A woman works in her stunted maize field due to the unrelenting heat and poor rainfall in the drought-prone Buhera area of Zimbabwe. (Photo: AFP)
The bishops of the United States have pledged more than US$1.36 million raised from a special collection to support pastoral activities on the African continent.
The Subcommittee on the Church in Africa of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved grants for 56 pastoral projects to support African bishops’ conferences, regional associations of bishops’ conferences and regional associations of religious congregations this summer.
The sum will support pastoral care, leadership development, evangelization and social ministry in Africa where the Church remains a beacon of hope despite persistent poverty, conflict and drought.
“We are grateful to the many Catholics who gave to the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa in 2020, despite their own personal hardships resulting from the Covid pandemic,” said Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, chairman of the USCCB’s subcommittee on the Church in Africa.
“These gifts will work wonders in the lives of African Catholics, who are eager to share the Gospel, care for their brothers and sisters and raise up a new generation of Catholic leaders who will work for a more just and faithful society.
“Even a small gift goes a long way in these countries, and many small gifts added together make a major difference in the lives of individuals, parishes and dioceses.”
By addressing the urgent pastoral needs and strengthening the capacity of the Church in Africa, these projects help build on and channel that energy
The 56 projects focus on pastoral and capacity building including implementing Pope Francis’s Laudato Si' in Zambia, training pastoral counselors for those traumatized by Covid’s impact in Zimbabwe, promoting evangelization in local languages in Togo and organizing interfaith support for the pastoral care of refugees in Uganda.
Other projects include creating a men’s ministry modeled on the example of St. Joseph in Malawi, reinforcing the local Church’s capacity to protect minors and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse across all the dioceses in Burundi, and building the skills of catechists in Cameroon to address the psycho-social needs of displaced persons who have fled their homes to escape violence.
Cardinal Tobin said the young and growing Church in Africa is filled with an energetic spirit of discipleship.
“By addressing the urgent pastoral needs and strengthening the capacity of the Church in Africa, these projects help build on and channel that energy and show countless people the love and mercy of Jesus through the Catholic Church,” he said.
The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa was founded on the basic principles of St. John Paul II’s call to action in Ecclesia in Africa and the adoption of the statement "A Call to Solidarity with Africa" from the bishops of the United States.
Africa faces the economic and social hurdles of enormous debt, epidemics, severe poverty and political unrest. Despite those challenges, the Church in Africa has almost tripled in size in the past 30 years.
