INTRODUCTION
A group of Third-World priest students in Rome, including the author, paid a study tour to the world's headquarters of Church funding agencies in Aachen, Germany. We visited, among other places, the offices of Misereor, Missio and Kinder Missionswerk where they explained the main sources of their funds to us, the philosophy behind the giving of grants and the modalities for making applications. We were told that most of the funds come from church taxes, free donations and the Bishop's Lenten and Christmas charity campaigns.
These funding organisations receive thousands of applications, mostly from the Third World partners, every year. A partner may be a Diocese, a circumscription of a religious institute or other juridical persons such as NGO's dedicated to the dignity of the human person and the promotion of the social order. Given the bulk of applications the funding agencies receive annually, the funds are overstretched. This reality was put to us rather bluntly as follows, "Today there is donor-fatigue in Europe and you (to us) must find ways in which you can support your young churches".
This article is, therefore, a result of my reflections after that amicable visit and the exchanges with the authorities of Misereor and Missio, in particular. I have been forced to ask the following question: Have the funds which the Church in Africa has been receiving over the years done it any good or have they merely brain-washed it and helped to keep it more dependent?
A CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH IN AFRICA TO BE SELF-SUPPORTING
Most of the local churches in Africa mainly survive on donations from overseas. This dependent syndrome is even worse in religious congregations where African circumscriptions rely almost wholly on the allocations from their general administration in Rome and other charity organisations. It is not a secret, for instance, that in my own province of East Africa of the Holy Ghost Fathers and Brothers, 99.9 per cent of our annual budget-income comes from overseas donations. Such a dependence on European and North American donations makes one fear for the future of the Church in Africa to the point of asking: "How long will African Christians continue to be at the receiving end? Don't the Scriptures say that there is more happiness in giving than in receiving? Then why are people in Africa comfortable with only receiving?"
Given this situation of dependence I cannot help questioning the wisdom of the expatriate missionaries who continue dishing out funds from home countries even to places where the Church is fully established. Isn't it a way of making people passive recipients and perpetuating the negative image of Africa by the Western media which presents Africans as poor, shabby, emaciated and hungry looking? These media hardly speak of the good aspects of the African continent. It, however, appears as though Africans have also accepted such as negative image, so much so that it has destroyed their self-confidence to the extent of making them underestimate their abilities.
A good number of Dioceses in the East African region could support themselves if they were to be sincere and realistic. But it is, perhaps, easier for Bishops and religious superiors to sit down and plan for projects and make applications to Misereor, Missio or Kirche in Not, Adveniat, Oxfam, etc. than to mobilise their people and create missionary awareness in them. No doubt, Christians are capable of making significant contributions towards supporting their own, as well as the nearby churches.
It is important to note here that true and estimable charity is not found in the continuous giving of fish to a hungry person, but in teaching him/her how to fish. This will give him/her the necessary techniques and the required implements for fishing. Once he/she knows how to fish, then he/she will have no need for charity-fish. This should be the spirit and philosophy underlying the giving of grants because permanent hand-outs tend to impoverish and brain-wash the one receiving and block his/her faculty of thinking.
THE CHURCH IN AFRICA REACHES ADULTHOOD
In his Exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa, Pope John Paul II affirms the Church in Africa as follows:
"The Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops was an historic moment of grace: the Lord visited His people in Africa. Indeed, this continent is today experiencing what we call a sign of the times, an acceptable time, a day of salvation. It seems that the "hour of Africa" has come, a favourable time ..." (Ecclesia in Africa, n. 6).
The Pope's expressions: "historical moment of grace", "a sign of the times", "an acceptable time" and "hour of Africa" indicate his conviction that the Synod was a golden opportunity for Africa. It was an opportune moment for Christians throughout the continent to embrace the liberating message of the Gospel. If allowed to take root in people's hearts, the Good News of Jesus Christ will set them free from poverty, hunger, illiteracy, sickness and other human-made problems. This is, therefore, the favoured time to re-construct the disfigured image of Africa by interpreting the signs of the times and listening to what the Spirit is communicating through this historical moment. Failure to do this might lead to the present Church dying and disappearing in the same way the Post-Apostolic North African Church and the 15th and 16th centuries Portuguese evangelisation in sub-Saharan Africa did.
The celebration of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops was, among other things, a sign of maturity. It meant that the Church in Africa had come of age. From then onwards it was not supposed to be regarded as a young Church as had often been the case. It had now become adult; a stage which, in traditional African society, was normally entered after circumcision. The convocation and the joyous celebration of the Synod was, therefore, a celebration of circumcision for the Church in Africa. It had attained adulthood and was expected to make its contribution to the universal Church's mission of evangelisation and be a sign of hope for humankind.
The Holy Father often refers to the Churches of Africa, Asia and Latin America as the "hope" of the Church so the question Christians in Africa have to address themselves to is: "What contribution does the Church in Africa make towards this "hope" of the universal Church?" The answer cannot be found in one or two aspects, but it should include the entire Christian attitude towards life, reflected in people's ability to generously build their home by themselves.
A CALL FOR CHANGE OF ATTITUDE AMONG CATHOLICS IN AFRICA
Generosity, community living and sharing are African as well as Gospel values. But, they do not seem to be visible within the local churches, prompting the question: What has gone wrong? Something, which cannot be simply explained by reasons of poverty, must have gone wrong because even among the poor there exists a lot of sharing. Experience has shown that even in Europe and North America the people who contribute most to the charitable organisations are not the rich, but those who have the minimum.
The problem, I think, lies in what I would call, a deformed mentality. Christians in Africa have been receiving hand-outs from outside, especially from missionaries for so long that the image they have of a White missionary is that of someone who has everything and is autonomous. He (priest) or she (nun) can build church structures, schools, hospitals, dispensaries and social centres for the local people without their contribution as long as they embrace his/her religion and believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the One who founded it and the One Triune God. The missionaries will take care of their material needs. Is there any wonder, therefore, that the Church and its structures have remained a foreign institution in Africa up to this day and Africans continue to be strangers to it? This is an unfortunate and sad situation after almost a century of evangelisation in many parts of the continent. The next step after the African Synod should be to marry the Church with the African cultures.
The dependent mentality, according to my experience in Kenya where I served for some years, is more predominant among Catholics than the other Christian denominations and the various Christian Sects which are quite different and better informed of their responsibilities. The bigger groups such as the African Inland Church (AIC) Church Province of Kenya (CPK) and especially the Pentecostal and other independent Churches sacrifice a lot in order to build their places of worship, dispensaries and social centres. Their structures are, of course, not as big and as beautiful as the Catholic ones, but, nevertheless, it is the fruit of their energies and sacrifices. They have a right to feel proud of their achievements, no matter how small.
It takes years to change an attitude which has almost become a philosophy of life. This must come from within as it requires some sacrifices on the part of those involved. The agents of change in any society are the pastors, but unfortunately these are themselves a product of the receiving mentality. One of their great handicaps is that they have become foreign to their own people. After Ordination, the new priest climbs a step high up on the social ladder. He is expected to join a special mystery clan and so becomes a mystery himself, even to his own family. To most people, how priests get their income and survive economically is not clear and some of them, including seminarians in major seminaries and newly ordained priests think that priests, are paid by the Pope or by some organisation in the Vatican.
There is need to stress to the people that priests are not a different breed. As a matter of fact, they are ordained for service. They are like the high priests chosen from their own people and appointed to act on behalf of God by offering gifts and sacrifices for sins (cf. Heb 5:l). Their ordination to the priest-hood should not make them different from their fellow Christians (except for the role they play). However, the challenge is for them to free themselves from this special-breed mentality and assume their true role of service. In this way, they will not remain strangers to their own people and vice versa. There ought to be a point of convergence between the two. For this to happen, the seminary training must be modified. Directors and other formators have to be trained on the African approach to training. In spite of the universal principles, of which the Church in Africa must not lose sight, there is need to encourage the teaching of African philosophy, cultures, poetry, music, morality, ethics and customary laws in the seminary in order to prepare priests who will be competent to serve their own people wholeheartedly.
MAJOR TASKS AHEAD FOR THE CHURCH IN AFRICA
i) Inculturation
According to the African Synod, inculturation is the meeting point between culture and faith. It ought to be a priority in evangelisation because it is necessary for rooting the Gospel in Africa (Propositio, n. 29). In and through it catechesis has taken flesh in various cultures (Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae, n. 53). True inculturation must be based on a correct, generous and constructive mentality. It is the option to live the Gospel as Africans, with African values and world-view. Pope John Paul II once said, "A faith that does not become culture is not fully accepted, not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived" (Insegnamenti V/1 (1982), p. 131). This is the "hour for Africa" to evangelise itself and open its horizons to the Ad extra evangelisation.
ii) Speaking up for the voiceless
Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has forcefully engaged in the socio-political and economic problems hindering humankind from being truly the image and likeness of God. As stated in Gaudium et Spes, "The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well..." (n. 1). Consequently, the Church in Africa cannot be at the service of the people of this continent without being interested in the socio-economic and political problems affecting the daily life of Christians and the followers of the other confessions.
For the past few years, justice and peace has been a main theme in the Church's social teaching. It was the theme for discussion in 1980 during the Synod of Bishops and a sub-theme during the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. This shows that the Church will not keep quiet when God's people particularly, the poor and the weak, the refugees and displaced are suffering and deprived of their basic human rights and the dignity of having a home. In his article, "Violence and State Security in Africa: A Sociological Analysis", which was published in Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology, Vol. 7:1-2, 1995, p. 5, A. Ebbuley laments Africa's pathetic situation as follows:
The current African situation, beset by conflicts and violence, is drawing attention all over the world. It is no good news! It is turmoil, communal conflict and violence, hatred and malicious actions towards ethnic groups in the same nation-State. There are institutionalised divisions, deep-rooted enmity between ethnic groups, religious sects and belief-systems. These have flared up in conflagration which are wreaking havoc on the innocent lives, sowing death and destruction on citizens and bringing economic ruin. Millions of people have fled and continue to flee their homes across national borders. Mass immigrantion has resulted in overcrowded and cholera-ridden refugee camps where people die pathetically from apocalyptic diseases and plagues. Most of these are fleeing wars and government repression ... .
The Church in Africa must continue to exercise its prophetic role and be the "voice of the voiceless" (cf. Propositio, n. 45; Ecclesia in Africa, n. 70). It is a very important task, which must be accomplished through the collaboration of each and everybody as the universal Church prepares for the third millennium. Archbishop Jaime Pedro Gonçalves of Beira, Mozambique in his intervention during the African Synod said, "Africa in the year 2000 will undergo many changes, it will write new pages in its history and will discover new facets of its identity" (New People Magazine, 9 March 1995, p. 16). Will the Church in Africa live up to that challenge?
Ref.: AFER,
Vol. 39, No. 1, February, 1997.
Fr Rogath Kimaryo, CSSp. is a Holy Ghost priest from Tanzania. He used to teach at Tangaza College, Nairobi, Kenya, but at the moment he is studying in Rome. He is a regular contributor to AFER. His address is: Congregazione dello Spirito Santo, Clivo di Cinna, 195, 00136 ROME, Italy.