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“May the light of Christ dispel the darkness of our doubts”: SECAM in New Year Message

The President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Phillip Cardinal Ouédraogo. Credit: Courtesy

By ACI Africa Staff

Ouagadougou, 01 January, 2022 / 11:00 pm (ACI Africa).

The leadership of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) is seeking divine intervention in approaching the New Year 2022, praying that the light of Jesus Christ dispels “the darkness” of doubts about the future of the people of God in Africa.

In a New Year 2022 Message shared with ACI Africa, the President of SECAM looks back at the just ended year, highlights some of the challenges during the year 2021, and underscores the need for hope and trust in God.

On Christmas eve each year, Phillip Cardinal Ouédraogo says, the Church asks us to reflect on the passage from Isaiah that indicates, “The people who went in the dark have seen a great light, and for those who were living in the land of the deepest night, the light is shining…”

“Like the people who were beset by doubt about their future, many people, seeing the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in many areas (health, economy, work...), felt that they were walking in darkness,” Cardinal Ouédraogo says in his New Year Message shared with ACI Africa on New Year eve.

Amid coronavirus challenges, some people “may have lamented their fate and that of their families or neighbors,” the Cardinal notes, and adds, “It is to them that I address myself in the first place at this end of the year when a new variant of the COVID-19 comes to disturb our quietude, to comfort them with the message of the word of God and to revive their hope.”

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The Burkinabe Cardinal addresses himself to “refugees and displaced persons, victims of fratricidal wars and terrorism” and entrusts their challenging situations to God, praying that “a solution can be found to enable them to come out of the darkness and the shadow of death.”

“For the Lord does not abandon his people, he sends us his Son, whose birth anniversary we celebrated at Christmas, to save us and bring us peace because he is the Prince of Peace,” he emphasizes in his two-page message.

He reflects about the situation of violent conflicts in some parts of Africa and advocates for working toward peace.

“If war is raging in some countries of our continent, we must not despair, but rather work for peace,” the President of SECAM says, and adds, “Peace is certainly a gift from God, but as Pope Francis said in his message on the occasion of the 55th World Day of Peace celebration: ‘Peace is both a gift from on high and the fruit of a shared commitment.’”

“May the light of Christ dispel the darkness of our doubts and enlighten us in our march towards synodality in our Church, that is the Church-Family of God at the service of the poor and the excluded of society and always ready to speak a word of encouragement to those who suffer,” Cardinal Ouédraogo implores in his New Year 2022 Message.

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The Cardinal who has been at the helm of SECAM since July 2019 invites the people of God in Africa “to get involved in the establishment of true peace in society, building bridges of brotherhood (according to the expression of Pope Francis) and promoting the "culture of brotherhood", as Cardinal Parolin said in 2020.”

“I would like to invite all the actors who are concerned with the conflicts in their respective countries to engage in a sincere, constructive dialogue, with a view to reconciliation, in order to avoid loss of human life and to defend human rights,” the Cardinal who will turn 77 on January 25 says.

Making reference to Pope Francis’ Message for New Year 2022, the Cardinal says he echoes the Holy Father who calls on all governments “to invest in education and instruction, ‘which are the primary means of promoting integral human development’ because ‘teaching and education are the foundations of a cohesive civil society capable of generating hope, prosperity and progress.’”

“Furthermore, we urge these same governments to review their employment policies, which have been disrupted by the pandemic, by supporting the private sector, which provides employment (while ensuring social justice in this area),” the President of SECAM who is the Local Ordinary of Burkina Faso’s Ouagadougou Archdiocese says.

He also asks governments in Africa “to make efforts to provide the population with access to basic social services, such as education, health, food security, social security and drinking water.”

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The Cardinal appeals to those at the helm of Justice and Peace and Caritas Commissions in Dioceses in Africa “to raise public awareness about social justice and the defense of human rights in our continent” saying “to work for peace is also to work for justice.”

“Dear sons and daughters of the African Continent and the Islands, at the beginning of this year, I would like to wish you health, happiness and prosperity,” the President of SECAM says in his message shared with ACI Africa.

“For 2022, I wish for our Continent a good economic recovery, free of the debts that have been strangling it until now and concerned with social equity,” he further says, and adds, “May solidarity be set in motion in certain countries where famine prevails so that this problem can be eradicated.”

ACI Africa Staff

ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.