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The Church's Role
THE CONTRAST couldn't be greater. Archbishop Jaime Goncalves of Beira, Mozambique, on a visit to the United States last week, delivered the Pacem in Terris lecture at Georgetown University in Washington. At a Harvard University seminar later, he was billed as "an African peacemaker." In Manhattan, the archbishop addressed the Community of Sant'Egidio in St. Joseph's Church in Greenwich Village on the topic "Peace From Africa: The Mozambique Story"—recalling his role as one of four mediators in 1992, along with two Sant'Egidio members and an Italian legislator, in negotiating the end of a 16-year civil war in his country that led to long-term peace and stability. Compare that to the situation in parts of Africa today. In Chad, a volatile and unstable landscape where two days of fierce rebel fighting erupted in early February while a new wave of refugees pours in from neighboring Darfur. In Kenya, long a bastion of sub-Saharan African stability, where a disputed Dec. 27 election sparked a shocking round of violence that continues today. And in Zimbabwe, a potentially prosperous country struggling in the throes of economic meltdown, with looming national elections that the country's Catholic bishops and others say are unlikely to be fair. Problems like these—with their roots in political corruption, bitter religious and tribal rivalries, and a shift to democratization—do not have easy solutions. But there are paths to follow, and the Catholic Church—with a large and growing membership in Africa—is positioned to be a leader. Mozambique's Archbishop Goncalves said during his U.S. visit that his country is a model of how a nation "can go from war to peace" with a relatively stable government, democracy and a functioning parliament. But recognizing that there are still problems, including a current movement toward a one-party system, Church officials meet formally with government leaders once a year to encourage dialogue across political lines. The Zimbabwe bishops' justice and peace commission has been at the forefront of calls to postpone the March elections, citing a variety of impediments to a free and fair process. Earlier this month, Tanzanian Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, known as SECAM, called for strengthening Church structures in North Africa, where the Muslim-Christian divide is huge, so that SECAM can represent "all of Africa, as is intended." Archbishop Gabriel Palmer-Buckle of Accra, Ghana, attending the meeting, noted that every diocese has a justice and peace commission, but many are dormant. "They need to be more active and aware of issues in their areas," he said, since they "are able to reach people at a parish level and to lobby locally" on issues of social justice, he said. That activism—along with the humanitarian aid infrastructure of Catholic agencies like Catholic Relief Services and Caritas, and the commitment of international religious congregations to education and other missionary undertakings—are tremendous resources. They are resources that should be used, and supported by Catholics around the world.
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