Catholic Bishop in Angola Calls for Promotion of “values of unity, communion, fraternity”

Luanda, 23 January, 2024 / 12:20 AM

Bishop António Lungieki Pedro Bengui has called on followers of Christ in Angola to be part of the promoters of values that are consistent with their faith, including the value of working together and being considerate to each other.

Speaking to journalists on January 19 after the ecumenical prayer session that members of the Council of Christian Churches in Angola (CICA) to mark the start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU), Bishop António underscored the need to “preserve the values of unity, communion and fraternity.”

The three values, the Auxiliary Bishop of Luanda Archdiocese said, are at the heart of the WPCU initiative.

Credit: ACI Africa

“I think that as men and women who believe in God, who follow Jesus, we are in a position to preserve these values,” the Angolan Catholic Bishop told journalists after the ecumenical prayer session that brought together Christians from the United Methodist Church, the Catholic Church, the Salvation Army Church, and the Anglican Church, among others at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Parish of Luanda Archdiocese

Meanwhile, speaking during the ecumenical prayer session, Bishop Filomena Teta of the Anglican Diocese of Bom Pastor decried the tendency to walk in the ways of evil that he said has attracted a huge following today. 

“Even today, many people don't want to hear the truth; they prefer to kill; they prefer to betray; but unfortunately, they don't want to hear the real truth,” Bishop Teta said during the January 19 event.

She added, “I want to invite everyone to be like disciples. Whether as a Priest, as a pastor, as a mother, as a father, as a farmer, we are all equal before the Lord.”

Credit: ACI Africa

“Our position does not make us great. What makes us great is what we are before God, true servant,” Bishop Teta said.

She insisted on unconditional love for one's neighbour, saying, “Love everyone, no matter what race he or she is, to love means to do good, to understand a person's needs.”

Bishop Teta continued, “Love is the symbol and the mark of the true Christian. We only obey God when we love our neighbor. If we don't love our neighbor, we don't obey God and we don't even love God.”

On his part, the Secretary General of CICA, Pastor Deolinda Dorças Teka said WPCU is a moment for Christians to strengthen their unity.

“During this week we reinforce our bonds of love in relation to our mission as a Christian Church, not only in Angola, but also at the international level,” Pastor Teka said.

The CICA Secretary General added, “It's a week that unites us, we're here reflecting on a certain theme that has to do with our pastoral mission, our priestly mission, our mission as believers, as Christians, united in a certain purpose.”

Credit: ACI Africa

Observed annually between January 18 and 25 since 1908, WPCU is founded on the prayer of Jesus for his followers that “they may be one so that the world may believe”, as narrated in the Gospel of John 17:21.

Organized under the theme, “You shall love the Lord your God ... and your neighbour as yourself” in Luke 10:27, the resources for the WPCU 2024 were jointly prepared and published by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The materials for the WPCU 2024 were put together by an ecumenical team from Burkina Faso, facilitated by the West African nation’s Chemin Neuf Community (CCN).