{"id":1009,"date":"2012-09-07T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-07T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-calls-on-lay-africans-to-evangelize-their-continent\/"},"modified":"2012-09-07T08:30:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-07T08:30:00","slug":"pope-calls-on-lay-africans-to-evangelize-their-continent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/09\/pope-calls-on-lay-africans-to-evangelize-their-continent\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope calls on lay Africans to evangelize their continent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Sep 7, 2012 \/ 02:30 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Benedict XVI has called upon lay Catholics to evangelize Africa, the \u201ccontinent of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn this transformation of the whole society, which is so urgent for Africa today, the lay faithful have an irreplaceable role,\u201d the Pope said in a Sept. 5 message to the Pan-African Congress of Catholic Laity.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWomen and men, young people, the elderly and children, families and entire societies, all of Africa today looks to the \u2018ambassadors\u2019 of the Good News, the lay faithful,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\tThe Pan-African Congress of Catholic Laity is taking place Sept. 4-9 in Yaound\u00e9, the capital city of Cameroon. Organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, it brings together Africans from all walks of life, along with the continent\u2019s bishops to \u201creflect on various challenges and share experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope hailed the new lay Catholic movements that have arisen in recent decades as \u201cbrave peacemakers and heralds of true hope\u201d who are \u201cin love with Christ and the Church, filled with joy and gratitude for the baptism they have received.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Benedict XVI has visited the continent of Africa twice during his seven-year pontificate. His first trip in 2009 was a pastoral visit to Cameroon and Angola. In 2011 he made his second trip, this time going to Benin, where he signed the blueprint for the future of the Church in Africa, the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation \u201cAfricae Munus.\u201d In the document, the Pope dubbed Africa the \u201cContinent of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOf course, at first sight, Africa\u2019s problems appear serious and not easy to solve,\u201d the Pope remarked in his message to the lay congress. He also observed that even \u201cvaluable traditional values of African culture\u201d are now being threatened by a \u201csecularism which causes disorientation\u201d that \u201ctears in the personal and social fabric, exasperates tribalism, violence, corruption in public life, humiliation and exploitation of women and children, growth of poverty and hunger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHowever, he countered, at the \u201cheart of the African people\u201d we soon discover \u201ca wealth of spiritual resources\u201d which are \u201cprecious for our times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe love for life and for the family, a sense of joy and sharing, the enthusiasm of living the faith, are all values that I have seen during my travels in Africa, and that are still etched in my heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tPope Benedict prayed that the \u201cdark and nihilistic relativist mentality that affects various parts of the world\u201d may never \u201copen a breach\u201d in the reality of African life.<\/p>\n

\tHe then praised the gathering in Yaound\u00e9 for paving the way for the October opening in Rome of the Synod of Bishops on New Evangelization and the Church\u2019s 2012-13 \u201cYear of Faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe role of the lay faithful, the Pope stated, is key to all of the Church\u2019s efforts because they have received a \u201cdivine gift\u201d in their baptism.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn fact, the acceptance of this divine gift goes hand in hand with the enthusiasm for the proclamation of the Gospel in a kind of a \u2018virtuous circle\u2019 where faith moves the announcement and the announcement strengthens the faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope finished his message by entrusting the congress to the care and intercession of \u201cOur Lady of Africa, Queen of Peace and Star of New Evangelization,\u201d before imparting his apostolic blessing.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Vatican City, Sep 7, 2012 \/ 02:30 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has called upon lay Catholics to evangelize Africa, the “continent of hope.”<\/p>\n

\t“In this transformation of the whole society, which is so urgent for Africa today,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-africa","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPope calls on lay Africans to evangelize their continent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Sep 7, 2012 \/ 02:30 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has called upon lay Catholics to evangelize Africa, the “continent of hope.” “In this transformation of the whole society, which is so urgent for Africa today,...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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