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From MISNAMarch 19, 2009
“Africa is called to hope through you and in you! With Jesus
Christ who had walked on the African soil, Africa can become the continent of
hope”, said Pope Benedict XVI addressing the bishops of Cameroon, the
representatives of the African Bishops’ Conference, the priests and the
faithful, during the Mass celebrated in the Amadou Ahidjo stadium of Yaoundé on
the occasion of the publication of the Instrumentum Laboris of the 2nd Special
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa - to be held in Rome next October.
On the liturgical Feast of Saint Joseph marked today, the Pope exhorted all the
fathers and mothers of family “to trust in God” encouraging them “in this time,
in which many unscrupulous persons are trying to impose the kingdom of money
thus despising indigent people” not to let themselves be lured by false glory
and false ideals,” but to ask God “the strength to educate your family as He
wish”.
Emphasizing the many difficulties faced each day by African populations in
social contexts that are profoundly changing, Benedict XVI in particular
addressed the youth calling on them to “keep their courage in facing the
hardships of life” for “your existence is extremely valuable in God’s eyes”.
The mass was preceded this morning by a meeting with the representatives of the
Muslim community in Cameroon, held in the Apostolic Nuncio’s residence of
Yaoundé. The Pontiff defined the meeting as a “clear sign of the desire” to
“find occasions for exchanging views on how religion is making a fundamental
contribution to the understanding of our culture and of our world and to the
peaceful coexistence of all the members of the human family”.
Benedict XVI ended his speech to the Muslim community, encouraging everyone “to
work together in order to build a civilization of love. May the enthusiastic
co-operation between Muslims, Catholics, and other Christians in Cameroon be,
for other African regions, a bright light on the huge potential of an
inter-religious commitment to peace, justice, and common good”.
Speaking yesterday to the Bishops of Cameroon, Benedict XVI invited them to
“firmly preserve the fundamental values of the African family, making its deep
evangelization one of their main priorities”. Pope Benedict XVI this afternoon
will visit the national rehabilitation centre for disabled and this evening will
discuss with the next Synod with the Bishops, giving a new speech and new
recommendations.
