A new synod for Africa

The Catholic Church in Africa will be invigorated by Pope John Paul’s announcement that he plans to convene a second African Synod of Bishops, a decade after the first synod ended.

Africa is a dynamic continent. Since the first synod, the number of Catholics, consecrated and lay, has increased; democratic and accountable government is slowly establishing itself as a desirable norm (setbacks such as the political crises in Zimbabwe or the Ivory Coast notwithstanding); and there is a growing movement towards greater self-reliance and the assertion of an African self-confidence.

Of course, there remain acute difficulties that continue to undermine continental optimism. The Aids pandemic is threatening to kill Africa’s youth; poverty remains prevalent; ethnic wars are yet to be eradicated (one recalls that the first synod coincided with the genocide in Rwanda); and relations between Christians and Muslims in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania have become increasingly violent.

New realities affecting Africa have arisen in the past ten years: the rise of the Internet, for example, or the spread of global terrorism. The dynamics of globalisation have evolved. The Organisation of African Unity has been replaced by the African Union, and the continent now has a Pan-African Parliament. South Africa has moved from being an African pariah to one of its most important economic and political powers.

These developments affect the way the Church functions in Africa.

There are also ecclesial issues that will require examination and review, especially the question of inculturation, a field in which South Africa still lags behind. When Pope John Paul issued his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Africa in 1995, he acknowledged the significance of inculturation, but did not deal with this sensitive question in much detail.

One may presume that some of the more controversial issues in the inculturation debate will be raised as the Church in Africa prepares for the eventual synod of African bishops in Rome.

Among such issues will be the complicated status of traditionally African marriage within the Church, and the question of how to reconcile ancestor worship with Catholic doctrine.

When preparing for the 1994 synod, the late Archbishop Boniface Haushiku of Windhoek said: “Our Namibian African people have accepted Christ. But this Christ walks too much among them in a European garment.” The second synod represents an opportunity to give Christ an overdue African makeover.

Another issue likely to be raised concerns the shortage of deacons in Africa. Of the continent’s 350 permanent deacons, nearly 60% are in South Africa, and 12% in Namibia. Given the vast rural areas many priests in Africa serve, some communities very rarely enjoy the benefit of holy Mass.

The question of viri probati priests–married men of high standing who may receive an exemption from celibacy to become priests, where circumstances require it–may well come up, at least during the preparatory sessions.

Indeed, it is in these pre-synodal meetings and consultations, which one hopes will involve the laity in a meaningful way, that the local Church will be energised in a more profound way than the actual synod, which will be managed by Rome.

Here will be an opportunity for Africa’s People of God to share their experiences, perspectives and visions. It is in the process of such discourse that the Church in Africa can meet to find a common hope, strategy and growth.