God Bless Africa!

The hour of Africa has come, Pope John Paul exclaimed twenty years ago in his Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa, which was written in 1995 after a Special Synod of Bishops on that Continent. John Paul had a deep love of Africa and was very attentive to its needs, visiting the Continent on multiple occasions and reaching around forty African countries in the course of his long pontificate.

This writer, in contrast, has made just two short visits to Africa, the second at the end of 2016, but my experience, brief as it was, has nevertheless prompted these short reflections, which have also been nourished by a reading of Ecclesia in Africa.

A first reflection is that a visit to Africa takes you out of your comfort zone and reminds the European visitor that he does indeed live in a comfort zone! Vaccinations, anti-malaria tablets, unfamiliar food, stifling heat, uncomfortable travel conditions, challenging roads, disconcerting poverty…. The comforts of Europe, at least for the middle classes, can often be taken for granted.

A short visit to Africa does not provide an in-depth experience of the challenges the Continent faces but it does give an introductory flavour and helps you to appreciate more fully the long- term service of others, including those from Ireland.

In late 2016, I visited a Focolare mission in Fontem in the Cameroon where my late sister worked for a period as a doctor. I was deeply impressed by the wonderful work done by the Focolare movement over fifty years, through its announcement and living of the Gospel in local parishes, through the establishment of a school and hospital as well as carpentry and building workshops and through its respectful interaction with local people and their rich cultural traditions. Great strides have been made in fifty years, for example, there has been a huge reduction in infant mortality and major progress in the education of the young.

Irish religious had not been particularly present in the corner of Africa I visited, though Irish Holy Rosary sisters had done sterling work in a nearby region. However, my African visit made me reflect again on the great work done, and hardships endured, by overseas missionaries, including those from our own country. Irish Congregations in Africa have included the Spiritans, the SMA and OLA societies, the Kiltegan Fathers, the White Fathers and the Medical Missionaries of Mary, to name but a few. Ecclesia in Africa wrote of ‘the heroic and selfless dedication of generations of missionaries’ (par. 35) As one example of this dedication, I recalled the experience of a missionary relative, who served in Nigeria in the 1950s at a time of poor communications with home and only heard of his mother’s death well after the event.

Contact with Africa inevitably provokes reflection on the future of that great Continent and its future place on the world stage.

While global population projections must be treated with considerable caution as they have often been associated with alarmist ‘population explosion’ propaganda, it does seem fair to say that the African Continent is moving to the global top table in population terms, at the same time as Europe declines. With a population of over a billion people, up from around 220 million in 1950, it has overtaken Europe and, according to the website geohive.com, may contain close to a quarter of the world’s population by 2050 while Europe’s share, if its demographic decline continues, is likely to have decreased from nearly 22% in 1950 to around 8% by 2050. The implications of these major demographic changes for future global politics and economics will be worked out in the coming decades.

Africa’s pro-life culture received strong praise in Ecclesia in Africa: ‘The peoples of Africa respect the life which is conceived and born. They rejoice in this life. They reject the idea that it can be destroyed, even when the so-called ‘progressive civilizations’ would like to lead them in this direction…’ (EA, 43). That document also stated that the Church in Africa ’stands resolutely on the side of the oppressed and of voiceless and of marginalized people’ (EA, 44).

Ecclesia in Africa also called attention in a very direct way to Africa’s needs, arguing that its peoples faced huge difficulties but that the Church had the duty to affirm vigorously that these difficulties could be overcome: ‘History is not closed in upon itself but is open to God’s Kingdom’ (EA, 14).

Africa will face major economic and social challenges in the decades ahead and will continue to need fraternal support and solidarity from elsewhere but the visitor leaves with a strong sense of the Continent’s great human riches. Ecclesia in Africa summarizes these as being a profound religious sense, love of the family and respect for life, veneration of ancestors, and an acute sense of solidarity and community.

During my visit, I was particularly struck by the strong African sense of community, expressed in vibrant celebrations of Mass and joyful singing and dancing, the blaze of bright colours, the straight talking, the gracious welcome offered to the outsider and a deep sense of belonging to the Church, as reflected, for example, in the pride expressed in their Catholic school by past pupils walking in procession in class years at the anniversary celebration of the school.

Twenty years ago, Ecclesia in Africa stated that the growth of the Church in Africa in recent centuries has been a marvellous work of divine grace and a gift of God. It commended the achievements of the Church in areas such as education and healthcare and the missionary initiatives ‘boldly undertaken’ by the young Churches of Africa. Today’s visitor also leaves with the strong conviction that, while Africa’s needs are many and considerable, the Continent and its peoples are also a great gift to the Church and the world. God Bless Africa!