by Justin Mendy, Senegal, February 1997
THEME = CHURCH
The 58 bishops from Francophone West Africa, have accepted the principle of a "new era of evangelisation", as a pastoral priority for the Church in their region
Bishop Pierre-Marie Coty is Bishop of Daolo, Côte d'Ivoire. During the solemn Mass which concluded the 13th Plenary Session of the Francophone Bishops' Conference of West Africa (CEREAO), he said: "The Church is determined to fulfil her evangelising mission, in spite of being a "recent arrival" in Africa and having limited resources". The Conference was held 4-8 February, at the Foyer de Charité, Cap-des-Biches, about 25 kms from Dakar, capital of Senegal.
The Bishops described this Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation as the "Breviary" (i.e. The book containing the daily prayer of the Catholic Church) for all the faithful, and they must do their utmost to proclaim the Synod message contained in the Exhortation, to all those around them.
"The Church in Africa" (its official Latin title is "Ecclesia in Africa") is the fruit of a grassroots level study, carried out throughout Africa by the bishops, assisted by experts. Its contents will allow the Church in Africa, to proclaim herself in all corners of society, and to witness to the Gospel Message in spite of Africa's poverty, on-going civil wars, proliferation of different sects, xenophobia and ethnic hatred. As the introduction to "The Church in Africa" says: "The Synod was intended to be an occasion of hope and resurrection, at the very moment when human events seemed to be tempting Africa to discouragement and despair".
The CEREAO Bishops took as theme for their Conference: "From the Synod to synods", meaning that now the time has come for the Synod's orientations and the Pope's considerations, to be applied at a local level.
A report was given, on what has already taking place throughout Africa to make the document, "The Church in Africa" better known and better lived. Bishop Anselme Titianma Sanon, outgoing president of the Bishops' Conference (having served two three-year mandates), said this report will help other diocesan synods in their discussions on the African Synod and its practical consequences.
Bishop Sanon has now been replaced by Archbishop Isidore de Souza of Cotonou, who is assisted by Bishop Théodore Adrien Sarr of Kaolack, Senegal, as vice-president. Bishop Sarr is also president of the Bishops' Conference of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau.
During the next three years, leading up to the Jubilee of the Year 2000, these three bishops will have the task of leading and organising a Church in full expansion. A Church with a growing number of faithful, priests, bishops and dioceses. The present tendency is to divide Dioceses into smaller units so as to facilitate government and pastoral efficiency. This expansion will result in an effective renewal among the bishops themselves.
Three dioceses in Burkina Faso, Mali and Benin are presently without bishops. Three new dioceses have just been formed in Benin, Togo and Côte d'Ivoire. Rumour has it that Côte d'Ivoire, will be reorganised into three Ecclesiastical provinces, each one having an Archbishop in the Metropolitan Archdiocese.
Then there's the question of education. The African bishops have discussed with a delegation from the Italian Bishops' Conference, the possibility of establishing a university in West Africa, along the same lines as the one in Kinshasa, Zaire.
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