SUMMARY

- FIRST GENERAL CONGREGATION (MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2009 - MORNING) - CONTINUATION
- SECOND GENERAL CONGREGATION (MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2009 - AFTERNOON)
- NOTICES

FIRST GENERAL CONGREGATION (MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2009 -MORNING) - CONTINUATION

- REFLECTION BY THE HOLY FATHER

At the opening of the First General Congregation this morning, Monday 5 October 2009, after the brief reading of the Hour of Terce, the Holy Father Benedict XVI gave the following reflection:

Dear brothers and sisters,
We have now begun our synodal encounter, calling on the Holy Spirit, knowing full well that at this time we cannot achieve what must be done for the Church and for the world: only with the strength of the Holy Spirit can we find that which is good and accomplish it. And every day we will begin by calling on the Holy Spirit with the Prayer of the Hour of Terce “Nunc sancte nobis Spiritus”. Therefore I would like to meditate briefly now, together with you all, on this hymn, which opens the work each day, now during the Synod, but also in our daily life.
“Nunc sancte nobis Spiritus”. We pray that the Pentecost is not only a past event, the beginnings of the Church, but that it is today, rather, now: “Nunc sancte nobis Spiritus”. We pray that the Lord accomplish now the effusion of His Spirit and recreate His Church and the world. We recall that the apostles after the Ascension did not begin - as would have been usual - to organize, to create the Church of the future. They waited for God’s action, they waited for the Holy Spirit. They understood that the Church cannot be made, that it is not the product of our organization: the Church must be born of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Lord was conceived and born of the Holy Spirit, thus the Church must also be conceived and born of the Holy Spirit. Only through this creative act of God can we enter the activity of God, in divine action and collaborate with Him. In this sense, even all of our work at the Synod is a collaboration with the Holy Spirit, with the force of God that precedes us. And we must always continue to implore the fulfillment of this divine initiative, in which we can become collaborators of God and contribute to the rebirth and growth of His Church.
The second verse of this hymn - “Os, lingua, mens, sensus, vigor, / Confessionem personent; / Flammescat igne caritas, / accendat ardor proximos” - is the heart of this prayer. We beg God for three gifts, the gifts essential to Pentecost, to the Holy Spirit: confessio, caritas, proximos. Confessio: there is a tongue of fire that is “reasonable”, it gives the correct word and makes one think about overcoming Babylon on the day of Pentecost. The confusion born from egoism and man’s pride, the effect being the inability to understand each other, must be overcome by the force of the Spirit, which unites without leveling, which gives unity in plurality: each can understand the other, even in the different languages. Confessio: the word, the tongue of fire that the Lord gives us, the common word which unites us all, the City of God, the Holy Church, in which all the wealth of our different cultures is present. Flammescat igne caritas. This confession is not a theory but life, love. The heart of the Holy Church is love, God is love and communicates Himself by communicating love to us. And finally the neighbor. The Church is never a closed group, which lives for itself like so many of the groups existing in the world, rather it distinguishes itself for its universality of charity, of responsibility for the neighbor.
We will consider these three gifts one by one. Confessio: in the language of the Bible and the ancient Church this word had two essential meanings, which might seem opposed but in effect constitute one reality. Confessio, first of all, is the confession of sins: recognizing our fault and recognizing that before God we are lacking, we are at fault, we are not in the right relationship with Him. This is the first point: to know ourselves in the light of God. Only in this light can we know ourselves, can we also understand that there is evil in us and thus see how much must be renewed, transformed. Only in the light of God can we know each other and truly see all of reality.
I feel that we must keep in mind all this in our analysis of reconciliation, justice, peace. Empirical analyses are important, it is important to know exactly the reality of this world. However these horizontal analyses, made so exactly and competently, are insufficient. They do not indicate the real problems because they are not placed in the light of God. If we cannot see that at the roots lies the Mystery of God, the worldly things go badly because the relationship with God is not orderly. And if the first relationship, the fundamental one, is not correct, all the other relationships as good as they can be, fundamentally do not work. Therefore all our analyses of the world are insufficient if we do not delve to this point, if we do not consider the world in the light of God, if we do not discover that at the root of injustice, of corruption, there is an unrighteous heart, there is closure towards God and, therefore, a falsification of the essential relationship which is the foundation of all others.
Confessio: to understand the realities of the world in the light of God, the primacy of God and finally the whole human being and the human realities, which tend to our relations with God. And if this is not right, it will not reach the point wanted by God, it does not enter His truth, even all the rest cannot be corrected because all the evils which re-emerge destroy the social network, the peace in the world.
Confessio: to see the reality in the light of God, to understand that ultimately our realities depend on our relationship with our Creator and Redeemer, and thus lead to truth, the truth that saves. Saint Augustine, referring to Chapter 3 of the Gospel according to Saint John, defines the act of Christian confession with “to make truth, to go towards the light”. Only in seeing our faults in the light of God, the insufficiencies in our relationship with Him, can we walk in the light of truth. And only truth will save. We finally work in truth: to really confess in this depth of God’s light is to make truth.
This is the first meaning of the word confessio, confession of sins, recognizing the guilt that comes from our missing relationship with God. However a second meaning of confession is that of thanking God, glorifying God, witnessing God. We can recognize the truth of our being because there is a divine answer. God did not leave us alone with our sins; even when our relationship with His Majesty is locked, He does not turn away but comes to us and takes us by the hand. Therefore confessio is the witness of God’s goodness, it is evangelization. We could say that the second dimension of the word confessio is identical to evangelization. We can see this on the day of Pentecost, when Saint Peter, in his speech, on one hand accuses persons’ fault - you have killed the saint and the just -, but, at the same time, says: this Saint has risen and loves you, embraces you, calls upon you to be His in contrition and baptism, as well as in communion with His Body. In the light of God, to confess necessarily becomes proclaiming God, to evangelize and thus renew the world.
The word confessio however reminds us of another element. In Chapter 10 of the Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul interprets the confession in Chapter 30 of Deuteronomy. In this last text, it would seem that the Jews, entering the definitive form of the covenant, in the Holy Land, are afraid and cannot truly answer God as they should. The Lord tells them: do not be afraid, God is not far. To reach God it is not necessary to travel through an unknown ocean, there is no need for space travel in the heavens, so complicated and impossible. God is not far, He is not on the other side of the ocean, in these immense spaces of the universe. God is close. He is in your heart and on your lips, with the word of the Torah, which goes into your heart and is proclaimed from your lips. God is in you and with you, He is close.
Saint Paul substitutes, in his interpretation, the word Torah with the words confession and faith. He says: truly God is close, there is no need for complicated shipments to reach Him, nor for spiritual or material ventures. God is close with faith, He is in your heart, and with confession He is on your lips. He is in you and with you. Truly, Jesus Christ with His presence gives us the word of life. Thus He enters, in faith, into our heart. He lives in our heart and in confession we bring the reality of the Lord to the world, in ourtime. I think this is a very important element: God is close. Things of science, of technology use up great investments: spiritual and material ventures are costly and difficult. But God gives Himself freely. The greatest things of life - God, love, truth - are free. God gives Himself in our hearts. I could say that we should often meditate on the gratuity of God: there is no need for great material or even intellectual gifts to be close to God. God gives Himself freely in His love, He is in me in my heart and on my lips. This is the courage, the joy of our life. It is also the courage present in this Synod, because God is not far: He is with us with the word of faith. I think that even this duality is important: the word in the heart and on the lips. This depth of personal faith, which truly intimately ties me with God, must then be confessed: faith and confession, interiority in communion with God and the witness of faith that is expressed on my lips and thus becomes sensitive and present in the world. These two important things always walk hand in hand.
Then the hymn we are talking about even indicates the places where confession can be found: “oas, lingua, mens, sensus, vigor”. All our abilities of thinking, speaking, hearing, acting, must echo - the Latin uses the word “personare” - the word of God. Our being, in all its dimensions, should be filled with this word, which becomes thus truly sensitive to the world, which, through our existence, echoes in the world: the word of the Holy Spirit.
Then briefly two other gifts. Charity: it is important that Christianity is not the sum of ideas, a philosophy, a theology, but a way of life, Christianity is charity, it is love. Only thus can we become Christians: if faith turns into charity, if it is charity. We could also say that logos and caritas go together. Our God is, on one hand, logos, eternal reason. But this reason is also love, it is not cold mathematics that creates the universe, it is not a creator; this eternal reason is fire, it is charity. This unity of reason and charity, of faith and charity should be accomplished within us. And thus transformed in charity become, as the Greek Fathers said, divinized. I would say that in the world’s development this is an uphill road, from the first realities created to the human being. But this stairway is not yet done. Man should be divinized and thus realized. The unity of the creature and the Creator: this is true development, to reach this openness with the grace of God. Our essence becomes transformed in charity. If we speak about this development we always think of this as the ultimate goal, where God wishes to arrive with us.
Finally, the neighbor. Charity is not an individual thing, but a universal and concrete thing. Today in the Mass, we proclaimed the page of the Gospel on the Good Samaritan, where we can see the dual reality of Christian charity, which is universal and concrete. This Good Samaritan meets a Jew, who therefore is beyond the boundaries of his tribe and his religion. But charity is universal and therefore this stranger is his neighbor in all senses. Universality opens the limitations that close the world and create differences and conflicts. At the same time, the fact that something must be done for universality is not a philosophy but a concrete act.
We must tend towards this unification between universality and concreteness, we must truly open these boundaries between tribes, ethnic groups, religions to the universality of the love of God. And this is not in theory, but in our places of life, with all the necessary concreteness. We pray the Lord to give us all this, in the force of the Holy Spirit. At the end, the hymn is a glorification of the Trine and One God and a prayer of knowledge and believing. Thus the end returns to the beginning. We pray that we may learn, that learning become believing and believing become loving, action. We pray the Lord that He may give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, inciting a new Pentecost, help us to be His servants at this time in the world.
Amen.

[00022-02.03] [RE000] [Original text: Italian]

SECOND GENERAL CONGREGATION (MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2009 -AFTERNOON)

- REPORTS ON THE FIVE CONTINENTS WITH AFRICA
- REPORT ON ECCLESIA IN AFRICA

Today at16:30, in the presence of the Holy Father, after the reciting of the Prayer for the success of the Synod, the Second General Congregation took place, for the reading of the Reports on the Continents with Africa and the Report on Ecclesia in Africa.

The Acting President Delegate was H.Em.Card. Francis ARINZE, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.

At the opening of the General Congregation, the Secretary General announced that several synodal Fathers are absent due to illness. In addition, H.Em. Card. Mons. Michel Christian CARTATÉGUY, S.M.A., Archbishop of Niamey (NIGER), involved in a work of mediation for reconciliation in collaboration with the Imam of the Niamey Mosque and the sultan of Agadez was absent, due to the grave political situation between the country’s Government and the Opposition, as he announced in a letter sent to the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops. The General Secretary commented that is it a great consolation for the Church that a Bishop of a diocese of 18,000 Catholics has great moral prestige, in participating with the Imam and other religious leaders in the mediation for peace in the country.

The reading of the Reports on the Continents with Africa followed. After the presentation of the Report on Ecclesia in Africa, a period of time for free interventions of the Synod Fathers followed.

This General Congregation ended at 7pm with the prayer Angelus Domini. 227 Fathers were present.

REPORTS ON THE FIVE CONTINENTS WITH AFRICA

- H. Exc. Mons. Raymundo DAMASCENO ASSIS, Archbishop of Aparecida, President of the "Latin American Episcopal Council" (C.E.L.AM.) (BRAZIL)
- H. Exc. Mons. Wilton Daniel GREGORY, Archbishop of Atlanta (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
- H. Exc. Mons. Orlando B. QUEVEDO, O.M.I., Archbishop of Cotabato, General Secretary of the "Federation of Asian Episcopal Conferences" (F.A.B.C.) (PHILIPPINES)
- H. Exc. Mons. Peter William INGHAM, Bishop of Wollongong, President of the "Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania" (F.C.B.C.O.) (AUSTRALIA)
- H. Em. Card. Péter ERDŐ, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, President of the Council of the European Episcopal Conference (C.E.E.C.) (HUNGARY)

We publish below the Reports on the Five Continents with Africa:

- H. Exc. Mons. Raymundo DAMASCENO ASSIS, Archbishop of Aparecida, President of the "Latin American Episcopal Council" (C.E.L.AM.) (BRAZIL)

1. First of all, as President of the Latin-American Episcopal Council CELAM, I wish to particularly thank, the Holy Father Benedict XVI for having invited me to participate in this Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. It is a privilege for me, a Bishop of Latin-America, to share in the path of our Church, one, holy, Catholic and apostolic, in the African continent. I would like to follow this Synod with great attention, openness and prayer.
At this time, I would like to express solidarity to the Latin American Episcopate and Church, to our dear brothers, Bishops,, and to the whole Church that are on a pilgrimage in the African Continent.
We are here not only to express our brotherhood with the Church in Africa, but also to learn, as we are convinced that the conclusions of this Second Special Assembly will also help the Latin American Church in its mission of reconciliation and in the search for justice and peace.
2. Africa and Latin America are very different continents, nevertheless it is important to know that in Latin America we have a large population of African origins, more numerous than the population of our own original people, the indigenous. Another thing unites us - in the Cross - the fact that in both continents we have a high rate of our population living in poverty, and needing material things and services for their basic survival: food, housing, education and health.
From the political and institutional field, a democracy sufficiently rooted in the culture of our people does not exist, and because of this, it is not strongly consolidated. The unresolved, basic and urgent needs of the majority of our people cause the emergence of political ventures, with populist promises, which delude, but do not solve the structural problems of the population.
Also, the situation is worsened in the political field because of corruption, frequently reported and denounced by different organizations of mass media. This phenomenon leads the population, especially the young people, to conformity and to a sceptical attitude towards politics as the art of promoting the common good.
3. The new world conscience of cultural pluralism awakens new attention and representation in Latin America of our poor autochthonous and African descendants. This indicates the importance for a special effort of evangelization and inculturation. In the Concluding Document of the Fifth General Conference, in Aparecida in the year 2007, we can read: “Indigenous people and Afro-Americans are now taking their place in society and the Church. This is a kairos for deepening the Church’s encounter with these sectors of society who are demanding the full recognition of their individual and collective rights, being taken into account in Catholicism, with their cosmos vision, their values and their particular identities, so as to live a new ecclesial Pentecost.” (DA 91)
The Latin American Church did not undergo such great and dramatic ruptures as did the black African Church. For this reason, there was more continuity in the experience of the Church, even if with suffering and faults and, because of this, she has a varied and rich history. Today, we can find a more stable pastoral experience, whose richness was expressed during the last fifty years in our five General Conferences - of a different nature than the Synods - and today, in the vast Continental Mission which has as its objective placing the Latin American Church in a permanent state of mission. The documents of these five General Conferences have always given special attention to the native and Afro-American farmers in the different pastoral priorities.
4. In this intervention, I would like to suggest some points that could be a theme for dialogue for a possible fraternal exchange between the Churches of both Continents. From the episcopal point of view, we could share with Africa the great wealth of the 54 years of existence of the episcopal organization I represent, the Latin American Episcopal Conference - CELAM, as instrument of the episcopal communion and mutual service within our Episcopacy. The mission of the Church could be enriched through an exchange of the collegial, pastoral and organized experience, invited as Bishops of the Catholic Church present in both continents and supported by the Holy See. The already existing experience of dioceses and religious congregations that send missionaries to the Church in Africa could also be extended.
As pertaining to seminarians and priests, I also think that it would be possible and mutually enriching, to offer seminaries for the first period of sacerdotal formation in some of the particular Churches in Latin America, with greater resources. It would be an occasion to, along with other advantages, learn other languages which could be used to promote the exchange and the communion between the two continents with such a vast Catholic presence.
Speaking for the CELAM, we would also welcome, with the approval of the Holy See, in our Pastoral and Biblical Institutes, existing in the CELAM in Bogota, priests and consecrated persons, or pastoral agents, for courses on formation.
5. I would like to renew my gratitude to the Holy Father and to the dear brothers, Bishops of Africa, for having been invited to this kairos, a time for grace and conversion which is the II Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. May Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen and Patroness of America, guide us during this Special Assembly and help, with her maternal protection, the Church in Africa on the path of reconciliation, justice and peace, with the participation of society.

[00019-02.06] [INOOO] [Original text: Portuguese]

- H. Exc. Mons. Wilton Daniel GREGORY, Archbishop of Atlanta (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)

I welcome this opportunity to summarize the importance that this Second Synod for Africa
holds for the Church in the United States of America. We Americans find ourselves increasingly drawn in by issues and events that occur on theAfrican continent. We, like people everywhere, feel ever more acutely the impact of the intensifying global character of our world.
First and foremost, we praise Almighty God for the gift of the One Faith that binds the Church in the United States to all of the other Churches throughout the world. Our Catholic community has benefitted directly during the past generation from a growing number of clergy and religious from the great African Continent who now serve Catholics throughout our nation and who serve them generously and zealously. We know through their presence of the deep faith and generosity of the Church in Africa.
The Church in the USA is also deeply grateful for the opportunity to assist the local Churches in Africa. through the support of Catholic Relief Services, by the many and varied missionary· cooperative ventures that·spring from the generous heart of our people and frequently bind diocese to diocese and parish to parish in mutual prayer, financial assistance, and by personal contacts. I am happy and proud to report that agencies within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have a long history of working with the Episcopal Conferences and associations of Episcopal Conferences on the American continent in the pursuit of peace and justice. These are very positive signs in which the Church in my country and the Church in the countries of Africa have engaged each other in the work of evangelization and social outreach and thus have rendered the theme far this Synod In Service to Reconciliation, Justice, and Peace an important reminder of how the Church in the USA and the Church in Africa are conjoined in faith and in charity.
Yet we know that we can merely say in the words of Saint Luke's Gospel, "we have done only what we ought to have done" [Luke 17:10b] We recognize that the greatest resource that the Church in Africa has are its people. The Church in the USA continues to benefit from those people from Africa who recently have come as visitors and new residents to our shores. These new arrivals come, not like those of an earlier moment in time, wearing chains and as human chattel, but as skilled workers, professionally trained businessmen, and students eager to make a new life in a land that they view as promising. Many of these new peoples bring with them a profound and dynamic Catholic faith with its rich spiritual heritage. These wonderful people challenge us to rediscover our own spiritual traditions that so often are set aside because of the influence of our secular pursuits.
While my own nation has made outstanding and blessed progress in our own struggle for racial reconciliation and justice, we have not yet achieved that perfection to which the Gospel summons all humanity. We also need to achieve reconciliation, justice, and peace in our own land until as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. writing from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama paraphrased the Prophet Amos and we see the ultimate fulfillment of our great potential and [5:24] "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."
The great land of Africa has many other resources that the world today lusts for and at
times pursues with ravishing greed and frequent violence. Your resources are a blessing for this planet that can be used to bring not only prosperity to the peoples of Africa but properly viewed bring a sense of the oneness of the earth and the interconnectedness that people everywhere have when we wisely use the natural resources that God has placed in our hands as a common patrimony.
I am deeply grateful to our Holy Father for inviting me to engage my brother bishops from the African continent and to learn from them some of their hopes, struggles, and dreams and to share with them the deep affection and respect of the Church in the United States of America.

[00020-02.01] [IN000] [Original text: English]

- H. Exc. Mons. Orlando B. QUEVEDO, O.M.I., Archbishop of Cotabato, General Secretary of the "Federation of Asian Episcopal Conferences" (F.A.B.C.) (PHILIPPINES)

"In service of reconciliation, justice and peace" - the theme of the Second Special Assembly for Africa resonates deeply with the aspirations of the Church in Asia.
Despite vast differences, the Church in Asia and the Church in Africa bear striking similarities. If Christianity found its way in the apostolic age to Egypt and North Africa by way of the work of St. Mark the Evangelist, so many Christians in India trace their origins to St. Matthew the Apostle. But in the main the Church in Africa is young, like the Church in Asia. In many countries of both continents Christianity was introduced by foreign missionaries during the colonizing period. Further missionary impetus was made in the l9th and 20th centuries.
The richness of cultures, the trove of cherished traditional family values that are truly human, the thousands of languages spoken, the encounter between Christianity, Islam, and indigenous traditional religions - all these are significant realities strikingly similar for Africa and Asia. Both continents are continents of the poor and of the young.
The two post-synodal exhortations of our late beloved Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in Africa (1995) and Ecclesia in Asia (1998) reflect striking resemblances. For example with regard to present day pastoral challenges: the imperatives of inculturation and inter-religious dialogue, the promotion of an emerging globalizing relativistic and materialist culture by the tools of social communication, the negative impact of economic globalization on the poor, the decline of moral values in social, economic, and political life, and the continuing threats on the very nature of marriage and the family, the various faces of injustice and violent conflict that ruin the harmony of African and Asian societies.
The Church in Africa and the Church in Asia are raising similar questions of deep import: What are we as a community of disciples, as Church? How are we to be credible witnesses of the Lord Jesus and His Gospel? How should we respond to the many complex pastoral challenges that confront us in our mission to proclaim Jesus as the Lord and Savior?
As I understand it, the Church in Africa is exploring the theological and pastoral implications of the Church as the Family of God. For us in Asia, guided by Holy Scriptures and the living Magisterium of the Church we have been led by the Holy Spirit, we believe, to explore in the Asian context the theology of Church as Communion and as humble Servant of the Gospel and of Asian peoples. This theological optic has opened up the pastoral option of ongoing radical renewal of the Church in Asia, an option more of being than of doing. For we realize that deeds must come from the heart of a Church that is renewed in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus our Lord.
Hence in its 35 years of fruitful existence the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences has envisioned a renewal for the Church in Asia towards deeper spiritual interiority; towards dialogue with Asian cultures, with the ancient religious and philosophical traditions of Asia, and with Asian peoples especially with the poor; towards authentic discipleship; towards a renewal of the laity for leadership in social transformation; towards a renewed sense of mission ad gentes; towards the renewal of the Asian family as the focal point of evangelization; and towards a credible living of the Eucharist in the life-realities of Asia.
Such renewal is fundamentally a call from our God who is Love (Deus Caritas Est), offering the hope of salvation (Spe Salvi), and impelling us to love in truth (Caritas in Veritate).
To love in truth, the Church in Africa and the Church in Asia bear similar experiences of sorrow and joy. Sorrow -- at the many forces of a culture of death, forces that both Ecclesia in Africa and Ecclesia in Asia treat with great concern, such as the increasing poverty and marginalization of our peoples; the continuing attacks on marriage and on the traditional family; the injustices against women and. children; our propensity to favor weapons of destruction over integral development; our inability to compete with the powerful in a global economic order unguided by juridical and moral norms; religious intolerance instead of a dialogue of reason and faith; the rule of greed over the rule of law in public life; division and conflict rather than peace; and the degradation of human and natural ecology. Moreover, the frequency of destructive typhoons, floods, droughts, earthquakes and tsunami in the continent of Asia now requires our pastoral collective concern regarding global warming and climate change.
On the other hand we experience great joy and hope in movements of justice and peace - illustrated in the increasing awareness and participation of young people and women toward empowerment and social transformation, in the movement of many groups of civil society towards integrity in public life and towards the care and integrity of creation, in the solidarity of people of good will from different social classes and religious traditions to work for a more just, more peaceful, more fraternal social order.
The reason for our joy and hope is the fact that we see many positive movements within the Church, in various ecclesial organizations and movements, in small Christian communities, among a great number of men and women in religious life, and among the clergy - all of whom bring the values of the Reign of God into new areopagi of evangelization.
With these sentiments of joy and hope in the Lord I express the solidarity of the members of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences with all the participants of the Second Special Assembly for Africa. We thank you most deeply for welcoming many Asian missionaries as well as migrant workers to your beloved continent.
In view of our recent 9th FABC Plenary Assembly in Manila, allow me to express our gratitude to His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze, who was the Special Envoy of the Holy Father, and to His Eminence Ivan Cardinal Dias who sent His Grace Archbishop Robert Sarah as his personal representative.
In á most special way on behalf of the FABC I express our deepest loving fidelity to our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. May we invite you, beloved Holy Father, to visit our region in the near future. Thank you

[00018-02.03] [IN000] [Original text: English]

- H. Exc. Mons. Peter William INGHAM, Bishop of Wollongong, President of the "Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania" (F.C.B.C.O.) (AUSTRALIA)

Your Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, the Presidents-Delegate, the General Relator, General Secretary, Archbishop Eterovic, my Brothers and Sisters of this Synod,
As the current President of the Federation of the Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO), I bring greetings and good wishes from the local Churches in our 4 Bishops' Conferences, namely, The Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, The New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference, The Bishops' Conferences of Papua-New Guinea and Solomon Islands and the vast Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Pacific, which extends from Guam, Mariana Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Cook Islands, right out to Tahiti, plus many more island groups.
I express our communion as a Federation of Bishops' Conferences with the Bishop of Rome and the Universal Church and our solidarity with the Church in the many nations of Africa.All of our Oceania nations, like so much of Africa, have been colonized, in our case, principally by the British, the French, and the Portuguese.
As in Africa, the Church now exists in Oceania, because of heroic missionaries who came mainly from Ireland, France, Germany and Italy.
The Faith in Oceania also has some wonderful role models in martyrs and saints in addition to those already canonized and beatified, but nowhere near the glorious tradition of Saints and Martyrs that witness to the faith in Africa.
The Millennium Goals for human development are far from being met in our Pacific region called Oceania. Yet, because we, as Church leaders throughout the world, try to be close to our people, we can gain a very practical understanding of the ways poverty can completely dehumanize people, and how violence is so destructive of human life and human dignity. We, as Church leaders, can be so conscious of the injustice that sets the wealthy in a privileged position which discriminates against the underprivileged so vividly portrayed in the Parable of Dives and Lazarus. (Lk 16:19-31)
I realize that these realities are, for the nations of Africa, even more threatening than those faced by the communities of Oceania. I pay tribute to the generosity of Catholics in each of the Bishops' Conferences of Oceania, who through Caritas Oceania and Caritas in each of our countries support humanitarian peace and development programs through the Church in Africa. Equally the people of Oceania are generous to the Catholic Mission Propaganda Fidei.
Yet, we have so much to admire and learn from you, the Church in Africa, the witness you give in spite of overwhelming difficulties. Your great sense of mission to evangelize your culture means that opposition from government or other faith traditions only intensifies your faith, hope and love.
In Oceania, the terrible scourge of HIV/AIDS (IL 142) (especially in Papua New Guinea), and the exploitation that can arise from mining, highlight the Church's mission to apply the Gospel of Jesus to reduce the stigma of social disgrace, to replace violence with bridges of reconciliation, justice and peace (IL 90), to hold civil governments to account, to speak up for those persecuted or silenced, and to provide education and health care.
As Leaders in faith and Shepherds of the Christian community, we have from Jesus the Good Shepherd through our long and rich tradition of Catholic faith and culture, a broader view of the human person, because of Jesus and our Church tradition, we have a broader view of justice, of love, of the importance of good relations between individuals, between tribes and between nations; we have a broader view of reconciliation, peace and compassionate care. When there is crisis, injustice and fear, people flock to their churches. This in turn shows the need for us, as Church Leaders, to focus on our Shepherd role and be proactive leaders of hope. As Christians, we deal in hope!
As global temperatures and ocean waters rise, always the poorest and most vulnerable will suffer disproportionately, as they do from drought, flooding and poor harvests, all of which can stir up reasons for conflict and give rise to massive migration by refugees and asylum seekers. In both Oceania and Africa, great work is being done by the Church and its agencies to help people recover their equilibrium in their communities and to manage risks that could arise from natural disasters. We can and must learn from one another. I ask your prayers for Samoa and Tonga in their grief after the recent earthquake and tsunami.
Australia has begun to re-engage with Africa, particularly in the mining industries (IL 51).
As you well know Africa is a continent rich in natural wealth. Yet we would want Australian miners to be responsible to the communities where they will work. Mining must not contribute to instability and conflict – it should be judged as much by its economic dividend as by its peace dividend! A practising Catholic man I know well is a much travelled executive of an Australian mining giant. He assures me that his Company's intention is ethical sustainability. He says they aim to bring about a win-win situation: tangible benefits to the African Communities where they mine as well as to his Company. Many of you are engaged in this dialogue and we must be at your side.
Political unrest and conflict in the Pacific (e.g., Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea) is nowhere on the scale of African countries, but in discerning the role of the Church as the Body of Christ to build bridges of peace and reconciliation, we can learn from your African Church Leaders. Your accomplishments as the Church in leading peace and reconciliation efforts in Africa are most helpful to the Church elsewhere (IL 108).
We are now welcoming in Australia and New Zealand many Africans who have begun new lives after tribal conflict, violence and oppressive regimes. These refugees come from Sudan, the Horn of Africa and to a lesser extent from the Great Lakes. Other Africans have come to our part of the world to study, and some have come to work as clergy and religious. My Diocese and others are at present discerning to accept candidates for the priesthood from parts of Africa.
We have a very multi-cultural community in Australia, where over 60% of our population are migrants and refugees or their children. This has enriched and changed Australia since World War II. The Pope's Migrant and Refugee Sunday is celebrated by us at end of August, to highlight the rich cultural diversity migrants and refugees have brought to our land and to help our people to "welcome the stranger" (cf Heb 11:13) so that migrants or refugees from Africa or from anywhere else can be fully integrated into our Australian community.
I welcome our conversations during this Synod and look forward to learning with you and from you.

[00017-02.04] [IN000] [Original text: English]

- H. Em. Card. Péter ERDŐ, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, President of the Council of the European Episcopal Conference (C.E.E.C.) (HUNGARY)

1. “You are salt of the earth...You are the light of the world” (Mt 5: 13-14) – these words of the Lord refer to all Christians, but, in this moment of human history, in a special way to you, dear Brothers and Sisters in Africa. During the preparation of this special assembly, the singular emphasis of this synodal meeting is crystallized: “The Church in Africa at the service of reconciliation, justice, and peace.”
2. I bring to you the most cordial greeting and message of great closeness from the European Bishops, who – represented by the presidents of all the Episcopal Conferences – met together during these days in Paris. We were able to account for a common work by now consolidated with the African Bishops in the framework of common programs of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, and of SECAM. In various African and European cities, these common works were carried out which treated themes such as migration, slavery, and other human and Christian problems. As you well know, even Europe is a land washed in blood. When, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the inhabitants, especially Catholics in the Western and Eastern part of our continent freely encountered one another, they had to recognize the complexity of their common history. Most of all, the people of Eastern Europe often felt colonized and exploited throughout their history. Even in the first centuries of the modern age, there were entire villages of Christian populations in Southeastern Europe who ended up in the slave trade in the East.
3. Europe’s recent history also left many wounds which are still far from completely healing. If after the Second World War– a war which extinguished the greatest number of human lives in all of humanity – he people of the West, for example the Germans and the French, with substantial aid from great Catholic men such as Schumann, Adenauer and De Gasperi, found not only the way to peaceful coexistence, but also a deeper reconciliation, today it is Central and Eastern Europe’s turn to seek reconciliation of hearts, purification of memory, and constructive brotherhood. In this way, it is very often the Catholic Bishops who are the first to raise the sign of reconciliation, as the German and Polish Bishops first did, a grand act of reconciliation, which at the beginning was not understood by many groups of their society. Several great clerics and theologians of that time, such as, especially, Joseph Ratzinger, found moving words to defend that prophetic act. In recent years there were similar acts of reconciliation and brotherhood between Bishops of Poland and the Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary, and others. Often, mass media does not give much attention to these events. Groups who think they might find their political and economic advantage, soliciting tension and hostility between peoples, ethnic groups and religions are not lacking. “Light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it”, wrote Saint John (1:5). Christ is the light of the world. He illumines even the darkness of human history, and no obscurity, no hate, no evil can overcome him. Our hope is in Him. Even if the Church’s voice and the witness of each Christian seems weak, even if they often do not appear on the front page of the greatest means of communication, this subtle voice is stronger than any noise, lie, propaganda, or manipulation. We are witnesses of the strength of the martyrs. Now the witnesses of the Lamb, killed in the 20th century for their faith, are beginning to be beatified and canonized. They are the ones who “have been through the great trial; they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev 7:14). During long persecutions, their memory was covered in silence. And yet, this memory remained alive in the heart of the community of believers. And now we open the graves. On one hand, it is moving to see what remains of the bodies of the martyrs. Every movement of one of their mortal remains stirs the souls of all who participate in these ceremonies. The great tension between extreme weakness of a human being who was killed and the sublime strength of the same person illuminated by the glory of the martyrs, gives a powerful spiritual impulse to our communities.
Dear Brethren! We, others, European Catholics, have learned from our history to follow closely the fate of African Christians as well, and we have also learned to esteem your fidelity, your witness, and the African martyrs who give their lives – year by year in worrying numbers for Christ and for his Church, and in the same way also for us. The Church in Africa has earned our gratitude and our profound respect.
4. The Servant of God John Paul II taught us with strength and clarity of his divine mercy. Circles of evil which seem at times even diabolical, and which can sadden and push entire human societies towards desperation, building structures of hate, violence, revenge and injustice between ethnic groups, peoples or social classes, would not be able to be overcome simply with human strength, if there were not the divine mercy which renders us capable of following Christ’s commandment: “Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate” (Lk 6:36). If our Lord has commanded us this, such a command is also a guarantee of the possibility to accomplish it. It is He who will give us the strength to be merciful, and to shatter every form of evil.
5. We are convinced that the exchange of gifts is not a program which is valid only between the western and eastern parts of Europe. It is incumbent also upon the faithful, between particular churches even on a continental and universal level. The opportunities for solidarity and the determination not to forget our needy brothers even in a time of crisis is fixed between Catholics in Europe. At the same time, we wish to better study your liturgical and catechetical experiences, the dynamic of your priestly vocations, the opportunities to build together the Church of Christ in Europe, in Africa, and everywhere throughout the world.
6. Certainly, we do not delude ourselves: the great economic and political powers of the world very often do not act according to the logic of charity and justice, and at times they seem to forget true reality, the nature of things and of the human being. Moreover, human dignity does not depend upon our efficiency, nor is it proportional to the success of this world. Every human being, such as this, has the same inalienable dignity. Because he is created in the image and likeness of God. Human dignity is not incompatible with suffering. An ideology which said that to save our dignity, it would be better to die than to suffer, would be false. This was the attitude of the ancient Greco-Romans, those not yet illuminated by the light of the Gospel. Christ’s example teaches us that the greatest suffering may be the moment of the greatest dignity and glory. After the traitor left the Last Supper, Jesus said: “Now has the Son of man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified. If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon.” (Jn 13: 31-32).
If in the present moment many in our world do not listen to the voice of the Creator, and are not open to accepting truth and practicing charity, the nature of created reality remains what it is. In any case, justice and divine mercy still hold their own in the functioning of the world and in the progress of history. Thus, dear Brethren, we assure you of our prayers and our solidarity so that you might find the path to promote reconciliation, justice and peace, and you may be a comfort as well for us with your experiences, your faith, and your witness.

[00021-02.11] [RC000] [Original text: Italian]

REPORT ON ECCLESIA IN AFRICA

- H. Exc. Mons. Laurent MONSENGWO PASINYA, Archbishop of Kinshasa (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO)

We publish below, the Report on Ecclesia in Africa:

- H. Exc. Mons. Laurent MONSENGWO PASINYA, Archbishop of Kinshasa (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO)

Introduction

On 10 April 1994, during a highly colorful pontifical liturgy, His Holiness Pope John Paul II of blessed memory, surrounded by 35 cardinals, 1 patriarch, 39 archbishops, 146 bishops and 90 priests, solemnly opened the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, “in order to promote an organic pastoral solidarity within the entire African territory and nearby Islands”. [1] “Africa was present there, in its various rites, with the entire People of God: it rejoiced, expressing its faith in life to the sound of drums and other African musical instruments”. [2]
On this occasion, Africa realized that it is, on one hand, an integral part of salvation history, from Abraham to Jesus Christ [3] and, on the other, according to the words of Paul VI, “new homeland of Christ”,[4] “ land loved by the Eternal Father”.[5]
For a month (10 April - 8 May 1994), the Synodal Assembly will look closely at Africa, to better understand and measure the depth of its tragedies and its wounds (genocide, wars and armed conflicts, migratory movements) as well as its efforts at rebirth, democracy, and defense of human rights, along with the shining witnesses of love to the point martyrdom.
All through the meetings, the Synod Assembly - and the Church with it - would have experienced and lived in its flesh the suffering of the African people as if the Lord wished to ally the Synod to their experiences: Pope John Paul II and several Synod Fathers, in a clinic, the assassination of an archbishop and three bishops at Kabgayi, the massacre of priests, religious and faithful lay people, desecration of churches...
At the end of the Synodal Fathers- debates and deliberations, Africa appears to be (more than ever) like the man in the Gospel parable who traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho and would be left half-dead by brigands at the side of the road (cf. Lk 10:30 ff). In fact, in following what happened to this man, Africa would await the passage of the Good Samaritan who is Jesus Christ.
Also the Synodal Father wished that the Synod be a “Synod of Resurrection”, a “Synod of hope and comfort for Africa: Christ our Hope is alive; we shall live!" “.[6]
In fact, it was not sufficient to make statements and measure the dramas in Africa; there was need to propose solutions and remedies, pastoral orientations and options able to enliven and animate the entire life of the Church and people of Africa. This is why the Synod Fathers made, at the Synod, the solemn commitment to pursue wholeheartedly the evangelizing mission of the Church, in her five dimensions which are: evangelization, inculturation, dialogue, justice and peace, the means of social communication. And to achieve this mission the Synodal Assembly chose as its guiding idea the Church-Family of God. “ The new evangelization will thus aim at building up the Church as Family, avoiding all ethnocentrism and excessive particularism, trying instead to encourage reconciliation and true communion between different ethnic groups, favoring solidarity and the sharing of personnel and resources among the particular Churches, without undue ethnic considerations..”[7]
Thanks to the benign watchfulness and faithfulness of the Holy Father, the dominant ideas, options, orientation and propositions made by the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa were substantially “codified” in the post-Synodal exhortation Ecclesia in Africa (1995). It would be a good idea to evaluate through the reception of this document the theological and pastoral impact of the Special Synod For Africa within the Church.

1. From the 1st to 2nd Special Synod For Africa

1.1. The First Special Assembly For Africa of the Synod of Bishops without a doubt created a dynamic not only in the life of the universal Church, by the fact that it was chronologically the first continental synod, but also within the Catholic Church in Africa. In this last case this dynamic rested first of all upon the five key themes and their pertinence to the life and evolution of Africa; then on the guiding idea of the Church-Family of God, without mentioning the kairos offered by this vision of the Church for the resolution for the situations of war and conflict experienced by Africa.

1.2. Growth of the Catholic Church in Africa
By way of illustration, we provide some statistics capable of showing the growth of the Church during the 13 years that followed the First Special Assembly for Africa.(1994-2007).

These statistics show the vitality and the growth of the Church in Africa after the holding of the Synod in 1994. This must have been one of the major causes if not the main cause of this impulse.
Another fact to bear in mind in appreciating the vigor of the Church in Africa is most assuredly the creation of new dioceses: 80 from 1994 to 2009 (+ 5 apostolic prefectures) without counting the 24 dioceses that became archdioceses and the 6 in fieri dioceses which became full-blown dioceses. This is how the African episcopate went from 428 in 1994 to 528 in 2009, an increase therefore of 23,5% . If the growth is generalized, certain countries stand out, and in alphabetical order: Benin (+45%), Cameroon (+25%), Ethiopia/Eritrea (+45%)), Ghana (+135%), Kenya (+42%), Nigeria (+43%), Uganda (+15%), Central African Republic (+50%) and Togo (+75%). Naturally, this is also how the national or international African Episcopal Conferences went from 34 in 1994 to 36 in 1998. [8]

Renewal of the pastors in Africa after the Special Assembly for Africa
Of the 190 African bishops members of the 239 at the Synod Assembly only 50 remained in an unchanged situation while for the remaining 129 members : 10 were made Cardinals (8.5%), 36 promoted or transferred (28.5%), 50 became bishops emeritus (38.5%) and 57 died (44%).In the meanwhile, other synodal participants became bishops: 2 priests, 4 experts, 1 auditor and 3 assistants of the General Secretariat.
On the whole in the African continent 520 bishops out of a total of 528 were nominated or promoted since the end of the celebration of the Synod..[9] This gives us an even higher percentage of renewal than that of the members of the Assembly itself with approximately 98% in a very short period of time (1994-2009).

New Bishops in Africa
The first number in parentheses corresponds to the number of bishops nominated or promoted since the end of the Special Assembly for Africa, while the second indicates the total number of dioceses in the country. The recently created dioceses are indicated by the number after the parentheses.
- Southern Africa : (22/29) + 1
- North Africa: (9/10)
- Angola and Sao Tomé (24/18) + 4
- Benin (13/10) + 3
- Burkina Faso and Niger (14/15) + 4
- Burundi (9/9)
- Cameroon (21/26) + 5
- CEDOI (3/6) + 1
- Congo (6/6) + 1
- Congo (Dem. Rep.) 53/51
- Ivory Coast (24/16) + 3
- Egypt (15/15) + 1
- Ethiopia and Eritrea (12/13) + 4
- Gabon (6/6) + 2
- Gambia and Sierra Leone (3/4)
- Ghana (22/19) + 11
- Guinea (4/3)
- Equatorial Guinea (2/3)- Kenya (29/24) + 7
- Lesotho (2/4)
- Liberia (2/3)
- Madagascar (26/20) + 3
- Malawi (11/7)
- Mali (4/6)
- Mozambique (9/12) + 1
- Namibia (2/3)
- Nigeria (47/53) + 16
- Uganda (20/23) + 3
- Central African Republic (8/9) + 3
- Rwanda (9/9) + 1
- Senegal, Cape Verde, Mauritania and Guinea Bissau (10/12) + 3
- Sudan (4/9)
- Tanzania (24/32)
- Chad (6/8) + 4
- Togo (7/7) + 3
- Zambia (7/10) + 1
- Zimbabwe (8/8) + 1
 

1.3. Publications
Among the initiatives taken to achieve the options given by the Special Assembly for Africa, one must take into account the entire or partial publishing of the post-Synodal exhortation Ecclesia in Africa (EIAF) in the principle languages used during the works of the SCEAM (English, French, Portuguese). These translations allowed for a better knowledge of the Synodal directives and options, notably thanks to the holding of pastoral sessions including the faithful at different levels.

1.4. Pastoral structures
The SCEAM as well as the regional and national conferences, like the dioceses, created pastoral or study structures for the application of the directives and recommendations of the Synod for Africa. Notably, at the level of the SCEAM, the statutes and internal rules were amended to this effect.

1.5. Pastoral plans and programs
At the continental, regional, national and diocesan levels, several pastoral plans and projects were established on a yearly, three-yearly and five-yearly basis, to maintain the spirit of the Special Synod for Africa. These programs were generally found in the pastoral letters, pamphlets or booklets which show the ties with the Synod’s way of thinking.

1.6. Two pastoral letters from the plenary assemblies of the SCEAM are worthy of special mention : “ The Church in Africa, a Church-family”[10] and “ Christ is our Peace: the Church-family of God, place and sacrament of pardon, reconciliation and peace in Africa “.[11] While the first pastoral letter is aimed towards the inculturation of the true family values of Africa as regards ecclesial realities, the second, after having shown the difference and overlapping of the peace of men and that offered by Christ and the Church provides a pastoral plan capable of helping the Church to assume a greater role in the human quest for peace in Africa. One should bear in mind this now famous maxim: “Conflict, even of the latent kind, always begins when a right is violated or scorned” [12].

1.7. Synods
Since 1994 and during the following years, many dioceses and some episcopal conferences held synodal meetings on the same themes as the Special Synod for Africa, as well as on only one or two of these themes. The generic theme “ Evangelization “ was also often taken to cover all the sections. One episcopal conference every five years organized a national pastoral session about evangelization.

1.8. Congresses and symposiums
Universities, ecclesiastical faculties and Biblical and theological associations organized congresses and symposiums on evangelization as well as on the key theme of the Church-Family of God or again on the mission. Two theological weeks have remained famous: the first one in Kinshasa, organized by the Faculty of Catholic Theology of Kinshasa on the Church-Family and the Church-Fraternity in 1995, in the course of which the studies showed that from the Bible, especially 1 Pt 2:17 ; 1 Pt 5:9, to monastic life until the 8th century, the vision of the Church as family or fraternity was normal and present.;[13] the second one at ICAO (Abidjan) in 1996, starting from the Leonine (V century), Gelasian (V century) and Gregorian (VII century) up until the liturgical reform of Vatican II, not to mention theological literature, concluded that the concept of Church as Family of God was really only a return to the sources of Christian faith. [14] The PanAfrican Association of Catholic Exegetes (APECA), during the two congresses (Ouagadougou, 1997), [15] and (Abuja, 1999) [16] enriched the theological debate on the the Church-Family of God from a Biblical point of view. The same can be said about the International Missionary Congress “Tertio Millennio “ (2005) held in Kinshasa, where it was noted that the concept of Church-Family was an important African contribution to Ecclesiology. [17]

1.9. Theological and pastoral vocabularyWe are happy to note that the phrase Church-Family of God has increasingly found its place in the theological and pastoral vocabulary of the Church in Africa and the world, including the Pontifical Magisterium. [18]

1.10. Theological and catechetical research
Doctoral and catechetical research have been carried out on the Church-Family of God and on the thinking of the Special Synod for Africa.

1.11. There were three direct consequences of the 1994 Synodal Assembly: the placement at all levels of the Church in Africa (continental, national, diocesan, parochial) of Justice and Peace commissions; the creation of faculties for social communication in Catholic universities, the launching of rural diocesan television and radio networks; of formal or informal commissions for ecumentical and inter-religious dialogue. If we regret, because of a lack of means, not having created an African continental radio, on the other hand we rejoice in the major role played by the Justice and Peace commissions in the civic and democratic formation of citizens as well as the preparation and monitoring of elections in the different African countries.

1.12. It was also found deplorable that there was little enthusiasm created first in the local African Church and other churches of the developed countries regarding the material means necessary to enable the poor African dioceses to be self-reliant. [19] We must recognise that despite the poverty of the African populations, a better organization of the collections for Pontifical Missionary Works, Peter’s Pence, and the self-reliance of the African dioceses would allow Africa to participate more generously in financing the mission of Jesus Christ in the world and “ to produce resources, in the view of the progressive self-financing of our churches” [20]. Following the same thinking, the local churches should make an effort to ensure as far as possible the financing of the ecclesial structures that they create. These types of dispositions are more necessary because of the increasing presence in Africa of all kinds of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) which, because of their activities, turn towards the same Catholic organisms of aid as the dioceses and episcopal conferences.

1.13. Within the framework of the promotion of justice and peace, one episcopal conference established an Institute of Peace, whose initiatives of mediation for peace are many and appreciated.

2. Perspectives of the convocation of the Second Special Assembly for Africa

2.1. Throughout the years following the First Special Assembly for Africa, the Post-Synodal Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod held annual reunions regularly, during which they looked at the socio-pastoral panorama of the Church in Africa.

2.2. During its 11th reunion, 18-19 June 2003, the Council reached the conclusion that “the general situation of the continent, which was already critical at the moment of the preparatory phase of the Special Assembly, had not gotten any better, on the contrary. The only difference comes from the fact that, after the Post-Synodal Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa, the local church now has the proper means to face and deal with this problem”. [21]

2.3. Also, the Council began to program the preparation of the Second Special Assembly for Africa. “Most of the members agreed to the idea of celebrating the Second Assembly 15 years after the first and therefore in 2009, after a preparation of 5 years, allowing for deeper research from the base and thus beginning in 2004".

2.4. The First Synodal Assembly for Africa having studied the situation on the continent on a whole, the Post-Synodal Council suggested that the Second Assembly should be limited to a narrower remit [22] and a special urgency for the future of the continent, i.e. peace, justice and forgiveness in the context of the Church-Family of God, with a formulation of the type: “No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness (or reconciliation)”, or in underlining the leavening role of the Church in Africa: “the Church-Family of God: leaven of the new world”. [23]

2.5. On November 13 2004, the day of the 1,650th anniversary of the birth of Saint Augustine, during an audience with the Bishops of Europe (CCEE) and Africa (SCEAM), His Holiness Pope John Paul II seized the occasion to announce his intention to convoke a second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.

2.6. It would fall to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to finalize this intention in announcing the convocation, at the Vatican, from October 4th to the 25th 2009, of the 2nd Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops on the theme: “The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world (Mt 5:13-14)”.

3. In the steps of the First Special Assembly for Africa

3.1. The second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops follows on from the logic and thinking of the first assembly in 1994. In fact, since Africa has evolved since then in a general atmosphere of wars and conflicts, we could fear that this situation could create a cascade of acts of vengeance and general violence. Providentially, the first Synodal Assembly assigned evangelization to the mission of edifying the Church-Family of God, so that African families could become domestic churches and African societies become societies-family. On one hand, family members do not kill each other. On the other hand, because of its nature, the Church-Family of God presents itself as the place and sacrament of pardon, of reconciliation and of peace, as taught to us by the Gospel (Mt 16:19;18:17 ; Jn 20:22-23). Also the church must present herself to the word like a reconciled community capable of influencing society and drawing it to a will for forgiveness, reconciliation and peace. Therefore a second synodal assembly should finish the work begun in the first one. This calls upon the second synodal assembly to be both a consequence and a complement.

4. Reconciled in the Church-Family of God

4.1. The word reconciliation implies the idea of “resewing” and recomposing the tissue of human relations which were broken for one reason or another. This re-harmonizing is expressed, following the languages, by the fundamental idea of active and passive (allassô) “change”, of “re-assembly” and of “reunion” (conciliar, reconciliar, Cf Concilium), of “purification” and “expiation” (Yôm kippûr). In Africa, reconciliation also means the concept of putting back together the state of cohesion of the clan and of the family in view of total harmony and balance of lineage and for the collective.

4.2. “Christian reconciliation” goes much further, becuase it belongs to the “love, pardon, reconciliation” trilogy, which for its part implies the gratuity in the example of the love of God. Because of this, it participates in the evangelical radicalism (the new law). Also the Gospel can invite us to love as God, that is to say, our friends as well as our enemies, the good as well as the evil,”so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike”.(Mt 5: 44-45). And Saint Paul adds : “So it is proof of God's own love for us, that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. (i.e. enemies of God) (Rm 5: 8.10).

4.3. In this logic of gratuity, the disciple of Christ must leave his offering on the altar and forst go reconcile himself with his brother, before return to present it to God(Mt 5: 23-24). In other words, we should not wait for God-s pardon and our reconciliation with him without a heart open to love and we-disposed towards pardon and reconciliation for others.(cf. Mt 18: 23-35 : the wicked servant)

4.4. Summarizing, love, pardon and reconciliation are released and offered freely without something in return from the outset. Rather they are by nature so disinterested that they provoke in themselves a return. In fact, we cannot grasp the deep motivations of such love without giving in return a proportionate loving response. This is the entirety of the spirituality of our filial relationship with God our Father.

4.5. This is why the ideal of Christian reconciliation, pardon and love transcends all human efforts. He need to the force of the Holy Spirit to live, grow and perfect himself, that Spirit of love that spreads in our hearts(cf. Rm 5:5; 8:15), throught the sacramentary economy of the Church: “You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.' “ (Mt 5, 48). Perfect reconciliation is deplyed and lived in the Church-Family of God inasmuch as the Sacrament of God-s salvation is the place and instrument of reconciliation and pardon.

4.6. The trilogy Love, pardon and reconciliation is inseparably tied to this other one: fraternity, justice and truth. “As society becomes ever more globalized, it makes us neighbours but does not make us brothers. Reason, by itself, is capable of grasping the equality between men and of giving stability to their civic coexistence, but it cannot establish fraternity. This originates in a transcendent vocation from God the Father, who loved us first, teaching us through the Son what fraternal charity is.”.[24]

4.7. We can only reconcile ourselves in the truth: the material truth of facts, the formal truth of the internal dispositions of the heart, when “the words of the mouth flow out of what fills the heart. “ (cf. Lk 6: 45) and the words spoken by the protagonists is truthful and does not get involved in the “yes” and the “no” (cf. Mt 5:37). Only under these conditions can the “truth and reconciliation “ commissions be useful in bringing peace to countries in conflict. “ Truth, in fact, is lógos which creates diá-logos, and hence communication and communion. Truth, by enabling men and women to let go of their subjective opinions and impressions, allows them to move beyond cultural and historical limitations and to come together in the assessment of the value and substance of things.”.[25]

4.8. A reconciliation based on lies cannot be the source of lasting peace, nor can a reconciliation that ignores the elementary imperatives of justice.”No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness”, said John Paul II his message World Day of Peace 2002. And Benedict XVI would say : “ in truth, peace!”. [24]
Reconciliation without justice is a task that causes frustration and leaves a feeling of being unfulfilled. Reconciliation without truth will always bring forth the inadequacy of the signed accords,and will create suspicion about the sincerity of the parties and could compromise fidelity to the promises made.

5. Reconciliation “for the salvation of a numerous people.” (cf. Gn 45, 7-8. 14-15)

In relation to this, the Biblical story of Joseph sold by his brothers can clarify the meaning of reconciliation. In fact, the journey undertaken through slavery by Joseph, son of Jacob, sold by his brothers (Gn 37: 12-28) ends with his reconciliation with his brothers. Joseph interprets his departure for Egypt as though it were the will of God who sent him ahead of the others (his brothers) to save their lives for a greater deliverance (Gn 45:7) ; for the “salvation of a numerous people” (Gn 50, 20). This episode, contextualized in the Biblical theology of the Exodus cycle, gives us, I think, a hermeneutic key to the history of salvation, capable of helping us understand, in faith, the profound sense of the last five centuries of human history in general and of the Slave Trade in particular. The 430 years of slavery of the Jewish people in(Ex 12:40) could lead us to interpret developments in today’s geopolitical situation. This would seem to be goal of the 15th and 16th century Slave Route, considered as God’s plan “for the salvation of a numerous people”. And if the election of a Black as head of the United States of America was a “divine sign” and “a sign from the Holy Spirit for the reconciliation of races and ethnic groups, for peaceful human relations”, and so that “the partnership of raw materials should give way to a partnership of gray matter” in North/South relations... this Synod and the universal Church would gain from not ignoring this primordial event of contemporary history, which is far from being a banal game of political alliances.

CONCLUSION

We can recognize that the spirit and dynamic that the First Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops gave a new impulse to the life and mission of the Church in Africa. Not only did the local Churches enthusiastically embrace the post-Synodal Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa, which they edited and presented, but they also followed its directives, options and orientations, be it to call for diocesan, national or regional synods, be it to organizes cogresses, symposiums, seminars on the key theme Church-Family of God, or more so to elaborate pastoral projects, plans ands programs based on this same theme and contained in pastoral letters, pamphlets or brochures that are easy to read. These pastoral programs were conceived for all levels, from the SCEAM to the Dioceses and Justice and Peace commissions.
On this subject, SCEAM’s pastoral letter, entitled “ Christ is our peace “ (2001) addresses more formally the question of armed conflicts and reconciliation in Africa by considering the Church/Family of God as the place and sacrament of pardon, reconciliation and peace in Africa. This theme of reconciliation and that of the Church-Family of God thus opens the path to the Second Synodal Assembly focusing on the Church in Africa at the service of reconciliation, justice and peace...”You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world”(Mt 5:13-14).
The Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops is called upon to commit the Church and society in Africa to the path of pardon, reconciliationand peace, thanks to the justice in truth: “ reconciled in the Church-Family of God for the salvation of a numerous people”.
“ Teach me, Lord, your ways” (Ps 25/24: 4) “. “ We appeal to you, Lord, you who lead the human being through the conflicts of this world, let this will for peace in our time be achieved, so that all men may live joyfully, and praise you for the love that you give.” [26]

[1] EIAF, 5.
[2] EIAF, 6
[3]Cf Opening Homily of John Paul II
[4] AAS 56, 1964, [[. 907-908.
[5] John Paul II, Closing Homily of the Synod of Bishops, in Doc. Cath. 91 (1994) 536.
[6] Message, n. 1-2; EIAF, 13.
[7] EIAF ,63.
[8] 1994: 34 +1 (CEDOI); 2004: 36 + 1 (CEDOI) - Namibia (96) - Liberia (98).
[9] Newly nominated or promoted bishops (369); transferred (151) after the First Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
[10] Final Document of the Plenary Assembly of the SCEAM at Midrand (Johannesburg), from the 21st to the 27th of September 1997, published in Accra, 1998.
[11] Final Document of the Plenary Assembly of the SCEAM at Rocca di Papa, from the 1st to the 8th of October 2000, published in Accra, 2001
[12] “Christ is our Peace”..., no. 109.
[13] VA, Church-Family - Church-Fraternity. Post-Synodal perspectives. Acts of the 20th Theological Week of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, FCK, 1997.
[14] VA, Foi, Culture et évangélisation en Afrique à l’aube du 3eme millémaire. Acts of the Special post-Synodal discussion, Abidjan, RICAO, 14-15, 1996.
[15] VA, L’Église - famille et perspectives bibliques. Acts of the 8th Congress of the PanAfrican Association of Catholic Exegetes. Cardinal P. Zoungrana, Ouagadougou, 19-27 July 1997; Kinshasa 1999.
[16] VA, L’Église - famille et perspectives bibliques. Acts of the 9th Congress of the PanAfrican Association of Catholic Exegetes;Abidjan, 25-30 September 1999, Kinshasa, 2002.
[17] Tshibangu Th., “L’Avenir de l’acitivité missionaire” ad Gentes, Prespectives pour le 21eme siècle, Acts of the International Congress of Missiology “Tertio Millennio”, Kinshasa, Médiaspaul, 2005, p.
[18] Cf. John Paul II, Pastores gregis, no. 59; Benedict XVI, Speech at the Papal Audience on February 7th 2007 and October 15th 2008.
[19] Cf. EIAF, no. 104.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Report of the 11th Reunion of the Post/Synodal Council, page 4, II.
[22] ibid
[23] cf Report, ibid, pages 4-5.
[24] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas In Veritate, no. 19.
[25] ibid, no. 4.
[26] The prayer of Nones for Thursday of the Second Week of Ordinary Time.


SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY ON CHURCH-FAMILY IN AFRICA

I. SPECIAL ASSEMBLY FOR AFRICA

A. MONOGRAPHS CHEZA M., Le Synode africain. Histoire et textes. Paris, Karthala, 1996.
CHARLTON T., Exploring Our Christian Life. In the Light of the African Synod. Nairobi, Pauline Publications Africa, 1994.
KIRCHBERGER G. – PRIOR J. M., Digodak dalam Balanga Africa : Seputar Sinode para Uskup Africa (Cooked in an African Pot : The African Synod of Bishops). Nusa Indah, Seri Verbum, 1996.
MCGARRY C., What Happened at the African Synod?. Nairobi, Pauline Publications, 1995.
NTEDIKA KONDE J., Le Synode Africain (1994). Un appel à la conversion et à l’espérance. Église africaine en Dialogue 14. Kinshasa, Catholic Faculty of Kinshasa, 1995.
OKOLO CHUKWUDUM B., The African Synod : Hope for the continent’s liberation. Spearthead 130-13. Eldoret, Gaba Publications, 1994.
TEBALDI G., Sulle strade della speranza. Fermenti di Chiesa in Africa. Collana “Giovani Chiese”, Bologna, Editrice Missionaria Italiana, 1995.

B. RESEARCH, DOCTORAL THESES
V.A., L’Africa dopo il Sinodo. Le Chiese africane in cammino con i loro popoli. Bologna, Editrice Missionaria Italiana, 1994.
V.A., African Synod, in African Eclessial review (Eldoret) 36(1994) 199-265.
V.A., Africa sinod, in Encounter (Rome) 3 (1994) 1-153.
V.A., La Chiesa che è in Africa. Riflessioni sui temi del Sinodo africano, in quaderni CUAMM (Padua) 43 (1994) 1-24.
V.A., Per l’Africa con l’africa, in Africa. Assemblea Speciale del Sinodo dei Vescovi, in il Regno/Documenti (Bologna) 39 (1994) 321-349.
V.A., Le Synode africain, in Mission de l’Église (Brussels) 65 (1994) 1-124.
V.A., The African Synod: A Step Forward. Post-synodal special Assembly held at the Carmelite Centre (Nairobi, 8 july 1994) Tangaza occasional papers, Paulines Publications Africa, 1995.
V.A., L’Église en Afrique vit son Synode, in Mission de l’Église (Paris) 70/111(1996) 5-84.
V.A., The African Synod: Documents, Reflections, Perspectives. Compiled and Edited by the Africa Faith and Justice Network under the direction of Maura Browne, snd, Orbis Books. Maryknoll, New York 1996.

C. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
ARINZE F., Il Synodo africano dei Vescovi, in Nuova Umanita (Grottaferrata) 15/4-5 (1994) 419-425.
ATUIRE C., El sinodo africano, una speranza para la Iglesia, in Ecclesia (Mexico) 8 (1994) 375-384.
V.A., Les étudiants africains boudent-ils le Synode de leur continent ?, in Telema (Kinshasa) 22/3-4 (1996) 43-44.
BARROS SOUSA M., Um encontro na luta contra o medo (O Sinodo sobre a Africa e a lgreja Catolica no Brasil), in Revista Ecclesiastica Brasileira (Petropolis) 54 (1994) 643-660.
BIANCHI M., Il Sinodo africano : un evento ecclesiale che dona speranza e slancio missionario, in Omnis Terra (Roma) 12 (1994) 127-133 ; English in Omnis Terra (Rome) 28 (1994) 290-296 ; Français in Omnis Terra (Roma) 33 (1994) 286-292 ; Espanol in Omnis Terra (Rome) 26 (1994) 290-296.
BOKA DI MPASI Londi, Ce que les africains eux-mêmes attendent de leur Synode. Quelques échos des voix du peuple de Dieu, in Telema (Kinshasa) 20 (1994) 7-23.
BOKA DI MPASI Londi, Le Synode africain par-delà la promesse des fleurs, in Telema (Kinshasa) 20 (1994) 2-4.
BUDUDIRA B., Le Synode spécial pour l’Afrique est un événement qui n’est pas passager, in Au cœur de l’Afrique (Bujumbura) 61/4 (1995) 1-150.
BUETUBELA P., L’Assemblée Spéciale du Synode des Évêques pour l’Afrique, in Revue Africaine de Théologie (Kinshasa) 18 (1994) 269-272.
BUETUBELA P., L’assemblée Spéciale du Synode des Évêques pour l’Afrique : déroulement des travaux et espoirs suscités, in Revue des Sciences de la Mission (Kinshasa) 2 (1995) 7-17.
BUJO B., Die relevanz der speziallen bischofssynode für Afrika, in Ordenskorrespondenz (Cologne) 35 (1994) 62-68.
CASADEI R., Dall’Africa qualcosa di nuovo. Note sul Messaggio finale e sulle “Propositiones” dell’Assemblea Speciale del Sinodo per l’Africa, in Vita e Pensiero (Milan) 77 (1995) 482-490.
CATALÁ IBAÑEZ J., Assemblea Especial para Africa del Sinodo de los Obispos, in Anuario de Historia de la Iglesa (Pamplona) 4 (1995) 419-129.
CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF AFRICA, Letter The Implementation of the African Synod, in Weltkirche (Munich) 1996, 111-112.
CHENU B., Enjeux du Synode africain, in Chemins de dialogue (Marseilles) 5 (1995) 103-125.
CHEZA M., Comment dresser un bilan du Synode Africain ?, in Spiritus (Paris) 37 (1996) 425-437.
CHEZA M., Bilancio del Sinodo Africano, in Concilium (Brescia) 32 (1996) 410-415.
CHEZA M., Le Synode Africain et l’Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa, in Revue Théologique de Louvain 27 (1996) 200-214.
CHENU B., Enjeux du Synode africain, in Chemins de Dialogue (Marseilles) 5 (1995) 103-126.
CHUKWUDUM OKOLO B., The African Synod : A Forum to Discuss major issues facing African Christians, in African Ecclesial Review 36 (1994) 154-169.
DE HAES R., Ecclesia in Africa, Une invitation à passer à l’acte, in Sedos bulletin (Rome) 28 (1996) 265-270.
DE HAES R., Ecclesia in Africa, Une invitation à passer à l’acte, in Revue africaine des Sciences de la mission (Kinshasa) 2/3 (1995) 15-28.
DIATA N., Ecclesia in Africa. L’écho d’une clameur du chrétien africain, in Annales de l’Ecole Théologique de Saint-Cyprien (Yaoundé) 1 (1996) 45-64.
EGBULEFU OKORO J., In the African Synod the Image of a Young Church in Increasing Maturity, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 29 (1995) 26-33 ; in French 71-78 ; in Spanish 125-132.
ELIA Meo, II Sinodo africano ha parlato anche a noi?, in Missione Oggi (Brescia) 7 (1994) 41-44.
ELSENEIR Josef, The African Synod in the Light of the Post-synodal Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa of Pope John Paul II, in Neue Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft (Immensee) 53 (1997) 69-72.
FERRARI Gabriele, La vita consacrata al Sinodo Speciale dei Vescovi per l’Africa. Bilancio, occasione di metodo e di riflessione, in Vita Consacrata (Milan) 30 (1994) 388-394.
GANDOLFI M. E., Sinodo africano : Cristo il figlio dell’Africa, in Il Regno/Attualità (Bologna) 39 (1994) 308-316.
GANTIN B., Synode africain, un grand bond en avant, in Telema (Kinshasa) 22/3-4 (1996) 12-17.
GASPARINO A., The Spirituality of African Priests: An Issue for the African Synod, in African Ecclesial Review 35 (1994) 266-268.
GIANNASI A., II Sinodo Africano: piccola guida, in Africa (Milan) 72/3 (1994) 16-18.
GIRARDELLO R., II Sinodo Africano, in Rivista di Vita Spirituale (Rome) 48 (1994) 263-275.
HALEMBA A., Oczekiwania Kosciola w Afryce u progu roku 2000 w swietle Synodu Afryki i Adhortacji Apostolskiej Ecclesia in Africa , in Nurt SDV (Warsaw) 30 (1996) 3-32.
HEALEY J. G., Five African Parables (Life Stories) on the Main Topics of the 1994 African Synod, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 36 (1994) 45-58.
HEALEY J. G ., Platform: The Church in Africa, Pope John Paul II’s Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation (Ecclesia in Africa). Statements on Mission and Missionary Activity, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 39 (1997) 117-123.
HEIJKE Jan, The African Bishops’ Synod of 1994, in Exchange (Leiden) 25 (1996) 136-162.
HOLZEN W. V. – FAGAN S. , Africa, the Kairos of a Synod, SEDOS Symposium on Africa April-May 1994, Rome 1994.
INARRA B., Cronica del Sinodo: una Iglesia que hace comino, in Misiones Extranjeras (Madrid) 144 (1994) 555-567.
JONG D. H. de, Sinodo africano en un foro romano , in Misiones Extranjeras (Madrid) 144 (1994) 657-661.
KAYTAKIBGA M., Ecclesia in Africa, in Catechesi Missionaria (Rome) 12 (1996) 5-10.
LOBINGER F. , Un poderoso Simbolo : una reflexion sobre el Sinodo africano, in Mundo Negro (Madrid) 37 (1996) 24-28.
LUNEAU R ., Ecclesia in Africa: Chronique d’un Synode, in Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions (Paris) 41 (1995) 171-180.
LUNEAU R., Le Synode africain d’avril-mai 1994 et les nouveaux mouvements religieux, in Social Compass (Louvain-la-Neuve) 43 (1996) 199-207.
MAGESA L., End of Bishops’ Assembly: Beginning and Future of African Synod, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 37 (1995) 2-14.
MARCHESI G., L’Esortazione apostolica postsinodale Ecclesia in Africa, in La Civiltà Cattolica (Rome) 146 (1995) 379-388.
MARYOMEZA T., Ecclesia in Africa, Exhortation apostolique de SS. Jean Paul II sur l’Église en Afrique, in Urunana (Butare) 29/53 (1996) 43-59.
MAURIER H., La Chiesa in Africa : Giovanni Paolo II promulga il Sinodo, in Africa (Milan) 74/1 (1996) 7-10.
MBUKA C., Synode pour l’Afrique ou Synode africain ? Eléments d’un bilan, in Euntes Digest (Kessello) 27 (1994) 105-119.
MBUKA C., Synode pour l’Afrique ou Synode africain ? Elément d’un bilan, in Sedos Bulletin (Rome) 26 (1994) 294-331.
MCGARRY C., Point of View: African Synod. The Future of African Theology, in Hekima Review (Nairobi) 11 (1994) 122-128.
NDI OKALLA Joseph-Marie, The Synod for Africa: Results and Perspectives, in Verbum SVD (Nettetal) 35 (1994) 227-230.
NEVES Lucas Moreira, Voix des Amériques à l’Assemblée du Synode africain, in Telema (Kinshasa) 22/2 (1996) 6-9.
NKAFU NKEMNKIA M., Chiesa d’Africa : Sinode dei Vescovi, in Filosofia e Teologia (Naples) 9 (1995) 166-169.
NTAKARUTIMANA E., Un Sinodo de los Obispos para Africa. despues ?, in Misiones Extranjeras (Madrid) 144 (1994) 568-580.
ONAIYEKAN J., L’Église dans la Société à la lumière du Synode africain, in Spiritus (Paris) 35 (1994) 347-354.
ONWUBIKO O., The Vatican Venue and its Impact on the African Synod, in Bigard Theological Studies (Enugu) 15 (1995) 5-18.
QUENUM A., Comment vivre l’Exhortation apostolique post-synodale Ecclesia in Africa, in Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Abidjan) 13 (1996) 2-10.
ROSNER G., Ecclesia in Africa. Gedanken zum apostolischen Screiben Johaness Paul’s II. Nach der Africa-Synode, in Die Katholischen Missionen (Freiburg) 115 (1996) 8-13.
SARPONG P. K., Expectations, Outcome and Achievements of the Synod, in V.A., The African Synod: Documents, Reflections, Perspectives, Orbis Books. Maryknoll, New York 1996, pp. 220-226.
SCHOUVER P., Chronique d’un Synode, in Spiritus (Paris) 35 (1994) 340-346.
SCHOUVER P., Ecclesia in Africa: point de vue d’un missionnaire, in Sedos Bulletin (Rome) 28 (1996) 10-20.
TRESOLDI E., II grande albero chiamato Africa. L’Assemblea Speciale del Sinodo dei Vescovi per l’Africa, in La Rivista del Clero Italiano (Milan) 75 (1994) 444-454.
VANGHELUWE R., The African Synod: Experiences and Impressions, in Louvain Studies (Leuven) 2O (1995) 65-72.
VERDZEKOV P., Sinodo Africano: a Igreja na Africae sua missao evangelizadora rumo ao ano 2OOO –“Vos Sereis minhas testemunhas”, in Sedoc (Petropolis) 27 (1994) 62-77.

II. EVANGELIZATION

A. MONOGRAPHS
MUNONO MUYEMBE B., Église, évangelisation et promotion humaine. Le discours social des évêques africain. Etudes d’éthique chrétienne, Studien zur theologischen Ethik 63, Edition Universitaire Fribourg, Editions du cerf, Paris 1995.
BRUGGEMAN L., Un projet africain d’évangélisation. Pour un suivi du Synode. L’Église demain 13, Kinshasa 1997.

B. RESEARCH, DOCTORAL THESES
V.A., Foi, Culture et évangélisation en Afrique à l’aube du Troisième Millénaire, Spécial colloque post-synodal, Abidjan 18-20 avril 1996, in Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Abidjan) 14-15 (1996) 15-222.
DINH DUC DAO J., Prospettive missionarie dell’Africa alla luce dell’Esortazione Apostolica Ecclesia in Africa (Unpublished Manuscript), Pont. Missionary Union International Secretariat, (Rome, C.I.A.M.), P.U.U., Rome 1996.
MROSO A. J., The Church in Africa and the New Evangelisation. A Theologico-pastoral Study of the Orientation of John Paul II, P. U.G., Rome 1996.
MURIUNGI D., Christian Moral Education People in the Teaching of John Paul II: Its Pastoral Application in the Association of Member Episcopal Conference in Eastern Africa, Dissertatio ad lauream in Pontificia Facultate Theologicae, P. U.S.C., Rome 1998.
MURAGE B., Evangelization and Inculturation of Marian Devotion Among the Agikuyu of Central Kenya in Nyeri Archdiocese Yesterday and Today, Dissertatio ad laurem in Pontificia Facultate Theologicae Marianum, 62, Rome, 1994.
UCHECHUKWU F., Moral Education in Nigeria (Reflections on the African Synod), Dissertatio ad licentiam in Pontificia Facultate Theologicae, P.U.S.C., Rome 1998.

C. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
CIPOLLINI A., Pour une nouvelle évangélisation en Afrique. Introduction à la réflexion sur certaines lignes de force émanant de l’Assemblée sur le Synode Africain et de l’Exhortation Apostolique post-synodale Ecclesia in Africa, in Cahier de réflexion (Mbalmayo) 2 (1996) 5-19.DEFOUR G., Pour une Catéchèse au diapason du synode africain. L’homme en quête de son authenticité comme image de Dieu, in Telema (Kinshasa) 21/3-4 (1995) 67-77.
DINH DUC DAO J., Prospettive missionarie dell’Africa alla luce dell’Esortazione Apostalica Ecclesia in Africa, in Catechesi Missionaria (Rome) 12 (1996) 31-36.

III. INCULTURATION

A. MONOGRAPHS
KABASELE LUMBALA F., Alliance avec le Christ en Afrique. Inculturation des rites religieux au Zaïre, Editions Karthala, Paris 1994.
KABASELE LUMBALA F., Liturgies africaines : l’enjeu culturel, ecclésial et théologique, in Recherche africaine de Théologie 14 , Facultés Catholiques de Kinshasa, Kinshasa 1996 .
IGWEGBE OKWUDILI I., Sacramental Theological Thinking in the African Symbolic Universe. Affinities With John Henry Newman, European University Studies, serie 23, theology vol. 525, Peter Lang, Frankfurt/Main 1995.
NDI OKALLA J.-M., Inculturation et conversion. Africains et européens face au Synode des Églises d’Afrique, Editions Karthala, Paris 1994.
SHORTER A., Christianity and the African Imagination. After the African Synod Ressources for Inculturation, Paulines Publications Africa, Nairobi 1996.

B. STUDIES, DOCTORAL THESES
ANGOUNOU J.C., Diverses approches africaines du sacrement du mariage à la lumière de la réflexion récente. Excepte ex dissertatione ad Doctoratum in Facultate Theologiae, P.U.G., Rome 1997.
CHARLES E.T., From Adaptation to Incarnation : A Study of the theology of Inculturation in the Teaching of the African Catholic Bishops (1969-1994) and Its Implications for Interreligious Dialogue and Human Promotion (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis), PUG, Rome 1996.
CHARLES E.T., Inculturating the Gospel in Africa : From Adaptation to Inculturation, P.U.G., Rome 1996.
CONFERENZA ITALIANA SUPERIORI MAGGIORI, Ufficio Missionario, Dal Sinodo per l’Africa : come si incultura il Vangelo. La vita consacrata si interroga, Rome 1995.
ESSOMBA F. A., Pour une proposition d’un rituel inculturé de mariage pour l’Église qui est au Cameroun. Une étude comparative entre l’OCM de 1991 et le rituel matrimonial de la Conférence épiscopale du Cameroun. Pars dissertationis ad Doctoratum Sacra Liturgiae assequendum in Pontificio Instituto Liturgico, Pont. Athenaeum S. Anselmi de Urbe, Rome 1997.
GUIDELINES FOR HEALING MINISTRY in the Catholic Church in Nigeria, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Lagos 1997.
KABASELE LUMBALA F., Liturgies africaines: l’enjeu culturel, ecclésial et théologique in Recherches africaines de Théologie 14 , Facultés Catholiques de Kinshasa, Kinshasa 1996 .
KAHINDI CHARO P. , Family as a Sanctuary of life. With a Special Reference to African Religious Moral Tradition ; Dissertatio ad Licentiam in Pontificia Facultate Theologicae Sanctae crucis. Rome 1998.
KAYONDO R., Towards a Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for the Ganda in Uganda. A study of the inculturation of Symbols and Symbolisms for Christian Initiation, Dissertatio ad Doctoratum Sacra Liturgiae assequendum in Pont. Inst. Pont. Athenaeum S. Anselmi de Urbe, Rome 1994KITSA BUUNDA D., Le Christ comme sagesse de Dieu dans la pensée négro-africaine. Essai sur les proverbes des bahunde, Extractum ex Dissertatione ad Doctoratum in Facultate Theologica P.U.U., Rome 1998.
MASINGANDA A. M., Du discours christologique à l’émergence d’ecclésiologie en contexte négro-africain. Pertinence doctrinale et contextuelle, Excerpta dissertatione ad Doctoratum in Facultae Theologiae PUG, Rome 1996.
MOTO D., Vers l’inculturation des rites sacrés bantu pour les diocèses du Shaba (Zaïre). Dissertatio ad Lauream in Theologica, Pontifica Facultas Theologica Theresianum, Rome 1997.
MURAGE B., Evangelization and Inculturation of Marian Devotion Among the Agikuyu of Central Kenya in Nyeri Archdiocese Yesterday and Today, Dissertatio ad Laurem in Pontificia Facultate Theologicae Marianum, 62, Rome 1994.
NWEKE Benard, Igbo System of Kinship and Family : a Christian Response, dissertation ad doctoratum in Facultate Theologiae, P.U.S.C., Rome 1998.
OBORJI F. A., Trends in African Theology Since Vatican II. A Missiological Orientation, dissertation ad doctoratum in Facultate Missiologiae, P.U.U., Rome 1998.
OKIKE OHA B., The Need for Mission Through Inculturation and Dialogue in Nigeria, extractum ex dissertatione ad Doctoratum in facultate Missiologiae, P.U.U., Rome 1995.
OKUCU L., The “Liturgical Ministry” of the Lay Catechist. A Theological and Liturgical Study of the Ministry of the Lay Catechist with Special Reference to Uganda. Excerpta dissertatione ad Doctoratum Sacrae Liturgiae assequendum in Pontificio Instituto Liturgico, Rome 1997.
OSUJI ACHULIKE B., The African Concept of Community : a Basis for the Inculturation of Religious Community Life in the Apostolic Religious Institutes in Africa. Excerpta ex Dissertatione ad Doctoratum in Facultatae Theologiae, P.U.G., Rome 1996.

C. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
ABENG N., La pastorale de la famille – l’inculturation – l’ecclésiologie. Après le Synode des Évêques pour l’Afrique, in Revue Africaine de Théologie (Kinshasa) 18 (1994) 51-64.
Assembly for Africa and Inculturation, in Studia Missionalia 44 (1995) 275-285, PUG, Rome.
BOKA DI MPASI L., Gli antenati mediatori in Africa ,in La Civiltà Cattolica (Rome) 145 (1994) 348-371
BOKA DI MPASI L., Les ancêtres médiateurs, in Telema (Kinshasa) 2 (1995) 61-70.
DI SALVATORE G., L’image de l’Église-famille dans l’Exhortation Apostolique Ecclesia in Africa. Eléments de Réflexion sur une application de l’inculturation, in Cahiers de Réflexion (Mbalmayo) 2 (1996) 41-69.
GIRAUDO C., Prière eucharistique et inculturation. Jalons pour le Synode d’Afrique et de Madagascar, in Nouvelle Revue Théologique (Namur) 116 (1994) 181-200.
GRASSO E., The Process of Inculturation in the Light of the Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 29 (1995) 436-442.
GRASSO E., II Processo dell’Inculturazione alla luce dell’Esortazione apostolica Ecclesia in Afrique, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 14 (1996) 90-95.
GRASSO E., El Proceso de Inculturacion a la luz de la Exhortacion apostolica Ecclesia in Afrique, in Iglesia,Pueblos y Culturas (Quito) 8/39 (1995) 21-34.
GRASSO E., Le Processus d’Inculturation à la lumière de l’Exhortation apostolique Ecclesia in Africa, in Cahiers de Réflexions (Mbalmayo) 2 (1996) 19-40.
GWEMBE E.P., La piété envers les ancêtres dans la religion africaine, in Telema (Kinshasa) 2 (1995) 53-60.INCARNATION (THE) OF CHRIST IN THE AFRICAN FAMILY.The Tanzania Church implements the African Synod, in Catholic international (Baltimore) 8 (1997) 92-93.
KABASELE LUMBALA F., Célébration Africaine de l’envoi en mission (rituel), in Revue africaine des Sciences de la Mission (Kinshasa) 3 (1996) 187-200.
KÜSTER V.,¨…and Foolishness to Gentiles¨. Images of Christ from Africa and Asia, in Mission Studies (Sankt Augustin) 12/23 (1995) 95-112.
LAPOINTE E. , African’s Ancestors Veneration and Christian Worship, in Mission (Ottawa) 2 (1995) 253-278.
MBUKA C., Chiesa ¨Famiglia di Dio¨ : comunione e dialogo. Elementi di inculturazione, in C.I.S.M., Dal Sinodo per l’Africa: come si incultura il Vangelo, Rome 1995, p.69-75.
MEDDI L., Dal Sinodo una spinta all’inculturazione, in Catechesi missionaria (Rome) 12 (1996) 25-30.
MIMBU KILOL H., Quels rites et symboles dans les liturgies africaines ?, in Revue africaine des Sciences de la mission (Kinshasa) 3 (1996) 87-120.
OGUEJIFOR J. O., Ecclesia in Africa and the Truth about Inculturation, in Bigard Theology Studies (Enugu) 17 (1997) 61-70.
OKOYE J., African Theology, in MÜLLER K., Dictionary of Mission : Theology, History, Perspective, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York 1997, pp.9-17
OKOYE J., Inculturation and Theology in Africa, in Mission Studies (Hamburg) 14 (1997) 64-83.
OWAN KRIS J., The African, the Spirit-world and the Crave for Survival and Success : Post-synodal Reflecions, in Bigard Theological Studies (Enugu) 17 (1997) 23-43.
SPIRITUALITY DEPARTMENT, A Search for an Authentic African Christian Spirituality, in African Christian Studies (Nairobi) 10/1 (1994) 38-55.
WIJSEN F., All People See the Same Sun. Liturgy in Africa Between Inculturation and Syncretism, in Questions liturgiques (Leuven) 77/1-2 (1996) 77-95.

IV. CHURCH-FAMILY OF GOD

A. CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE APECA AND THEOLOGY FACULTIES
ATAL, D., La fraternité dans le Nouveau Testament, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.181-198.
BITOTO, N., Foi, culture et évangélisation en Afrique à l’aube du 3e millénaire, dans Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, n°14-15 (1996), p.47-60.
BUETUBELA, P., Église-Fraternité selon le Nouveau Testament. Enquête exégétique dans les synoptiques et les épitres pauliniennes, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.199-209.
BUETUBELA, P., “ L’enfant et sa mère “ : Signification ecclésiale de la maternité de Marie, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème Congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.113-119.
DABIRE, J. M., L’Église-Famille de Dieu, dans Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, n°14-15 (1996), p.81-119.
DE HAES, R., L’Église comme communion selon Vatican II, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.255-264.
DIOUF, J. N., La nouvelle naissance dans le Prologue de Saint Jean (Jn 1, 11-13), dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.99-112.
DJITANGAR, E., “ D’Egypte, j’ai appelé mon fils “. Flashes sur Mt 2, 13-23, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.121-126.
DUJARIER, M., L’Église-fraternité chez les Pères de l’Église, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.213-221.
ESUA, C.F., Biblical Foundations of the Church as Family, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.31-40.
GAMBEMBO G., La famille africaine : cellule vitale, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.23-29.
HOLTER, K., Relating Africa and the Old Testament on the Polygamy Issue, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.61-71.
KABASELE L., Les ressorts liturgiques du concept “ Église-famille “, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.357-364KANYAMACHUMBI, P., La famille traditionnelle africaine : un paradigme socio-politique très précieux, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.43-61
KEMDIRIM, P.O., The Role of Women in luke and the Africain Image of Mother, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du neuvième Congrès de l’APECA, Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 2002, p.33-42
KIBANGA M., La vie familiale comme lieu d’émergence de l’Église-famille, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.331-341
KISIMBA N., L’Église-famille et ministères, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.265-283
LUDIONGO N., Les dimensions canoniques de l’Église-famille, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.365-377
MALU N., L’identité chrétienne de la famille dans l’Église et dans la société, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.285-291
MANGONI T., La solidarité dans la tradition africaine, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.119-127
M’BARGA, J., Église-Famille et défis dans la nouvelle Evangélisation en Afrique, dans Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, n°14-15 (1996), p.151-170
MATAND, J. B., La solidarité fraternelle de Jésus avec les croyants. Lecture rhétorico-exégétique de He 2, 5-16, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du neuvième Congrès de l’APECA, Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 2002, p.67-88.
MATAND, J. B., “ Le Christ est ressuscité d’entre les morts, prémices de ceux qui se sont endormis “ (1Co 15, 20). Appartenance au Christ et liens familiaux au village des ancêtres, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.127-150.
MBAYA M., La solidarité africaine à l’épreuve du temps, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.63-74.
MONSENGWO, L., “ Église-famille et images bibliques de l’Église à l’aube du 3e millénaire “, dans Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, n°14-15 (1996), p.121-138
MONSENGWO, L., L’ayant droit dans l’Ecriture. Le cas de Joseph (Gn 37 ; 39-41), dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du neuvième Congrès de l’APECA, Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 2002, p.43-56.
MONSENGWO, L., L’ayant droit dans l’Ecriture Sainte, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.73-87.
MPONGO, L., Les dimensions liturgiques de la famille, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.345-356.
MUGARUKA, R., “ Église, famille de Dieu “ dans le Nouveau Testament. Approche lexicographique, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.161-168.
MUKENDI W. M., Famille africaine : cellule de base, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.31-42.
MUKENI B., La solidarité dans la tradition africaine. Une approche psychologique, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.109-117.
MUKUNA M., Les modèles d’Église du Moyen-âge au Concile Vatican II, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.239-253.
NGIMBI B., La famille africaine, lieu d’humanité (valeur et respect de la vie) : le dynamisme de la famille Yombe urbaine, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.83-90.
NGOY M., Le visage de la famille dans l’Ancien testament, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.131-160.
NGUAPITSHI K., Modèle d’Église dans la tradition kimbanguiste, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.323-330.
NIMY, B., La famille africaine, lieu d’humanité (valeur et respect de la vie), dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.91-107.
NTEDIKA K., L’Église-famille chez les Pères de l’Église, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.223-237.
NWAORU, E.O., Old Testament Perspectives on Bride-Price : Meaming for the African Church as Family, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du neuvième Congrès de l’APECA, Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 2002, p.21-32.NYEME Tese, L’Église-famille : une chance pour l’Afrique, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.379-384.
ONAIYEKAN, J., The Church : Family of God on Earth, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.41-50.
RUHAMANYI, D., “…Il les créa mâle et femelle “ (Gn 1, 27b). Vocation communionnelle du couple humain, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.51-60.
SANON, A., T., “ Articulation entre foi et culture en vue de l’évangélisation “, dans Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, n°14-15 (1996), p.33-46.
SANOU, L.K., Les généalogies de Jésus Christ dans le Nouveau Testament, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.89-97.
SARAH, R., La fraternité dans l’Ancien Testament, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p. 169-179.
SINSIN, B. J., Foi et inculturation en Afrique, dans Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, n°14-15 (1996), p.177- 201.
SOME, J. M., L’Église-Famille de Dieu, dans Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, n°14-15 (1996), p.67-80.
STANDAERT, B., La première épitre de Pierre ou l’apologie d’une Église humble et joyeuse, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.151-169.
TSHUNGU B., La solidarité africaine à l’épreuve du temps, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.75-81.
UMEAGUDOSU, M.A., The Legal Role of the Church in the new Testament, dans l’Église-Famille et Perspectives Bibliques. Actes du 8ème congrès de l’APECA. Mélanges Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA. Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 1999, p.171-180.
UMOREN, A.I., “One Heart and Soul” Actes 4 : 32) : Familial Unity in the Primitive Church and contemporary African Church, dans l’Église-Famille et perspectives bobliques. Actes du neuvième Congrès de l’APECA, Kinshasa, Saint Paul, 2002, p.57-65.
WASWANDI K., L’Église-famille, initiatrice d’une vie nouvelle, dans Église-Famille ; Église-Fraternité. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la 20ème Semaine Théologique de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, F.C.K, 1997, p.295-322.
YANOOGO, B., “ Église-famille en Afrique : Originalité du concept “, dans Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, n°14-15 (1996), p.139-150.

B. STUDIES FOR DOCTORAL THESIS
V.A., Foi, culture et évangélisation en Afrique à l’aube du troisième Millénaire, Spécial colloque post-synodal, Abidjan 18-20 avril 1996, in Revue de l’institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Abidjan) 14-15 (1996) 15-222.
OBORJI F. A., Trends in African Theology Since Vatican II. A Missiological Orientation, dissertation ad doctoratum in Facultate Missiologiae, P.U.U., Rome 1998.
ISRAEL J., The Church as Family: a Theologoical Pastoral Study with Reference to African Synod, dissertato ad doctoratum in Facultate Thelogiae, P.U.L., Rome 1998.
C. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
AFONSO C., Sinodo africano: a Igreja-familia, in Boa Nova (Cucujäes) 70/801 (1994) 16-18.
ARINZE F., Reflecting on Church as Family, Introduction to the Symposium organized by the Association of Nigerian Priests and religious in Rome on “The Church as the Family of God”, Collegio San Paolo, Rome 19 Febuary 1995.
BALLONG-WEN-MEWUDA J-B., The Church As Family, Symposium of the Association of Nigerian Priests and, religious in Rome on “The Church as the Family of God”, Collegio San Paolo, Rome 19 Febuary 1995.
CLERICI L., The Church as Family: African Church communities as Families of Jesus and of God, a Biblical and Ecclesiological Reflection, in African Christian Studies (Nairobi) 11 (1995) 27-45.
DI SALVATORE G., L’image de l’Église-famille dans l’Exhortation Apostolique Ecclesia in Africa. Eléments de réflexion sur une application de l’inculturation, in Cahiers de Réflexion (Mbalmayo) 2 (1996) 41-69.
EGBULEFU OKORO J., Chiesa –Famiglia per l’Africa, in Mondo e Missione (Milan) 123 (1994) 437-441.
EGBULEFU OKORO J., A Christology of Church As Family of God, Symposium of Association of Nigerian Priests and religious in Rome on “The Church as the Family of God” Collegio San Paolo, Rome 19 February 1995.
ÉGLISE-FAMILLE; ÉGLISE-FRATERNITÉ. Perspectives post-synodales. Actes de la XXe semaine théologique de Kinshasa (26.XI-2.XII.1995), Facultés Catholiques de Kinshasa, Kinshasa 1997, 397pp.
ÉVÊQUES DU CONGO, Message aux chrétiens et aux hommes de bonne volonté “ Église-Famille et développement” ; in Weltkirche (Munich) 1995, 163-165.
HEALEY J. G, Church-as-family and SCCs Themes from the Africa Synod, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 37 (1995) 44-46.
KABASELE LUMBALA F., Ressort et perspectives d’une Église-Famille en Afrique, in Revue Africaine des Sciences de la Mission (Kinshasa) 2 (1995) 19-28.
KABASELE LUMBALA F., La Chiesa-Famiglia in Africa, in Concilium (Brescia) 31(1995) 719-725, English ed., p.93-109
MALU NYIMI M., Église-Famille / Église-fraternité. Proposition synodale d’une ecclésiologie dynamique en Afrique, in Revue Africaine des Sciences de la Mission (Kinshasa) 3 (1996) 95-106.
MANHAEGHE E., Familie van God in de Afrikaanse stad., in KerK en Missie (Brussels) 73/184 (1996) 18-21.
MBUKA C., Chiesa “ Famiglia di Dio”: comunione e dialogo. Elementi di inculturazione, in C.I.S.M., Dal Sinodo per l’Africa: come si incultura il Vangelo, Rome 1995, p.69-75.
NOTHOMB D., L’Église-Famille: concept-clé du Synode des Évêques pour l’Afrique , in Nouvelle Revue Théologique (Tournai) 117 (1995) 44-64.
OKEKE H. O., From ‘Domestic Church’ to ‘Family of God’ the Christian Family in the African Synod, in Neue Zeitschrift fur Missioswissenschaft (Immensee) 52 (1996) 193-207.
OROBATOR E., Perspectives and Trends in Contemporary African Ecclesiology, in Studia Missionalia (Rome) 45 (1996) 267-281.
OROBATOR E., Leadership and Ministry in the Church-as-family. An Essay on Alternative Models, in Hekima Review (Nairobi) 17 (1997) 7-18.

V. DIALOGUE

A. RESEARCH, DOCTORAL THESES
CHARLES E.T., From Adaptation to Incarnation: A study of the theology of incluturation in the Teaching of the African Catholic Bishops (1969-1994) and its implications of interreligious Dialogue and Human Promotion (unpublished Doctoral Thesis), PUG,Rome 1996
ILUNGA M., Christianisme negro-africain et dialogue interculturel, jalons pour une nouvelle missiologie en Afrique noire ‘Francophone’, Excerpta ex dissertatione ad doctoratum in Facultate Missiologiae,P.U.G., Rome 1994
OBORJI F. A., Trends in African Theology Since Vatican II. A Missiological Orientation, dissertation ad doctoratum in Facultate Missiologiae, P.U.U., Rome 1998.
OKIKE OHA B., The Need for Mission Through Inculturation and Dialogue in Nigeria, Extractum ex dissertation ad Doctoratum in Facultate Missiologiaae, P.U.U., Rome, 1995.

B. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
KAYITAKIBGA M., II dialogo con le religioni tradizionali africane, in V.A., Religioni e Sètte nel mondo : Religioni Tradizionali Africane, Revista Trimestrale di Cultura religiosa, settembre 1996, pp. 102-110.
MBUKA C., Al Sinodo per l’Africa : annuncio e dialogo interreligioso, una comprensione inclusiva, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 13 (1995) 266-275; English in Omnis Terra (Rome) 29 (1995) 16-25 ; Français in Omnis Terra (Rome) 34 (1995) 29-38 ; Español in Omnis Terra (Rome) 27 (1995) 392-396.

VI.HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

A. MONOGRAPHS
MUNONO MUYEMBE B., Église, évangélisation et promotion humaine. Le discours social des évêques africains. Etudes d’éthique chrétienne, Studien zur theologischen Ethik 63, Editions Universitaires Fribourg, Editions du Cerf, Paris 1995.
MUSOPOLE A. C., Being Human in Africa. Toward an African Christian Anthropology, American University Studies, series 11, P. Lang, New York, Berlin 1994.

B. RESEARCH, DOCTORAL THESES
CHARLES E.T., From Adaptation to Incarnation : A Study of the Theology of Inculturation in the Teaching of the African Catholic Bishops (1969-1994) and Its Implications for Interreligious Dialogue and Human Promotion (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis), PUG, Rome 1996.
SANO J.-B., La dignité de la personne humaine comme paramètre incontournable pour la mission évangélisatrice de l’Église en Afrique. Une relecture de l’Exhortation apostolique post-synodale Ecclesia in Africa, dissertatio ad Doctoratum in Facultate Theologiae, P.U.U., Rome 1997.

C. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
ÉVÊQUES DU CONGO, Message aux chrétiens et aux hommes de bonne volonté “Église-Famille et développement ”, in Weltkirche (Munich) 1995, 163-165.
HENRIOT P.J., Development in the Light of the African Synod : An Alternative to the Structural Adjustment Program, in Catholic International 7 (1996) 6/7, pp. 285-294.
IKE O., La Dottrina sociale della Chiesa in Africa, in La Società (Verona) 6 (1996) 697-723.
LWAMINDA P., The African Synod and the Development, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 37 (1995) 278-291.
OPENIBO V., Ecclesia in Africa. Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II: an African Woman’s View, in Sedos Bulletin (Rome) 28 (1996) 3-9.
OTIENO A. O., The Role of the Church in Development in the light of the African Synod, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 37 (1995) 342-352.
SARRAF J., La liberté de la femme passe par sa liberté. Le Synode africain donne le ton, in Telema (Kinshasa) 21/3-4 (1995) 20-22.

VII. MEANS OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

ARTICLE
FANIRAN OLADEJO J., The Challenges of the African Synod to Catholic Journalists, in Vidyajyoti (Delhi) 59 (1995) 46-53.

VIII. AGENTS AND STRUCTURES OF EVANGELIZATION

A. RESEARCH, DOCTORAL THESES
ANUSIONWU V., The Role of the laity in Missionary Activity of the Church in Igboland of Nigeria: A Historical And Pastoral Approach, Extractum ex dissertatione ad doctoratum in Facultate Missiologiae P.U.U., Rome 1994.
ATADANA J. A., The Diocesan Bishop as the Chief Administrator of a Particular Church with Particular Reference to Ghana, Dissertatione ad doctoratum in Facultate luris Canonici, P.U.U., Rome 1995.
FEMI OSEGBOUN R., The Catechist in The Church According to the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod Of Bishops (1994). Implications for Ekiti diocese in Nigeria, Doctoral Thesis P.U.S., Rome 1996.
KIYINDA-MITYANA DIOCESE, Pastoral Co-Ordinator’s General Report on Building Basic Small Communities, August 1997.
KIYINDA-MITYANA DIOCESE, Pastoral Co-Ordinator’s Report On Future Parishes 1997/1998, October 1997.

B. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
ABENG N., La pastorale de la famille – l’inculturation – l’ecclésiologie. Après le Synode des Évêques pour l’Afrique, in Revue Africaine de Théologie (Kinshasa) 18 (1994) 51-64.
IBWENWANNE F., Schools of Evangelization in Nigeria, in GBUJI A., New Evangelization in Nigeria, Kmensuo Educational Publishers, Onitsha 1994, pp.155-172.
KPODA D., Le Burkina à l’heure du Catéchisme catholique et du Synode, in Le Calao (Bobo-Dioulasso)100 (1995) 7-8.
LWAMINDA Peter, The African Synod and the family, in African Christian Studies (Nairobi) 11 (1995) 46-53.
MBUKA C., Chiesa Sinodo per l’Africa. Provocazioni alla vita religiosa, in C.I.S.M., Dal Sinodo per l’Africa: come si incultura il Vangelo, Rome 1995, p.69-75.
MRINGI A., Ecclesiology, Structures and Activities Within Small Christian Communities, in The Jurist 56 (1996) 200-240.
UZUKWU E.E., The Birth and Development of a Local Church, in V.A., The African Synod: Documents, Reflections, Perspectives, Orbis Books. Maryknoll, New York 1996, pp.3-8.
ZAGO M., La vita consacrata al Sinodo sull’Africa, in Omnis Terra (Roma) 12 (1994) 134-140, English, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 28 (1994) 297-303, Français, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 33 (1994) 293-299, Español, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 26 (1994) 297-303.
ZAGO M., Religieux dans l’Église africaine à la lumière des Synodes sur l’Église en Afrique et sur la vie consacrée, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 31 (1997) 231-240 ; English, in Omnis Terra (Rome) 31 (1997) 231-237.
ZAGO M., Religieux dans l’Église africaine à la lumière des Synodes sur l’Église en Afrique et sur la vie consacrée, in Revue Africaine des Sciences de la Mission (Kinshasa) 3 (1996) 81-94.

IX. JUSTICE AND PEACE

A. MONOGRAPHS
K’ASHA N.N., Rôle de l’Église dans la démocratisation de l’Afrique subsaharienne: une étude juridique, P.U.L., Rome 1997.
MBYEMEIRE J.P., A Theological Analysis of the Problem of Justice and Peace: the Contribution of the Special Synod for Africa and the Church in Uganda, P.U.U., Rome 1997.

B. RESEARCH, DOCTORAL THESES
SSERUNJOGI J., Self-Support of the Local Church based on Canon 222§ 1-2 and the Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa –With Special Reference to Uganda, Dissertation ad doctoratum in Facultate luris Canonici, P.U.U., Rome 1998.
KITENGIE R., Les enjeux de la crise morale en Afrique. Propos social des Pères du Synode Africain, dissertatio ad Licentiam in Facultate Theologiae, P.U.S.C., Rome 1998.

C. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
CHIROMBA F., The Life of the Church, in V.A., The African Synod: Documents, Reflections, Perspectives, Orbis Books. Maryknoll, New York 1996, pp. 9-13.
HENRIOT P.J., Development in the light of the African Synod: An Alternative to the Structural Adjustment Program, in Catholic International 7 (1996) 6/7, pp.285-294.
KABANGU J. M., Les fondements théologiques des droits humains selon le S.C.E.A.M., in Revue Africaine des Sciences de la Mission (Kinshasa) 3 (1996) 69-79.
KPOGO L., Sur les traces des limites du Synode des Évêques pour l’Afrique. Le problème de la justice et de la paix, in Revue de l’Institut Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Abidjan) 7 (1994) 45-55.
LWAMINDA P., The African Synod and the Development, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 37 (1995) 278-291.
M’BOKOLO E., L’évolution démocratique de l’Afrique des Conférences nationales et le rôle des Églises, in Revue Africaine des Sciences de la Mission (Kinshasa) 2 (1995) 51-94.
NKAFU NKEMNIA M., La dottrina sociale della Chiesa al Sinodo per l’Africa, in La Società 4 (1994) 563-581.
OTIENO A. O., The Role of the Church in Development in the Light of the African Synod, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 36/5 (1994) 342-352.
UKPONG J. S., Option for the Poor : A modern Challenge for the Church in Africa, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 36/5 (1994) 350-365.
WALIGGO J-M., The Synod of Hope at a Time of Crisis in Africa, in V.A., The African Synod: Documents, Reflections, Perspectives, Orbis Books. Maryknoll, New York 1996, pp. 199-210.

X. SOLIDARITY

A. STUDIE FOR DOCTORAL THESIS
SSERUNJOBI J., Self-Support of the Local Church based on Canon 222§ 1-2 and the Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa -With Special Reference to Uganda, dissertation ad doctoratum in Facultate luris Canonici, P.U.U., Rome 1998.
KITENGIE R., Les enjeux de la crise morale en Afrique. Propos social des Pères du Synode Africain, dissertation ad Licentiam in Facultate Theologiae, P.U.S.C., Rome 1998.

B. ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES
GRASSO E., Les défis que posent à l’Europe l’Exhortation apostolique Ecclesia in Africa, in Cahiers de Réflexions (Mbalmayo) 2 (1996) 70-76.
IKE O., La Dottrina sociale della Chiesa in Africa, in La Società (Verona) 6 (1996) 697-723.
KARAMAGA A., Selfhood of the Church in Africa, in Current Dialogue (Geneva) 27 (1994) 41-48.
KAWEESA B. M., Will the Economic Factor Shrink or Thrive the African Church of the Year 2000?, in Catholic News Report 2/4 (1997) 23-25.
KEMBO G., Toute communauté ecclésiale doit tendre à la maturité. Problèmes d’autosuffisance des Églises africaines, in Telema (Kinshasa) 21/3-4 (1995) 7-11.
KIMARYO R., A Call to Africa to Shake off the Dependent Syndrome in African Ecclesial Review 39/1 (1997) 29-36.
KIYINDA-MITYANA DIOCESE, SYNOD II 1997, Structures of Administration, 1997.
KIYINDA-MITYANA DIOCESE, Social and Economic Development Department, General Report, August 1997.
NWATU F., The Church’s Prophetic Role in Africa’s Search for Selfhood, in African Ecclesial Review (Eldoret) 38 (1996) 172-187.
SCHLICK J., Vers une autonomie financière des Églises catholiques romaines d’Afrique subsaharienne ? Réalisations pastorales et institutionnelles après Ecclesia in Africa, in Praxis juridique et Religion (Nordheim) 12-13 (1995-96) 5-58.
VANDAME C., Financement des Églises d’Afrique à partir de l’Église qui est au Tchad, in Telema (Kinshasa) 21/3-4 (1995) 16-19.

[00012-02.09] [RE000] [Original text: French]

NOTICES

- TIMETABLE
- PRESS CONFERENCE
- BRIEFING
- POOL
- BULLETIN SYNODUS EPISCOPORUM
- LIVE TV COVERAGE
- TELEPHONE NEWS-BULLETIN
- OPENING HOURS OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE

TIMETABLE

A delegation of synodal Fathers will be received, at the Capitol, by the Honorable Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome. This meeting is scheduled for the day after tomorrow, 7 October 2009 at 9:30, in view of the day that the Municipality of Rome is dedicating to Africa. In fact, next 19 October, a Convention in the Capitol’s Protomoteca Hall is planned (from 9:00 until 13:00), whose theme will be “Africa: What partnership for reconciliation, justice, and peace?”. Also that evening, there will be a concert-recital (at 21:00) at the Auditorium of Conciliation entitled “Africa: a Cross in the midst of the sea”.

The participants in the II Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops will attend a concert, “Youth against War - 1939 - 2009", scheduled for Thursday 8 October 2009 at 18:30 in Rome’s Auditorium of Conciliation, in the presence of the Holy Father Benedict XVI. This event, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, is being promoted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, the German embassy to the Holy See, and by KulturForum of Mainau. It is supported by the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations. It is financed by Italian and German organizations. The orchestra is composed of young musicians from ten nations, who will present musical pieces by Gustav Mahler and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, both Hebrews by birth who were then baptized. Mahler and Mendelssohn, Catholic and Protestant, respectively, experienced anti-Semitism. For the event, the afternoon General Congregation will end at 17:00.

[00023-02.05] [00000] [Original text: Italian]

PRESS CONFERENCE

The second Press Conference on the Synod works (with simultaneous translations in Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese) will be held in the John Paul II Hall of the Holy See Press office on Wednesday 14 October 2009 (following the Relatio post disceptationem) at about 12.45 pm.

The names of participants will be announced soon as possible

For the access permit, audio-visual operators (cameramen and technicians) and photoreporters are requested to apply to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

The next Press Conferences will be held on:
- Friday 23 October 2009 (following the Nuntius)
- Saturday 24 October 2009 (following the Elenchus finalis propositionum)

BRIEFING

First Briefing for linguistic groups will be (in the places and with the Press Attaché indicated in Bulletin N.2) tomorrow, Tuesday 6 October at about 13.10. The audio-visual operators (cameramen and technicians) and photographers are kindly requested to apply to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications for their entry permit (very restricted).

The following briefings will take place, at about 13.10:
- Wednesday 7 October 2009
- Thursday 8 October 2009
- Friday 9 October 2009
- Saturday 10 October 2009- Monday 12 October 2009
- Tuesday 13 October 2009
- Thursday 15 October 2009
- Saturday 17 October 2009
- Tuesday 20 October 2009

POOLS

On the following days, pools of accredited journalists will have access to the Synod Hall in general for the opening prayer of the morning General Congregations.
- Tuesday 6 October 2009
- Thursday 8 October 2009
- Friday 9 October 2009
- Saturday 10 October 2009
- Monday 12 October 2009
- Tuesday 13 October 2009
- Thursday 15 October 2009
- Saturday 17 October 2009
- Tuesday 20 October 2009
-Thursday 23 October 2009
- Saturday 24 October 2009

Registration lists for the pools will be available for reporters at the Information Accreditation desk of the Holy See Press Office (to the right of the entrance hall).

For the pools, the photoreporters and TV operators are kindly requested to apply to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

The Participants in the pools are kindly requested to meet at 8.30 am in the Press Sector which is located outside, in front of the entrance to the Paul VI Hall. From there they will be accompanied by an official of the Holy See Press Office (for reporters) and by an official of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (for photoreporters and TV camera teams). Suitable dress is required.

BULLETIN SYNODUS EPISCOPORUM

The fifth Bulletin - with the reflection of Fraternal Delegate His Holiness Abuna PAULUS, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church (ETHIOPIA) (whose text will be available with embargo upon the opening of the Holy See Press Office) - will be published at the conclusion of the morning Third General Congregation Tuesday 6 October 2009, during which time the Voting for the election of the Commission for the Message and the beginning of the general discussion is planned.

LIVE TV COVERAGE

The following events will be transmitted live on the TV monitors in the Telecommunications Room, in the Journalists’ Room and in the John Paul II Conference Hall of the Holy See Press Office:
- Tuesday 6 October 2009 (09.00): The first part of the Third General Congregation, for the singing of the Third Hour and the reflection of the Fraternal Delegate His Holiness Abuna PAULUS, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church (ETHIOPIA).
- Saturday 10 October 2009 (18.00): Rosary Prayer with University Students from Rome (Paul VI Hall)
- Sunday 11 October 2009 (10:00):Solemn Concelebration of the Eucharist with Canonizations (Saint Peter’s Square).
- Tuesday 13 October 2009 (9:00) : Part of the General Congregation during which the Relatio post disceptationem is presented.
- Sunday 25 October 2008 (9:30 ): Solemn Concelebration of the Holy Mass at the conclusion of the Synod (Saint Peter’s Basilica).

Any updates will be published as soon as possible.

TELEPHONE NEWS-BULLETIN

During the period of the Synod, a telephone news-bulletin will be available:
- +39-06-698.19 for the ordinary daily Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office;
- +39-06-698.84051 for the Bulletin of the Synod of Bishops - morning session;
- +39-06-698.84877 for the Bulletin of the Synod of Bishops - afternoon session.

OPENING HOURS OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE

During the II Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, the Holy See Press Office will be open during the following hours, until 25 October 2009:
- From Monday 5 October to Friday 9 October 2009: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Saturday 10 October: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Sunday 11 October: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- Monday 12 October: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Tuesday 13 October: 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- From Wednesday 14 October to Saturday 17 October: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Sunday 18 October: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- From Monday 19 October to Saturday 24 October: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Sunday 25 October: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The staff of the Information and Accreditation Desk (to the right of the entrance hall) will be available:
- Monday-Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Notice of any changes will be communicated as soon as possible and will be posted on the bulletin board in the Journalists’ Area of the Holy See Press Office, published in the Bulletin of the Commission for Information of the II Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops and in the Service Information area of the Internet site of the Holy See.

Return to:

- Index Bulletin Synodus Episcoporum - II Ordinary Special Assembly for Africa - 2009
  [Plurilingual, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish]

- Index Holy See Press Office
  [English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish]