Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abidjan (Agenzia Fides) – Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, accompanied by Archbishop Robert Sarah, Secretary of the same Dicastery, traveled to Abidjan (Ivory Coast) where he addressed the Bishops gathered in their XVII Assembly of the Regional Episcopal Conference of French-Speaking West Africa (Conférence Episcopale Régionale de l'Afrique de l'Ouest Francophone, CERAO), which took place in the city February 2-8.
The Cardinal expressed his delight and that of Archbishop Sarah, at being able to meet with the Bishops of Western Africa and, above all, transmit them the “paternal and most affectionate greetings of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, along with his Apostolic Blessing and the assurance of his prayers for the complete successful outcome of their work.”
The Cardinal then offered a brief historical analysis of the fusion that occurred between the two Regional Bishops' Conferences (the French-speaking, CERAO, and the English-speaking, AECAWA), recalling the “new Pentecost” experienced in Abuja on September 7, 2007 that continues in the XVII Assembly of CERAO, “that with AECAWA, will now form a single regional entity called ACEAO. I wanted to assure you that I have given great thanks to God for being able to preside the opening event of this final assembly of your French-speaking Regional Conference, begun 45 years ago – nearly half a century ago.”
The Cardinal continued: “The archives of Propaganda Fides show that it was right here in Anyama, June 11-14, 1963, that the CERAO began in that, its first Assembly that the Founding Fathers back then called the 'Plenary Conference.'” The Council maintained that the Bishops' Conference should be “a means of manifesting the human, cultural, socio-political, and juridical mediation of the Church's universality towards the individual dioceses entrusted to the Bishops.”
Cardinal Dias highlighted the dynamic character manifest in these 45 years by the CERAO and the role played by many of the “elders” who had recently passed away: “Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, Paul Zoungrana, Bernard Yago, Hyacinthe Thiandoum, and Monseñor Luc Sangaré, just to name some of the most outstanding, who have already been called to return to the Father's House,” and whom he thanked and praised.
The Cardinal Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery affirmed that the Bishops that followed “showed the same dynamism, the same pastoral intelligence, and the same missionary solicitude and fecundity.” The third generation, those of the last two decades, the Cardinal said, are greater in number and find two situations that they must face: “On the one hand, the individuation of the pastoral guidelines of the dioceses that many times have 40 years of life, with their relative dynamics of inculturation that must be identified and discerned, and on the other, the patrimony of the CERAO which becomes one of the necessary schools of pastoral ministry of these great unions...” Cardinal Dias revealed his intention to pause and reflect on the inculturation of the liturgy, “which we have been able to see mature in many ways in Asia and Africa...”
In order to carry on the diocesan pastoral ministry, “there is a need to insert it in the pastoral plan for the entire national Bishops' Conference,” which should take into account the great fragmentation of the Continent's nations. “There is a need to face the inherent difficulties in the reception and assumption of the two-fold situation indicated,” however there is also the challenge of the passing to the ACEAO.” This is why they should be well-informed on what they need to assimilate and the challenges they need to face.
Cardinal Dias insisted on the fact that a new Pentecost has been made possible in the Western Region of the Church in Africa, “thanks to the concrete and structured character of the Christological principle lived by the founding Bishops: the organic pastoral solidarity based on the three Messianic roles.” This two-fold Christological and pneumological is indispensable “in the activity of the new era that is to be faced: the ACEAO era.” It will have to be a “path of faith and love, completely filled with the presence of Christ and led by the Spirit,” the Cardinal affirmed. Moreover, in this year dedicated to Saint Paul, the Bishops should live and help the communities to live out a profound intimacy with Christ, according to the words of the Apostle: “I live no longer I, but it is Christ who lives in me.”
In Africa, there are plenty of challenges and these are a concern for Pastors: “The human, priestly, spiritual, moral growth and holiness of your priests and the entire People of God (...). I wish to bring your attention to the challenges that may come from the outside, as a result of worldliness.” This is why the “seriousness of the challenges invites Pastors like you to proceed with prudence, discernment, and reflection.”
In response to the “generalized phenomenon of the fall of the financial and employment worlds,” the Cardinal said, “we should ask ourselves what God is trying to say to us through these events.” “Perhaps (...) he wishes to invite us to seriously analyze the firmness of the spiritual basis of our Christians.”
To end, in response to the many problems posed by the world, the Cardinal declared: “As builders of the spiritual dwelling place of our people, we should discern well what the Spirit is telling His Church today, and learn to read the signs of the times between the lines of the world stock numbers.”
In facing the serious problems of humanity, Cardinal Dias said, the Bishops should be alert and vigilant. Lastly, the Cardinal wished all those present a fruitful workshop and assured them of his prayers. (JM) (Agenzia Fides 9/2/2008)
