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Priests and religious who are misappropriating funds meant for Church projects are doing so because of pressure from their families and friends who want financial support from the Clergy and Religious men and women, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of South Africa’s Umtata Diocese has said in his new month reflection shared with ACI Africa.
After spending days in isolation under the care of health practitioners, the Catholic Bishop of Nigeria’s Yola Diocese has recovered from COVID-19, he told journalists at his residence, thanking all those who have accompanied him spiritually.
The leadership of the Catholic Church in Africa has, in a statement shared with ACI Africa, announced a week-long commemoration of the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ second three-nation visit to sub-Saharan Africa, recalling the 4 – 10 September 2019 Papal trip to Mozambique, Madagascar and the Mauritian Islands as having been a joy to the people of God in Africa.
A Catholic Prelate in South Africa has bemoaned increasing reports of graft in the country, a situation he says puts one of Africa’s largest economies at a great risk of being referred to as a failed state and a “Republic of Corruption.”
The leadership of the Catholic Biblical Federation (CBF), the global network of institutions dedicated to biblical-pastoral ministry, is calling for its members in African countries to forward their online Bible formation programs to the organization that is seeking to migrate its activities to its digital platform.
The Catholic Bishop of Nigeria’s Yola Diocese who has confirmed that he tested positive for COVID-19 has advised citizens of the West African nation to readily present themselves for the coronavirus tests when they are required to.
Pilgrims from Africa who had planned to be part of the fifth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM) in the Island nation of Samoa have been encouraged “to intensify” their devotion to the Divine Mercy in their respective contexts.
The Archbishop of Burkina Faso’s Ouagadougou Archdiocese has expressed his appreciation for the partnership that his Episcopal See has fostered with the Archdiocese of Seoul in South Korea saying the “friendship and solidarity” is having a positive impact on the people of God in the West African country.
The leadership of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has announced that the usual annual collection of funds to support the symposium activities on the continent will not happen this year due to COVID-19 challenges.
Members of the Union of the African Catholic Press (UCAP), which brings together Catholic journalists in both the Catholic Church communications and those practicing journalism in secular media outlets have pledged their support for the English Africa Service of the Vatican Radio as the Rome-based media house celebrates 70 years of broadcasting on the continent.
The first Sunday of next month, August 2, is meant to be important for the people of God in Africa because the Catholic Bishops on the continent are expected to preside over the day of their common forum, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
Clergy and the lay faithful in South Africa have paid glowing tributes to the late Bishop Patrick Zithulele Mvemve who was, until his resignation in April 2013, the Local Ordinary of South Africa’s Klerksdorp Diocese, remembering him as a “servant leader (and) Bishop of the second chance” who “loved sodalities.”
The rest of the world is mourning the passing on of Fr. Robert (Bob) Astorino who “married media professionalism” for the Church in Asia, founding the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News) and serving as its Executive Director for 30 years.
In view of the planned 6th Summit of African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) leaders in October, Bishops in Africa and Europe have, in a joint statement, encouraged European and African policy-makers to orient their preparatory work on the principles that foster “people-centered” partnerships.
Bishops in Africa through their common forum, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) have expressed concerns about the challenge COVID-19 pandemic poses for the people of God and institutions on the continent and appealed for individual and collective responsibilities from various stakeholders on the continent and beyond in the fight against the disease.
The President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Phillip Cardinal Ouédraogo, who has recovered from COVID-19 after days of care at a hospital in his country, Burkina Faso, is observing “a period of rest” outside his official residence.
The people of God in Africa and their leadership have a lot to offer to the global Catholicism including testimonies about the growth and progress of Gospel values among believers. However, the Church on the continent faces the challenge of telling its stories within and across the globe, the Bishop coordinating the communication commissions of the episcopal conferences in Africa told ACI Africa in an interview last week.
Catholic Bishops in Ghana have, in a collective goodwill message, lauded Archbishop Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Emeritus of Kumasi in Southern Ghana for his contribution to the growth of the Church in the West African country during the Cleric’s close-to 40 years in office.
In a bid to mitigate the “series of challenges” that the people of God on the African continent face today, the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has, in an interview with ACI Africa, noted that “in-depth evangelization” is necessary.
In the fight against various insurgents operating in Nigeria, industrialized nations where weapons used by rebel movements are manufactured need “to look inwards” and review their role in fostering insecurity, a Bishop in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria told ACI Africa in an interview.