Synod Highlights Africa’s Potential
Posted by Edward Pentin
Saturday, October 10, 2009 11:57 PM
As the first week of the Synod on Africa comes to a close, what has been the main issue exercising the minds of the synod fathers so far?
Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer Buckle of Accra, Ghana, gave his opinion at a press conference Friday afternoon. “What is beautiful is that there’s a convergence that reconciliation is a problem all over, and that working for justice and for peace is... READ MORE
Filed under africa, synod
African Synod’s First Week
Posted by Edward Pentin
Friday, October 09, 2009 8:51 AM
Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana (CNS)
So far the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, taking place at the Vatican until Oct. 25, has extensively covered core issues facing the continent, from the problem of ethnic conflicts and sects, to poverty, poor governance and the Church’s role in fostering justice, peace and reconciliation.
As well as his comments already reported here, Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah... READ MORE
Filed under africa, synod
The Continent of Hope
Posted by Tom McFeely
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:14 PM
A crowd waves goodbye as the Pope Benedict leaves Yaounde, Cameroon March 20. (CNS/Reuters)
To many, Pope Benedict XVI’s description of Africa as “the continent of hope” sounds jarring and bizarre.
And against the long-standing, pejorative image of Africa as “the dark continent” — an image reinforced by the contemporary scourges of disease, war, poverty, endemic political corruption and entrenched economic and social inequity that blight African societies — the Pope’s... READ MORE
Filed under africa, u.s. bishops
The Case Against Condoms
Posted by Tom McFeely
Thursday, March 26, 2009 10:01 AM
A cross with a red ribbon hangs on the chapel door of the African Jesuit AIDS Network in Nairobi, Kenya. (CNS)
This article, by Jesuit Father Michael Czerny, is a fantastic resource for defending what Pope Benedict XVI said last week about the ineffectiveness of condoms in combating AIDS.
Father Czerny knows the subject far more intimately than virtually all of the Pope’s noisy media critics. He deals every day with the issue of helping African AIDS victims and working to prevent AIDS transmission... READ MORE
Filed under africa, aids, condoms
Faith Amid Africa’s Struggles
Posted by Tom McFeely
Monday, March 23, 2009 7:34 AM
(CNS/Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo)
This poignant photo features a group of children standing atop a mountain of trash to catch a glimpse of Pope Benedict XVI celebrating Mass yesterday in Luanda, Angola.
It highlights comments the Pope made today as he concluded his African trip.
And it should remind us that Africans need authentic material help — not condoms.
Here’s what the Holy Father said, according to Vatican... READ MORE
Filed under africa, benedict xvi
Benedict’s African Triumph
Posted by Tom McFeely
Friday, March 20, 2009 2:49 PM
Cameroonians wave good-bye with papal flags as Pope Benedict XVI's plane departs today. (CNS/Reuters)
“It’s almost as if the Pope has made two separate visits to Cameroon: the one reported internationally and the one Africans actually experienced.
“In the U.S. and many other parts of the world, coverage has been ‘all condoms, all the time,’ triggered by comments from Benedict aboard the papal plane to the effect that condoms aren’t the right way to fight AIDS. In Africa, meanwhile, the... READ MORE
Filed under africa, benedict xvi, condoms
The African View of Condoms
Posted by Tom McFeely
Thursday, March 19, 2009 10:25 AM
Africans at today's papal Mass. (CNS/Reuters)
Western media are claiming the Pope committed a colossal public-relations gaffe Tuesday while flying to Cameroon by rejecting condoms as a means of fighting AIDS.
Africans — who must deal with the tragic reality that the “rubberization” of their societies with condoms has failed dismally in preventing AIDS — don’t agree.
“Pope Benedict XVI’s claim yesterday that condoms actually... READ MORE
Filed under africa, aids, benedict xvi, condoms
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