Addis Ababa, 11 February, 2020 / 5:06 pm (ACI Africa).
At the two-day Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) that concluded Monday, February 10, the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Philippe Cardinal Nakellentuba Ouédraogo highlighted some of the challenges bedeviling the people of God on the continent and, in his prayer, implored God for forgiveness and the renewal of hope.
“God, our Father, we thank you for creating us in your image and likeness, and for creating us to be each other’s keeper. Thank you for the numerous African resources, both human and otherwise,” Cardinal Ouédraogo started his prayer before the Heads of States in Africa and their delegates.
He continued, “We turn to you descendants of Adam, begging for forgiveness for killing one another, either out of sheer hatred, or for ethnic, social, political, or religious reasons. It is precisely for these reasons that there is violence everywhere on the continent.”
Referencing the first murder recorded in the Holy Scriptures when Cain killed his brother Abel, the Burkinabe Prelate mentioned in his prayer, “As the blood of Abel so cried out to you, so is the blood of our brothers and sisters killed innocently crying out to you.”
“Forgive us, the sins we have committed against each other,” the Cardinal implored.
