Weekly General Audience April 1, 2009

During his April 1 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI offered his reflections on his recent trip to Africa. He first visited Cameroon, where he was struck by the country’s deep religious spirit, and the desire of its people to live and work together in peace. He then journeyed to Angola, a country that continues to strive for reconciliation and reconstruction after a long civil war.

The Holy Father pointed out that his visit was, in a sense, preparation for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops that will take place in Rome this fall, and he invited the faithful around the world to pray that the synod will bear abundant fruit among the people of Africa.

Dear brothers and sisters,

As I announced during the Angelus last Sunday, today I will offer some reflections on my recent apostolic journey to Africa, the first such journey to that continent during my pontificate.

My trip was limited to Cameroon and Angola, but with this trip my desire was to embrace all the people of Africa and, in the name of the Lord, to extend a blessing to them.

I experienced the traditional warmth of African hospitality that awaited me everywhere, and I would like to take this opportunity to express once again my deep gratitude to the bishops’ conferences in these two countries, as well as to their heads of state and to the local officials, for the various ways in which they worked wonders to ensure the success of my pastoral visit.

Cameroon

My stay in Africa began on March 17 in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, where I suddenly found myself in the heart of Africa — and not only in terms of geography.

Indeed, this country embodies many of the characteristics of this great continent, first and foremost its deeply religious spirit, which is shared by all the many ethnic groups that populate the continent.

More than a quarter of the population of Cameroon is Catholic, and Catholics coexist in peace with other religious communities. For this reason, in 1995 my predecessor, John Paul II, chose the capital of this nation to promulgate his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Africa after the first synod assembly that was specifically dedicated to the continent of Africa.

This time, the Pope traveled there to implement the “instrumentum laboris” [working document] for the second synod assembly for Africa that will be held in Rome next October and that will have as its 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’” (Matthew 5:13-14).

During the two meetings that I had with the Conference of Bishops of Cameroon, followed by that of Angola and São Tomé e Principe, which were only two days apart, I reminded them — especially during this Year of St. Paul — of the urgent need for evangelization, which is first and foremost the responsibility of bishops, highlighting its collegial dimension based on sacramental communion.

I exhorted them to always be an example for their priests and for all the faithful and to closely follow the formation of seminarians, who, thanks be to God, are quite numerous, as well as the formation of catechists, who are becoming increasingly necessary for the life of the Church in Africa.

I encouraged the bishops to promote the pastoral care of married couples and families, of liturgy and culture, and also to equip laypeople to resist attacks by sects and esoteric groups. I lovingly confirmed their duty to exercise charity and to defend the rights of the poor.

I also recall the solemn celebration of Vespers that took place in Yaoundé, in the Church of Mary Queen of the Apostles, who is the patroness of Cameroon. It is a large, modern church that was built in the place where the first evangelists of Cameroon — the Spiritan Missionaries — worked.

On the eve of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, to whose loving care God entrusted his most precious treasures, Mary and Jesus, we gave glory to the one Father who is in heaven, together with representatives of other Churches and other ecclesial communities.

Contemplating the spiritual figure of St. Joseph, who dedicated his life to Christ and to the Virgin Mary, I invited the priests, consecrated religious and members of movements within the Church to always remain faithful to their vocation, living in the presence of God and in joyful obedience to his word.

In the apostolic nunciature of Yaoundé, I had the opportunity to also meet with representatives of the Muslim community in Cameroon, highlighting the importance of interreligious dialogue and of Christians and Muslims working together to help the world open up to God. It was truly a very cordial meeting.

The Synod of Bishops

Surely one of the highlights of the trip was the implementation of the “instrumentum laboris” of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, which took place on March 19 — the feast of St. Joseph and my name day — in Yaoundé’s stadium, following the solemn Eucharistic Celebration in honor of St. Joseph.

It took place amid the joyful chorus of God’s people, “amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving, with the multitude keeping festival” as the Psalm says (Psalm 42:5), of which we had a very concrete experience.

The synod assembly will be held in Rome, but, in a sense, it has already begun in the heart of the continent of Africa, in the heart of the Christian family that lives, suffers and hopes there.

For this reason, the publication of the working document on the feast of St. Joseph, a model of faith and hope like Abraham, the first patriarch, seemed to me a fortunate coincidence. Faith in “God who is with us,” who revealed his face of love to us in Jesus, is our guarantee of a reliable hope for Africa and for the entire world, our guarantee for a future of reconciliation, justice and peace.

After the solemn liturgical gathering and the festive presentation of the working document, I was able to meet with members of the Special Council for Africa of the Synod of Bishops in the apostolic nunciature in Yaoundé and experience an intense moment of communion with them.

Together we reflected on the history of Africa from a theological and pastoral perspective.

It was almost as though it were the first meeting of the synod itself, a fraternal discussion between the Pope and the different bishops on the prospects of the synod for reconciliation and for peace in Africa.

Indeed, from the very beginning Christianity has — and this could be seen — sunk deep roots in the soil of Africa, to which numerous martyrs, saints, priests, teachers and catechists attest, flourishing first in the North and then in later eras throughout the rest of the continent.

We have only to remember, first of all, Cyprian, Augustine, his mother Monica, and Athanasius, and then the martyrs of Uganda, Josephine Bakhita, and so many others.

At the present time, when Africa is committed to consolidating its political independence and building a national identity within a more global context, the Church is united with the Africans, reminding them of the great message of the Second Vatican Council, which was applied through the first special synod assembly on Africa and that will now be applied through the second special synod assembly on Africa.

Amid the numerous and tragic conflicts that, unfortunately, continue to afflict different regions of the continent, the Church knows that it must be a sign and instrument of unity and reconciliation, so that all of Africa together may build a future of justice, solidarity and peace by implementing the teachings of the Gospel.

A powerful sign of the humanizing effect of Christ’s message is the Cardinal Léger Center in Yaoundé for the rehabilitation of handicapped people. It was founded by the Canadian Cardinal Paul Emil Léger, who decided to retire there in order to work among the poor after the council in 1968.

In that center, which was later turned over to the government, I met many brothers and sisters who are suffering, sharing with them — but also drawing from them — the hope that comes from faith, even amid suffering.

Angola

The second stop — and the second part of my trip — was Angola, a nation that in many respects is also a symbol.

Indeed, after emerging from a long civil war, it is now committed to the work of reconciliation and national reconstruction.

But how can this reconciliation and reconstruction be authentic if it comes at the expense of those who are most poor, people who have the same right as everyone else to share the resources of their land?

For this reason, during my visit, whose primary purpose was, obviously, to confirm the Church in the faith, it was my desire to encourage the social progress that is taking place there.

In Angola, there is a palpable sense of something my venerated predecessors often said: Everything is lost with war yet everything can be reborn with peace. But great moral energy is required to build a nation.

Here, once again, the Church’s role is important. It is called to play an educational role, deeply engaged in renewing and forming people’s consciences.

St. Paul is the patron saint of the city of Luanda, the capital of Angola. For this reason, on March 21, I chose to celebrate the Eucharist at the church dedicated to this apostle, with priests, seminarians, religious, catechists and other pastoral workers.

Once again, St. Paul’s personal experience of his encounter with the risen Christ, who is capable of transforming people and society, spoke to us. Historical contexts change — we have to take this into account — but Christ remains the true force for a radical renewal of man and of the human community.

Thus, returning to God and being converted to Christ signifies moving forward, moving towards the fullness of life.

Meetings With Youth

In order to express the Church’s solidarity with the efforts for reconstruction in Angola and in many other regions of Africa, I dedicated a meeting in Luanda to the youth and another one to women. The meeting with the youth in the stadium was a festival of joy and of hope, saddened, unfortunately, as we later learned, by the death of two young women who were crushed in a stampede to enter the stadium.

Africa is a very young continent, but too many of her sons and daughters — children and adolescents — have suffered serious wounds.

Only Jesus Christ, who was crucified and has risen, can heal them, by instilling in them, through his Spirit, the power to love and to commit themselves to justice and peace.

Later, I paid tribute to women for the service that so many of them offer to the faith, to human dignity, to life, and to the family.

I reaffirmed their full right to be involved in public life without compromising their role in the family, which is a fundamental mission that must always be carried through shared responsibility with all the other elements of society, especially with their husbands and their parents.

This, then, is the message I left to the new generation and to the women of this world, later sharing it with everyone in the great Eucharistic assembly on Sunday, March 22, which I concelebrated with the bishops of the nations of southern Africa and the participation of 1 million faithful.

I told the people of Africa that if, like ancient Israel, they base their hope on the word of God in the richness of their religious and cultural heritage, they can truly build a future of reconciliation and stable peace for everyone.

Dear brothers and sisters, I have many other reflections in my heart, and many other memories come to mind when I think of this trip! I ask you to join me in thanking the Lord for the wonders that he has done and continues to do in Africa thanks to the generous work of missionaries, religious, volunteers, priests and catechists within young communities full of enthusiasm and faith.

I ask you to pray for the peoples of Africa, who are very dear to me, so that with courage they may face the great social, economic and spiritual challenges of the present day.

Let us entrust everyone and everything to the maternal intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Africa and of all the African saints.

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