Lay Catholics must lead as Africa realizes 'continent of hope' potential, Pope says

September 05, 2012

“Never let the dark mentality of relativism and nihilism, which affects various parts of your world, open a breach in your lives,” Pope Benedict XVI implored the Christians of Africa, in a message to the Pan African Congress for Catholic Laity, which is being held in Yaounde, Cameroon, this week.

In his message—addresseed to Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, which is sponsoring this week’s congress—the Pontiff in unsparing in his analysis of the problems that face the African continent today:

Even the best traditional values of African culture are today threatened by secularization, which gives rise to disorientation, rends the fiber of personal and social life, exacerbates tribalism, violence and corruption in public life, leads to the humiliation and exploitation of women and children, and increases poverty and hunger. To this must be added the threat of fundamentalist terrorism which has recently targeted Christian communities in a number of African countries.

However, the Pope also lists that assets that have prompted him to refer to Africa as the “continent of hope”--- “a great wealth of spiritual resources, which are very valuable in our time: love for life and the family, a sense of joy and of sharing, enthusiasm in living their faith in the Lord.”

Lay Catholics hold the key to developing those resources, and bringing about “the transformation of all society, which is so urgent for Africa today,” the Pope says. The urges the lay faithful to act as “ambassadors of the Good News” in their neighborhoods and their countries, becoming “courageous workers for peace and announcers of authentic hope.”

 

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Further information:

• Irreplaceable Role of the Lay Faithful in Making African the Continent of Hope (VIS)