News archive

Renewing the way we look at things

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

This text by Bernard Ugeux appeared in the last Info-PAC.

This jubilee time is for us an opportunity to take a renewed Christian look at our brothers and sisters, at the Church, Africa, the World…

Jesus has a unique way of looking at the people he meets, especially the most vulnerable, of recognizing the signs of the times in the expectations of crowds without a shepherd and the oppositions of religious authorities. He has renewed the hope of his people.

As for Cardinal Lavigerie, he too, throughout his life, took a very profound and demanding look at the realities of the world and the Church.

  • A look inhabited by the Spirit who benevolently discerns the new calls addressed to the Church by the societies of his time, in France, in the East, then in Africa.
  • An apostle’s look at all those who ignore the God of tenderness and forgiveness proclaimed by Jesus Christ.
  • A visionary and passionate look, he who is ready to give his life for the salvation of the infidels of Africa as a whole, “as if he saw the invisible”.
  • A look of reconciliation when he meets the prelates of the East invited to return to full communion with Rome.
  • A look that calls, confirms and sends apostles – men and women – for Africa, inviting them to consider martyrdom without fear.
  • A look that courageously and serenely confronts the opposition of those who refuse the Church’s openness to the people of North Africa.
  • A look of deep compassion that invites us to begin the proclamation of the Gospel by caring for the bodies while waiting for the awakening of souls.
  • A tender look at orphans boys and girls, abandoned people and victims of massacres or epidemics, whether in Lebanon or Syria, in Kabylia or the Sahara, or in the depths of the African continent.
  • A wrathful and provocative look in his tour of European capitals to stop the slave trade in Africa, appealing to humanity as much as to the faith of his listeners.
  • A sometimes dominating and overpowering look at his collaborators, which then leads him to humbly ask forgiveness from those he has hurt by the overwhelming nature or demands he has placed on them.
  • A look of contemplation and adoration placed with confidence for hours each day on Christ, the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Sacrament, and which is implored at the feet of Mary, Joseph and the great martyrs of North Africa. …
  • Today, what view does Lavigerie invite us to take of the human spaces that Pope Francis calls the peripheries?
  • What look of renewed indignation and compassion at the countless contemporary slaves and human trafficking that primarily affect children and young people; at migration, the looting of raw materials from poor countries and all forms of human exploitation?
  • What discernment about contemporary developments in globalization and its victims?
  • What invitation to dialogue between the currents within the Church and with other Christian confessions and religions?
  • What openness to differences in language, culture, religion, faith, gender, generation, recognizing that otherness is not a threat but a gift, when it does not impose itself with fanaticism?

In short, today, the Cardinal invites us to know him better (1) in his complexity and richness and to convert our viewpoint so that he may come closer to that of Christ, in his benevolence and his demands, beginning with ourselves.

Bernard Ugeux, M.Afr.

(1) In May 2019, Bernard Ugeux’s book will be published, Prier quinze jours avec le Cardinal Lavigerie, Nouvelles cités

From Rome … Emmanuel Ngona

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

This excerpt from the letter of Emmanuel Ngona, provincial of the PAC, written from Rome during the meeting of the provincials, and published in the last Info-PAC, gives us a small idea of the debates that took place during the week of the meeting between the provincials and the General Council.

Hello to each of you from Rome, Eternal City! And may the Peace of Christ dwell in your hearts in this Jubilee Year! I hope that each of you is well where the Lord has planted him to blossom.

I am writing to you today to share some of the elements that struck me during our meeting between the provincials and the General Council from February 10 to 16, 2019.

1) During a private audience on February 8 between Pope Francis and the Mafr and MSOLA on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of our Foundation, the Pope recalled our mission today where we are:

“The mission ad extra is in your DNA… I encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, so that you never forget that the true Missionary is first and foremost a disciple and that the proclamation of the Gospel can only be lived at the cost of a true missionary communion. May the Spirit make you build bridges between people. Where the Lord has sent you, contribute to the growth of a culture of encounter; continue to be the servants of a dialogue that, while respecting differences, knows how to be enriched by the difference of others. And I thank you in particular for the work you have already done in the service of dialogue with our Muslim brothers and sisters. Through the style and simplicity of your lifestyle, you also demonstrate the need to take care of our common home. Finally, in the wake of Cardinal Lavigerie, be sowers of Hope, fighting against current forms of slavery. Always seek to be close to the small and the poor, to those who wait at the periphery of our societies, to be recognized in their dignity, to be welcomed, protected, promoted and integrated…”.

2) In the context of our Jubilee and the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict 15’s “Maximum” Apostolic Letter (a letter that served to awaken missionary awareness, give new impetus to the mission ad gentes and recall the raison d’être of the Mission), which will be celebrated in October 2019, we want to give a new impetus to our Mission at the personal, community, sectoral or provincial level in line with Cardinal Filoni’s challenge to us: “What does the centenary (150th anniversary, ndlr) of a religious family mean, if not to reflect fundamentally and understand why it was created and what role it still has today?”

3) Great attention must be paid to all our Institutions where we work with children and vulnerable adults so that these places become safe and evangelical spaces for them.

4) Everywhere the opening of our Jubilee went well. But let us not only focus on external manifestations, we want to take advantage of this opportunity and this time of grace for a new missionary impulse to make a difference thanks to our charism and the Holy Spirit who leads us on the roads of the world.

Let us continue to pray in community that this Jubilee Year will be a time of grace for our Society and the local Churches with whom we collaborate fraternally and that the next Plenary Council to be held in Kampala from mid-November 2019 will renew our enthusiasm and missionary strength that no power can take from us.

Emmanuel Ngona
Info-PAC n°79

PAC – Info-Pac nr 79

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

The PAC newsletter has just been released. Read it right and fresh from your screen here.

Praise the Lord for His Creation by reading from your screen and preserving the trees of our forests.

Appointments Young Confreres

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Here is the list of the appointments already finalised. Only the province (section) is here mentioned as local constraints might modify final destination.

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Various readings available online

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

Please note the following readings online:

BEFORE PRINTING, thank you to consider reading from the screen.

Newsletter of Belgian sector – Nuntiuncula nr. 711 of January / February 2019

Newsletter of French sector – Mini-lien nr 482 of 1st March 2019

Petit Echo nr 1097 of January 2019

Sister Elisemarie CROCHET (Rémy-Marie), R.I.P.

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa
invite you to share their hope and pray for

Sister Elisemarie CROCHET (Rémy-Marie)

from the community of Chevilly-Larue,
entered into life on February 2, 2019 in Antony
at the age of 93, including 66 years of missionary religious life.

Her missionary life took place in Algeria, Burkina Faso and France.

 

A look back at the meeting of the Provincials in Rome

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

Recently, at the Generalate, the meeting of the General Council with the provincial superiors and the two sections took place. Two confreres attached to the general services – Stéphane Joulain for the integrity of the ministry and Andreas Göpfert for JPIC – addressed them. Here is a summary of their interventions.

 

Stéphane Joulain : The provincials were able to listen and discuss with Fr. Benoît Malvaux, General Procurator of the Company of Jesus, invited by the General Council. The subject of his conference was “the preliminary inquiry”. This conference was also given to the Safeguarding Delegates during their last training in Rome who took place in November 2018. So, Provincials and Safeguarding Delegates have received the same information. This preliminary inquiry precedes the canonical process in case of allegations of behaviour against the sixth commandment by a cleric on a minor or a vulnerable adult. The provincials were able to ask Fr Malvaux other canonical questions. His competence and numerous examples have made it possible to address these difficult and delicate questions in a very practical and serious manner.

Andreas Göpfert: On February 13, 2019, there was a JPIC-ED working session. For one hour and a half, the General Council, the Provincials and the Section Delegate Superiors met with the coordinator of JPIC-ED, Fr Andreas Göpfert. The first part of the meeting was devoted to the reading of some signs of the times and the interpellations heard during the audience with Pope Francis and to the celebration of the 150th anniversary with Cardinal Filoni (see PowerPoint below). In the second part, the coordinator reviewed the 2018 activity report and expressed some concerns, for example, about the functioning of the provincial commissions. There was a fruitful exchange between the participants calling for improvement. The coordinator also insisted on collaboration with Talitha Kum and with AEFJN and AFJN. The third part provided an opportunity to explain three events that will be organized by the coordination: a workshop on “Ecumenical Dialogue, a call for prophetic commitment” in March 2019 in Rome; an exchange and consultation meeting on “Islamic-Christian Dialogue” in April 2019 in Nairobi; a training workshop on “Life in intercultural community as an apostolic witness today” in September 2019 in Rome. Before concluding with the prayer of St. Bakhita, the coordinator gave some information on the pastoral care of human mobility taught at SIMI (Scalabrini International Migration Institute) in Rome (www.simiroma.org/site/) and SIHMA (Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility) in Capetown-South Africa (http://sihma.org.za/).

Start the Power-point by clicking on the small central white arrow at the bottom left and move it forward by continuing to click on the right arrow.

Lent 2019 – Pope Francis

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

The Pope’s message for Lent 2019 was made public and presented at a press conference on 26 February 2019. Starting from the liturgical cycle, the Pope explains that the mystery of salvation “presents itself as a dynamic process that also embraces History and the whole of creation. Saint Paul says it: “Creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of the sons of God” (Rm 8:19)”. It develops its subject in three parts:

1. The Redemption of Creation : “If man lives as a son of God, if he lives as a saved person who lets himself be guided by the Holy Spirit and knows how to recognize and implement the law of God, beginning with the one written in his heart and in nature, then he also does good to Creation” ;

2. The destructive force of sin : “The rupture of communion with God has deteriorated the harmonious relationship between human beings and the environment in which they are called to live, so that the garden has been transformed into a desert” ;

3. The healing power of repentance and forgiveness : conversion “calls Christians to incarnate in a more intense and concrete way the paschal mystery in their personal, family and social lives, especially through fasting, prayer and almsgiving”.

Read in La Croix of February 26, 2019

Read Pope Francis’ message

Pierre Jullien, R.I.P.

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

Father Patrick Bataille, Provincial Delegate of the sector of France,
informs you of the return to the Lord of Father

Pierre Jullien

on Tuesday 26th February 2019 at Bry-sur-Marne (France)
at the age of 92 years, of which 66 years of missionary life
in Mali and in France.

Let us pray for him and for his loved ones.

Download here the announcement of Father Pierre Jullien’s death. Continue reading “Pierre Jullien, R.I.P.”

Summit on the protection of minors – Vatican 21-24 February 2019

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

From 21 to 24 February, the presidents of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences around the world responded to Pope Francis’ call to come to Rome to the Vatican to reflect together on how best to respond seriously to this unprecedented crisis facing the Catholic Church today. The sufferings of so many men and women, children and young people call for a determination on the part of the whole Church. During these three days, several speakers followed one another to address different topics based on the three areas of reflection proposed by the organizing committee: Responsibility, Accountability, Transparency.

All the conferences can be found on the VaticanNews YouTube channel. This summit was also punctuated by several testimonies of victims previously recorded in audio or video. These testimonies allowed those among the speakers who had never heard from victims to discover the extent of the suffering they had endured. Participants also worked in language groups.

What should we remember from this summit?

It is possible to read many analyses in different languages in the online press, indeed 450 journalists were accredited, mainly from the English-speaking world. But for us, here is what we can learn that is important.

This meeting is just one step in this immense project which is to respond to the suffering of the victims with compassion and mercy. It is also a step in the process of conversion of hearts necessary for real preventive work to make the Catholic Church a safe home for children and the most vulnerable. In his final speech, Pope Francis set 7 priority axes of work for the whole People of God and more especially for the bishops of the whole world, here they are summarized with his words (Excerpts from the final speech):

  1. “Protection of children: the primary objective of any measure is to protect children and prevent them from being victims of psychological and physical abuse. It is therefore necessary to change attitudes to combat the defensive and reactive attitude aimed at safeguarding the Institution, in favour of a sincere and determined search for the good of the community, giving priority to the victims of abuse in every sense of the word.”
  2. “An irreproachable seriousness: I would like to repeat here that the Church will not spare itself to do all that is necessary to bring to justice anyone who has committed such crimes. The Church will never seek to stifle or underestimate any case.”
  3. “True purification: despite the measures taken and the progress made in preventing abuse, it is necessary to impose a perpetual and renewed commitment to the holiness of pastors whose configuration in Christ the Good Shepherd is a right of God’s people.”
  4. “Formation: in other words, the requirements of the selection and formation of candidates for the priesthood with criteria not only negative, aimed mainly at excluding problematic personalities, but also positive by offering a balanced formation path for suitable candidates, oriented towards holiness including the virtue of chastity.”
  5. “To strengthen and verify the guidelines of the Episcopal Conferences: that is, to reaffirm the requirement of unity of the Bishops in the application of measures that have the value of norms and not only of guidelines. No abuse should ever be covered…”
  6. “Accompanying victims of abuse: The harm they have experienced leaves indelible wounds in them, which are also manifested in resentment and tendencies towards self-destruction. The Church therefore has a duty to offer them all the necessary support by calling on experts in this field.”
  7. “The digital world: the protection of minors must take into account the new forms of sexual abuse and all forms of abuse that threaten them in the environments in which they live and through the new instruments they use.”

These are seven priorities that Pope Francis has set for the bishops and major superiors of consecrated congregations and institutes of consecrated life, but also more broadly for the whole People of God.

To complete this roadmap, other measures will come: produce a Motu proprio on this question; offer a practical guide for bishops and major superiors to help them in their mission; “task forces / teams of experts” may also be created to help local churches that have more difficulty finding material and human resources to fight against this evil that spares no particular church or human community.

Let us make this roadmap our own.

Useful links :

Chaine YouTube de VaticanNews pour voir ou revoir les conférences :
En français – https://www.youtube.com/user/vaticanfr
In English – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxIsefyl9g9A5SGWA4FvGIA
Also exists in other languages
Many interviews and articles on www.vaticannews.va