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SEDOS SYMPOSIUM ON THE LINEAMENTA FOR THE SECOND SPECIAL
ASSEMBLY FOR AFRICA
Last March 27,
2009, SEDOS along with USG/UISG and the Association of African
General Councillors (Rome), organized a symposium to discuss the
Lineamenta of the Second Special Assembly for Africa with the
theme "The Church in Africa in the service of reconciliation,
justice and peace". The symposium coincided with the visit of
Pope Benedict XVI in Cameroon and Angola.
There were close to
250 religious men and women who participated in the event. Fr.
General Antonio Pernia, with some members of the General Council
and other SVDs, were participants. Fr. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu SVD,
Secretary General, was one of the two speakers.
In his talk, Fr.
Fianu first highlighted the principal issues of the Lineamenta.
He reminded the participants of the political, economic and
cultural realities of the continent. He pointed out that even
though Africa is often seen as a continent of a continent of
wars, tensions, economic problems and the destruction of
property, it is also a continent of hope and communion. Among
the positive developments on the continent he mentioned the
burning desire for peace throughout the continent; the deep
consciousness of the need to promote African women and the
dignity of every human person and the involvement of the laity
in the promotion of human rights.
In the second part
of his talk he invitated participants to reflect further on what
could enrich the content of the on-going reflection leading to
the Assembly itself. Areas of concern that he proposed included
inter-religious dialogue, Reading and sharing of the Holy
Writings and traditions of the major religions found on the
continent, Reconciliation, justice and peace ad intra; the
prophetic role of priests and consecrated persons;
Reconciliation and healing.
Fr. Fianu concluded
by pointing to the way Africa is perceived by the rest of the
world and by Africans themselves. Very often many people have
negative ideas about the continent and some even think nothing
good can come out of Africa. He called on all to change their
mentality about and their attitude towards Africa. Non-Africans
should look beyond her 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 given what
their efforts or labour demands in justice. The church in
Africa, he said, is in a good position to create an enabling
environment for such a change of mentality by both the Africans
themselves and non-Africans.
The other speaker
was Sister Helen Mbuyamba, general councilor of the Missionary
Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA). She mentioned that the
present crisis in Africa has brought 100 million women to
poverty. She added that "a woman sows seeds into the soul of a
human being that no one can destroy". She emphasized the fact
that within a social organization, a man takes responsibility
for the structures and the woman for the infrastructures. Larger
scale changes are only possible through a radical change of
mentality leading to re-organization of society in all its
spheres. At the end of the presentations, there was a time for
discussion and questions.
Dias, Arlindo Pereira, SVD
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