“The lay members of Catholic Action in Africa thank Pope Leo XIV for his apostolic journey to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. His teaching encourages them to intensify their commitment and to bear joyful witness to the Gospel on a complex continent, in need of peace and development, yet rich in humanity and hope”.
As Pope Leo XIV makes his way back to Rome, the Coordination Committee of the International Forum of Catholic Action in Africa expresses its gratitude for his mission as a pilgrim of reconciliation and unity in African countries. Eight member countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda) belong to the Forum, but Catholic Action is present in various organisational forms in a further 15 observer countries (Benin, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia). The current Coordination comprises Burundi, Senegal and Cameroon, representing the eastern, western and central regions of the continent.
“The Pope’s visit,” says Jean-Cloud Fort Lamy, President of JEC Adults (RAJEC) and FIAC representative in Cameroon, “leaves a profound mark. To leaders, he reminds them of the need for integrity. To young people, he entrusts the responsibility for the future. To the laity, he asks them to strengthen their role in social transformation. To believers of every denomination, he proposes the path of dialogue. And to the whole of Cameroon, he conveys a strong conviction: Africa is not only the future of the Church, but is already its living present”.
The associations coordinated by FIAC work towards religious formation and engagement in civil society in support of dialogue. Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, in particular, participate in youth conferences for peace in the Great Lakes region, aimed at discussing and sharing strategies to strengthen regional cohesion and stability. The Catholic Action group in Senegal recently took part in a training session on the Church in the service of peace, focusing on mastering conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms, and joined in promoting a national awareness campaign against human trafficking and modern slavery in Africa. There is no lack of concrete commitment: the JEC (Jeunesse Etudiante Catholique) of Burkina Faso is engaged in collecting essential supplies and financial contributions for the country’s internally displaced persons.
“Pope Leo XIV’s journey will have a strong resonance throughout Africa,” emphasises Bishop Salvator NiciteretseB , Bishop of Bururi, President of the Commission for the Laity, Family and Life of the Episcopal Conference of Burundi and FIAC Coordinator for Africa. “Three priorities for the laity: tangible peace in a reality marked by conflict,
suffering, corruption and poverty, with a direct appeal to all leaders; dialogue with other religions and civil society; and special attention to young people. The Pope said in Bamenda: ‘Be the first faces and hands that bring the bread of life to your neighbors, providing them with the food of wisdom and deliverance from all that does not nourish them, but rather obscures good desires and robs them of their dignity’. I am certain that young Africans will take up this invitation and become protagonists of a peaceful future for this land.”
