(Bishop of Wa, Ghana)
1. The Laity
Much has been said about the dichotomy that exists between faith and life in Africa in contrast to the African Traditional Religion where such dichotomy did not exist. I believe this is so because certain vital areas of life in Africa have not been properly evangelised: the family, the social, political, professional and public life.
2. The Youth
A significant branch of the laity is the Youth, and what I have said about the formation of the laity applies with even greater force to the youth. The reasons are obvious:
- the youth form the largest percentage of the people of God.
- most of our vocations to the priesthood and the religious life come from the youth
- the youth are the future of the Church and society: as Pope John Paul Ii says: "the youth are the hope of the Church and the world. Therefore, all young people must feel that they are accompanied and supported by the Church. The Church must share with young people the assurance which is Christ and the love which is Christ. This must be accompanied through a fitting formation. Young people are waiting. The Church must not disappoint them" (Address to the Roman Curia, 20 December, 1985). This Synod must not disappoint them.
3. Promotion of Women
The position of the African woman still leaves much to be desired. The percentage of illiteracy ranks high among African women. She is often accused of the worse evils in the community, for instance, witchcraft, sorcery, and soul eating. Yet the woman is the backbone and the main-stay of the family in Africa. Without the man many children can still survive but without the woman no child can survive. African women often find themselves in vulnerable postings and therefore are exposed to exploitation and other evils: they serve as housemaids, bar tenders, secretaries; they suffer from widowhood, barrenness, divorce. They neither belong fully to their own clan nor to the clan of the husband.
4. Grinding poverty
Abject poverty prevents many Africans from living a decent human and Christian life. It adversely affects marriage and family life, it affects our health and education, it is often the cause of drug abuse, drop outs in schools, street children and the spread of AIDS. It is at the bottom of migration, exploitation and the chronic vices of bribery and corruption so inseparably connected with Africa.
Our institutions, celebrations, presbyteries, religious houses and the lifestyle of pastoral workers should always reflect the noble simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Original text: English
