will meet with movements promoting the dignity of women.
He'll also meet with the the bishops of both countries.
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Pope Benedict XVI in Cameroon and Angola: Full programme (pdf)
Second Special Assembly for Africa in Rome
Ahead of this year's Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops to take place in the Vatican between 4-23 October, an Instrumentum Laboris (working document) has been released for the meeting.
The theme is: The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace: “You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world” (Mt 5: 13, 14).
The Instrumentum Laboris summarizes responses received from the 36 episcopal conferences and two Eastern Catholic Churches on the African continent, as well as those of the 25 Departments of the Roman Curia and the Union of Superiors General. Its content also includes observations from various ecclesial institutions and Christ’s faithful, responsible for evangelisation and human promotion in Africa.
This working document aims to generate thought, prompt discussion and guide and sustain the bishops gathered in communion with Pope Benedict XVI.
In doing so, they will follow the age-old ecclesial tradition in Africa, defended in ancient times by Saint Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, of listening to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
Click here for the full Instrumentum Laboris on Vatican.va.
Related content
Pope Benedict's homily at Mass to mark the publication of the Instrumentum Laboris (pdf)
Words of Pope Benedict on the publication of the Instrumentum Laboris (pdf)
Pope's address when meeting the Special Council of the Synod for Africa (pdf)
Meeting the Bishops of Cameroon
Pope Benedict has met with the Bishops of Cameroon at the Church of Christ-Roi in Tsinga, Yaoundé.
"From the earliest days of the Christian faith in Cameroon, men and women religious have made an essential contribution to the life of the Church. I join you in giving thanks to God for this, and I rejoice at the development of consecrated life among the sons and daughters of your country, giving rise also to the expression of distinctively African charisms in communities that originated in your country."
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Pope Benedict XVI in Cameroon and Angola: Meeting with the Bishops of Cameroon (pdf)
Meeting with the sick at the Card. Paul Emile Léger Centre, Yaoundé
"I have been looking forward to spending this time with you, and I am happy to be able to greet you, dear brothers and sisters who bear the burden of sickness and suffering. You are not alone in your pain, for Christ himself is close to all who suffer. He reveals to the sick and infirm their place in the heart of God and in society."
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The Pope's meeting with the sick at the Card. Paul Emile Léger Centre, Yaoundé (pdf)
Meeting representatives from Cameroon's Muslim communities
Pope Benedict met with representatives from Cameroon's large Muslim communiites at the Apostolic Nunciature of Yaoundé:
"My friends, I believe a particularly urgent task of religion today is to unveil the vast potential of human reason, which is itself God’s gift and which is elevated by revelation and faith. Belief in the one God, far from stunting our capacity to understand ourselves and the world, broadens it. Far from setting us against the world, it commits us to it."
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Pope Benedict's address to the Muslim communities of Cameroon (pdf)
Opening address - Angola
Pope Benedict's opening address from the welcome ceremony at the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport of Luanda:
"I keep very much in my heart and in my prayers Africa in general and the people of Angola in particular, whom I warmly encourage to continue along the path of peace-building and reconstruction of the country and its institutions."
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Meeting the Bishops of Angola and São Tomé
"I rejoice that your nations have so many vibrant communities of faith, a committed laity devoted to many works of the apostolate, and a significant number of vocations to the ordained ministry and the consecrated life, especially the contemplative life. They represent a genuine sign of hope for the future. As the clergy becomes increasingly indigenous, I wish to pay homage to the work which has been patiently and heroically carried out by the missionaries in proclaiming Christ and his Gospel and in giving birth to the Christian communities for which you today are responsible."
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Pope Benedict XVI's homily: Saint Paul's Church in Luanda
"Today it is up to you, brothers and sisters, following in the footsteps of those heroic and holy heralds of God, to offer the Risen Christ to your fellow citizens. So many of them are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment they end up even condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers. Who can go to them to proclaim that Christ has triumphed over death and all those occult powers (cf. Eph 1:19-23; 6:10-12)? Someone may object: “Why not leave them in peace? They have their truth, and we have ours. Let us all try to live in peace, leaving everyone as they are, so they can best be themselves.” But if we are convinced and have come to experience that without Christ life lacks something, that something real – indeed, the most real thing of all – is missing, we must also be convinced that we do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to them and thus grant them the opportunity of finding their truest and most authentic selves, the joy of finding life. Indeed, we must do this. It is our duty to offer everyone this possibility of attaining eternal life."
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Pope Benedict's homily during the Holy Mass at São Paolo Church (pdf)
Interregional meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa
Pope Benedict gave a homily at Mass during an Interregional meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa at Cimangola Square in Luanda:
"'Live', then, 'by the truth!' Radiate the light of faith, hope and love in your families and communities! Be witnesses of the holy truth that sets men and women free! You know from bitter experience that, in comparison with the sudden, destructive fury of evil, the work of rebuilding is painfully slow and arduous. Living by the truth takes time, effort and perseverance: it has to begin in our own hearts, in the small daily sacrifices required if we are to be faithful to God’s law, in the little acts by which we demonstrate that we love our neighbours, all our neighbours, regardless of race, ethnicity or language, and by our readiness to work with them to build together on foundations that will endure."
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The Pope's homily during Holy Mass at the Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (pdf)
Speaking to young people in Luanda
Pope Benedict met some of Angola's young people at the Stadio dos Coqueiros in Luanda:
"At present though, and even in our midst, I see some of the many thousands of young Angolans who have been maimed or disabled as a result of the war and the landmines. I think of the countless tears that have been shed for the loss of your relatives and friends. It is not hard to imagine the dark clouds that still veil the horizon of your fondest hopes and dreams. In your hearts I see doubt, a doubt which you have expressed to me today. You are saying: “Here is what we have. There is no visible sign of the things you are talking about! The promise is backed by God’s word – and we believe it – but when will God arise and renew all things?” Jesus’ answer is the one he gave to his disciples: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (Jn 14:1-2)."
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Pope Benedict's meeting with youth at Dos Coqueiros Stadium, Luanda (pdf)
Meeting Catholic movements promoting women
The Pope met with Catholic movements promoting women at the Parish of Saint Anthony in Luanda:
"In a world like ours, dominated by technology, we feel the need for this feminine complementarity, so that the human race can live in the world without completely losing its humanity. Think of all the places afflicted by great poverty or devastated by war, and of all the tragic situations resulting from migrations, forced or otherwise. It is almost always women who manage to preserve human dignity, to defend the family and to protect cultural and religious values."
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Pope Benedict's meeting with Catholic movements for the Promotion of Women, Luanda (pdf)
Working Positively
“One of every four AIDS patients in the world is treated in a Catholic centre.”
"26.7% of the centers that treat people infected with HIV and affected by AIDS in the world are Catholic-based."
"To date, we have facilitated the acquisition of anti-retrovirals for centers in 18 countries: 13 in Africa, three in America and two in Asia."
"The funds given to these centers came from the contributions of Catholics in 19 countries, from America, Asia, Europe and some from Africa itself."
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán
President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers
Cardinal Barragán's address to the United Nations (2006)
Catholic Agency for Overseas Development
Working Positively sets out the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) response to HIV and AIDS.
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Working Positively: CAFOD's response to HIV and AIDS (pdf)
Vatican reaffirms Church's role in combatting HIV/AIDS
The Holy See has released the following statement (19 March):
"Concerning certain reactions aroused by the Pope's remarks on HIV/AIDS during his apostolic trip to Africa, Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. has explained that the Holy Father was reiterating the position of the Catholic Church and the basic lines of her commitment to combat the terrible scourge of HIV/AIDS: Firstly, by educating people to a responsible practice of sexuality and by reaffirming the essential role marriage and the family. Secondly, by research into, and application of, effective cures for HIV/AIDS, and by making them available to the largest possible number of sick people through numerous initiatives and healthcare institutions. Thirdly, by human and spiritual assistance to AIDS victims and all other suffering people, who have always been close to the Church's heart.
"These are the areas in which the Church concentrates her efforts, not believing that relying primarily on the greater dissemination of condoms is, in fact, the best, most longsighted or effective way to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS and safeguard human life".
Links
The Vatican's section on the Papal visit to Cameroon and Angola
http://www.vatican.va
Pontifical Mission Societies
http://www.pontificalmissionsocieties.co.uk/
Vatican Radio's coverage of the Papal visit
http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/index.asp
Fides Catholic news agency
http://www.fides.org/
Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)
http://www.cafod.org.uk/
Related articles/resources
Daily Telegraph (comment)
The Pope's critics are in the grip of dogma
AIDS in Africa: Abstinence works
AIDS and the Churches: Getting the story right
Copyright © 2008 First Things (April 2008).
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