U.S. bishops urge Catholics to stand by Church in Africa

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – U.S. Catholic bishops have underscored the need for dioceses in the United States to contribute generously to the Solidarity Fund for Africa.

The fund was set up by the bishops in the spirit of their 2001 statement “A Call to Solidarity with Africa.”

The statement underscored the need to help the growing African Church adapt to the pastoral needs and challenges it faces. The statement talked about an African Church challenged by a “proliferation of armed conflict, deterioration in health care and education infrastructures, the weakening of social and community structures, and an increasing spread of disease and other threats to the lives of our African brothers and sisters.”

In a July 9 statement, the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ (USCCB) Office of Public Affairs, called on Catholics across the United States to “answer this call to ‘Stand with Africa’ by participating in their diocese’s annual collection for the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa.”

“Globalization, climate change, and poverty deeply affect the lives of African men and women every day. But amidst rapid societal change, the Catholic Church remains constant, proclaiming the timeless and hopeful message of the Gospel,” said auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith of Portland in Oregon, and chairman of the bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Africa.

“The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa enables the Church to support those who are in dire need of pastoral care and to inspire those whose faith and hope may be flagging,” he said.

Last year, the fund spent $2.1million to finance some 75 projects across Africa.

In Cameroon where a separatist war, Boko Haram incursions as well as endemic corruption have also meant many people are going to prison, funds were made available to help Catholic prison chaplains document abuses and advocate for reform.

Kenya and Uganda were awarded grants to help the people recover spiritually from the COVID-19 pandemic which led to the disintegration of marriages and family violence.

2020 Statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicated that 23.6 percent of Kenyans witnessed or learned of cases of domestic violence in their communities since the restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were introduced.

And a study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Population Council (April 2020) showed that 39 percent of women and 32 percent of men experienced tension in their home environment.

In application of the U.S. Bishops’ Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa, the Church in Kenya organized a series of workshops to help families deal with these challenges.

“The family is one of the most precious values that the Church holds and promotes. If things are right in the family, society will thrive. If things begin going wrong at the family level, society is going to be affected. God intended that as the first unit of society, the family should be a place of holiness, communion and love”, said Bishop John Oballa Owaa of Ngong, while addressing the coordinators of family life of his diocese who participated in one of the training seminars.

In Eastern Africa, the Sisters of the Association of Consecrated Women received theological and practical training. This equipped them to apply Catholic social teaching to address various threats to human life, including issues like human trafficking and environmental degradation.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the public sector faces rampant financial corruption, diocesan and parish staff focused on proper church administration and financial stewardship. Additionally, in South Africa and Namibia, ethnic groups received hymnals in the Xhosa and Rumanyo languages, along with a Bible in the language of the Rukwangali people.

As the U.S. bishops canvass for more funds to help the suffering Church in Africa, the Director of Social Communications at the South Sudan Bishop’s Conference told Crux he hopes communication will be a top priority when financial assistance comes through.

“As a conference there might be many things to think about, “said Father John Gbemboyo.

“My area, which is Communication, remains a priority concern for the department. This is because there has not been a well-established office in terms of human resources, equipment, and infrastructure et cetera,” he said.

“We are having a social communication strategic plan, which the Solidarity Fund for Africa helped us to develop, and we are yet to begin its implementation. We have started to develop projects along those lines. This stands out as our country and Dioceses are vast, we need to prioritize communication networks,” Gbemboyo added.

The U.S. bishops say their extension of solidarity to the Church in Africa is predicated on two things: The fact that the continent is a source of hope to the Catholic Church, and the fact that it continues to be blighted by a broad range of problems.

Vatican statistics indicate that the Catholic population in Africa in 2021 equaled 265 million or 18 percent of the continent’s population.

Conversely, the Catholic population in Europe has continued to decline.

Smith said God “wants to walk with everyone through whatever hardships or heartaches we suffer.”

“That is the purpose of the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa. Gifts to this fund make God’s love tangible,” the American bishop said.