Dear Confreres,

During this month of October, Africa will be at the center of the Church’s attention. On October 4-25, 2009, the 2nd Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops will be held at the Vatican in Rome with the theme: “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 synod offers the opportunity for us to take a closer look at and reflect on our SVD presence in the AFRAM zone. As we know, the Society is present in 14 countries in AFRAM through six provinces (GHA, TOG, CNG, ANG, KEN, BOT), one region (MAD) and three missions (MOZ, TCD, ZIM).

Obviously, much can be said about the SVD in AFRAM. In this overview, I limit myself to the state of our SVD personnel (“status personarum”) in and from the continent. The figures are taken from the latest update of the SVD Catalogus (September 2009).

The SVD in AFRAM.

The total membership of the Society at present stands at 6090 confreres. Of these, 568 or 9.3% are assigned (work or reside) in AFRAM – 413 confreres in perpetual vows (9% of all confreres in perpetual vows), 126 confreres in temporary vows (11%), and 29 novices (8.7%). Of the 568 confreres in AFRAM, 253 are AFRAM-born (44.5%) and 315 are expatriates (55.4%). Of the expatriate confreres in AFRAM, 110 come from EUROPE (19.3%), 32 from PANAM (5.6%), and 173 from ASPAC (30.4%). In terms of nationality, the biggest groups of expatriate confreres in AFRAM originate from Indonesia (73), Poland (67), India (55), the Philippines (27), and Germany (15).

In 1994, the year of the 14th General Chapter when the Society gave AFRAM a priority status, the Catalogus recorded 362 confreres assigned in the zone. This was 6.3% of the total membership of the Society which at that time was 5703. Thus, there has been an increase of 206 confreres assigned in AFRAM in 14 years, or about 15 confreres annually.

AFRAM in the SVD.

Of the total Society mem-bership, 349 confreres are AFRAM-born (5.7%). This number is comprised of 4 bishops, 156 priests, 34 brothers in perpetual vows, 6 brothers in temporary vows, 120 scholastics, and 29 novices. Or, put differently, the total number of AFRAM-born confreres include 194 confreres in perpetual vows (4% of all confreres in perpetual vows), 126 confreres in temporary vows (11%), and 29 novices (8.7%). In terms of nationality, the biggest groups of AFRAM-born confreres originate from Ghana (145 or 42%), Congo (84 or 24%), Togo (54 or 15%), Angola (19 or 5.4%), Zambia (15 or 4%), and Kenya (15 or 4%).

In 1996, the first year the Catalogus gave statistics on the country of origin of confreres, AFRAM-born confreres were recorded to be 150, or 2.5% of the total membership of the Society which at this time was 5780. This indicates an increase of 199 confreres in 12 years, or about 17 confreres annually. Of the present 349 AFRAM-born confreres, 253 are assigned in AFRAM and 96 in provinces/regions outside AFRAM – 51 in PANAM, 30 in EUROPE, and 15 in ASPAC. In addition, however, 94 AFRAM born confreres work or study in AFRAM but outside of their own countries. In other words, a total of 190 AFRAM-born confreres are assigned in provinces/regions outside their own countries, while 159 work or study in their own countries of origin. This means that there are more AFRAM-born confreres assigned “ad-extra” than “ad-intra”.

The numbers of “ad-extra” missionaries among the bigger AFRAM-born groups are the following: Ghanaians: 145 = 74 in Ghana, 71 outside Ghana (26 outside AFRAM); Congolese: 84 = 49 in Congo, 35 outside Congo (15 outside of AFRAM); Togolese: 54 = 13 in Togo, 41 outside Togo (15 outside AFRAM); Angolans: 19 = 13 in Angola, 6 outside Angola (4 outside AFRAM).

AFRICA Ad-Intra.

These numbers indicate that the Society has now taken root in AFRAM. Africa-Madagascar is no longer just a mission territory, but a home, for the Society. It is the natural home of some 349 AFRAMborn confreres, as well as the adopted home of about 315 expatriate confreres in the zone and many others intending to come to the zone in the future. AFRAM is now veritably a part of the SVD landscape or a room in the SVD house worldwide. As far as the Society is concerned, AFRAM is no longer just “adextra” but truly “ad-intra”. When we go to AFRAM, we no longer “go out” to Africa, as if Africa were outside the Society. Rather, when we go to AFRAM, we simply “move into” Africa, like moving from one room to another in the same house. Africa is no longer “out there”, but “in here”. Africa is no longer purely mission, where we evangelize others. It is now home, where we share the hopes and joys, the griefs and anxieties of brothers and sisters.

At a recent meeting with superiors general and the Sant’Egidio community to plan activities in Rome to coincide with the coming Second Synod for Africa, someone expressed the hope that “something truly new” emerges out of the synod (or as the Italian had it, a genuine “svolta”, that is, a significant “turnaround”). I believe such a “svolta” will come about if and when the world will be ready to transform its view of Africa itself – no longer a frontier land needing assistance and aid, but an integral part of the international community deserving collaboration and investment. This “svolta” will come about when the so-called “friends of Africa” begin to behave no longer as patronizing benefactors but as respectful partners of Africa.  The US President, Barack Obama, sounded the same note when he declared during his trip to Ghana that Africa’s future must be left to the Africans to determine. Along the same line, the Association of African General Councillors in Rome, in their message and reflection on the coming synod, states: It is our responsibility to work to change the image of Africa. We all need, Africans and non-Africans alike, to change our mentality and attitude towards Africa. Non-Africans should look beyond Africa’s poverty, disease and underdevelopment. They should begin to appreciate her efforts towards liberation and her demand for fair treatment on the international scene. Africans do not want to be considered beggars, but to be given what their efforts or labor demand in justice .... The church in Africa is in a good position to create an enabling environment for such a change of mentality of both the non-Africans and Africans themselves.

Dear confreres, let us join our confreres in and from Africa in praying for a successful synod. Indeed, together with the whole Church, let us pray that the Church in Africa may truly become an instrument at the service of reconciliation, justice and peace in the continent.

Fraternally in the Divine Word,

Antonio M. Pernia, SVD

Last September 23, 2009, the Vatican published the list of those Pope Benedict XVI appointed to participate in the forthcoming Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, due to be held Oct. 4-25 in the Vatican. The theme of the Special Assembly is: “The Church in Africa, at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace, You Are the Salt of the Earth ... You Are the Light of the World”.

The Most Rev. Bishop Vincent Sowah BOI-NAI, Bishop of Yendi celebrated the tenth year anniversary of his Episcopal ordination on July 10, 2009. Exactly 10 years ago, the Rev. Fr. Vincent Boi-Nai was ordained bishop by the late Peter Cardinal Poku Dery, who was then Archbishop of Tamale. The time was ripe for Yendi to be carved out from the Archdiocese of Tamale to become an independent diocese under the leadership of Bishop Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai. His ten years of ministry as Bishop of Yendi Diocese have been filled with actions: he put in place a peace initiative which used reconciliatory meetings to help unify those disturbed by ethnic conflict; built socio-cultural, religious and economic structures to move the diocese forward; and collaborated with local and foreign NGOs to keep the Yendi Diocese alive.

BULAWAYO (ZIM): Episcopal Ordination

September 12, 2009 was truly a memorable day for all SVD confreres in Southern Africa. Monsignor Alex Thomas KALIYANIL became the Archbishop of Bulawayo in a ceremony presided over by Pro Nuncio George Kocherry and Catholic bishops from other parts of the country. A spokesperson for the Church said politicians were not invited this time around because this was a religious event  and the church does not want to be tangled in politics. Fr. General Councilor Gregory PINTO was the representative of the Generalate considering the fact that the mission in Zimbabwe is directly dependent on the Generalate.

Two contracts were signed on August 20th, 2009, between Provincial Joseph KALLANCHIRA and Monsignor Benoît Alowonou, the Ordinary of Kpalimé, The first one concerns our pastoral commitment at the Holy Family Parish, and the second confirms the SVD ownership of a piece of land and the new house built on it. Both the parish and the house are in the suburbs of Kpalimé, in the southwestern part of Togo. The signing ceremony took place in the office of the renovated presbytery of the bishop. This was built in 1907 by the first SVD missionaries to Kpalimé, Fr. Nikolaus Schönig and Bro. Willibrordus Adolphi. The former presbytery of Kpalimé was the SVD Regional House since 1911, coinciding with the appointment of Fr. Franz Wolf as the second Regional of Togo.

The first SVD missionaries sent by our Founder had arrived in Togo in August, 1892. The SVDs went to the region of Kpalimé in 1902. However, the German missionaries had to leave the country in 1917 during World War I, when Togo was taken over by the French.  Thus the SVD returns to Kpalimé after an absence of some 92 years.

*Bishop Joseph Oliver BOWERS, Bishop Emeritus of Saint John’s Basseterre, British Virgin Islands, former bishop of Accra, Ghana, ordained on April 22, 1953, 56 years as Bishop.

*Bishop Gaspard MUDISO Mundla, Bishop of Kenge. Congo, Ordained on April 15, 1998, 11 years as Bishop

*Bishop Franklyn NUBUASAH, Vicar Apostolic of Francistown, Botswana, Titular Bishop of Tauzera, ordained on November 7, 1998, 11 years Bishop

*Bishop Vincent Sowah BOINAI, Bishop of Yendi, Ghana ordained on July 10, 1999, 10 years Bishop.

*Archbishop Michael BLUME, Apostolic Nuncio to Togo-Benin, ordained on September 30, 2005, 4 years Bishop

*Bishop Antonio Francisco JACA, Bishop of Caxito, Angola ordained on July 22, 2007, 2 years as Bishop