Is 2009 the 'year of Africa' for the Catholic Church?

October 30, 2008

John Allen, the veteran Vatican-watcher of the National Catholic Reporter, sees a heavy emphasis on African affairs in Vatican plans for the coming year. He points to the African Synod in October 2009 and the Pope's trip to Cameroon and Angola in March. African nations figure prominently in the Vatican's efforts to address the plagues of poverty, disease, and warfare. The continent is a crucial area for the confrontation between Christianity and Islam. And the Catholic Church is growing rapidly on the continent-- although not without difficulties.

 

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Further information:

• 2009 shaping up as a 'Year of Africa' in Catholicism (John Allen/NCR)