Take Advantage of Cultural Heritage to Foster Unity: Congolese Cardinal to New Bishop

He encouraged the new Bishop “to carry out his ministry with dignity and to be especially attentive to the needs of the weak and the poor of his diocese and of the whole Church.”

“We should welcome the presence of Christ in the Episcopal ministry. This is because the Catholic Church is universal. It is also for this reason that the Holy Father Pope Francis appointed a Priest from the Diocese of Kenge to the Diocese of Popokabaka and a priest from the Diocese of Popokabaka, Bishop Charles Salabisala, as Auxiliary Bishop of Kinshasa,” Cardinal Ambongo, a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFMCap) explained.

He further called on the Clergy, the Religious, and the Lay faithful to support the new Bishop of Popokaba to succeed in his pastoral mission.

“Unite around him and with him give a chance to this part of the country that looks like a lost corner,” The 60-year-old Congolese Cardinal said.

He continued, “Dear Priests, it is by being united that your pastoral action will be more fruitful and beneficial to your people. Take your commitment seriously. In spite of the difficulties, do not abandon your posts here to a place that is believed to be better.”

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Bishop Fansaka who was ordained a Priest in February 1988 was appointed Bishop of Popokabaka on June 29.

In his August 23 homily, Cardinal Ambongo highlighted the social and pastoral challenges that Popokabaka Diocese seems to be facing including misery that he said, is reaching “worrying proportions in this part of the country.”

“There are many pastoral and social challenges in this Diocese. I am happy to have arrived here by road and what I have seen is unacceptable in a self-respecting country. You are a few kilometres from Kinshasa, but the misery I saw on the road to Popokabaka is incomprehensible,” the Cardinal recalled.

He added, “The people are suffering; the material misery has reached worrying proportions and the recklessness of those who have been given the mandate to govern this country and make it more beautiful than before only make the prospects for a peaceful future for you and for the country more difficult.”

The Diocese of Popokabaka, like the whole country, “faces social challenges, but the greatest challenge is that of unity in faith,” the Cardinal Ambongo noted.

In the face of these challenges, the Cardinal said, “the arrival of Bishop Fansaka can be considered an opportunity. He is a Bishop who has proven himself, who has a sense of action, who believes that change and improvement in the living conditions of our people is possible.”

Bishop Fansaka takes over from Bishop Louis Nzala Kianza who, for health reasons, resigned in June aged 74.

Bishop Kianza was unable to be part of the August 23 event and Cardinal Ambongo conveyed his message in which he expressed appreciation to the people of God in the Diocese and asked forgiveness for any shortcomings during his 24-year Episcopal ministry.

Bishop Fansaka will be overseeing the 59-year-old Diocese with an estimated 685,000 Catholic population under the patronage of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

The Diocese has 19 parishes served by 53 diocesan Priests and 14 religious Priests, 30 religious men and 81 Religious women as well as 29 seminarians, according to 2015 statistics.

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Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.