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Sunday 18 October, 2009╬Wilton D. Gregory,
Coffee breaks at the Synod of Bishops are very much like our own USCCB coffee breaks – there is a lot of social networking going on! Bishops are trying to meet each other over projects and tasks on which they would like to collaborate or would like to influence. And occasionally, the coffee breaks are just a welcome moment to meet new people. But the Synod of Bishops has an added element – one has to figure out in what language to begin a conversation. English and French are the two dominant tongues for this Synod, but you can never go wrong by breaking the ice with Italian. Portuguese is also sprinkled throughout the hall. And these modern European languages may well be joined by the many indigenous languages of the people of this vast continent. Africa is a land of many languages, cultures, and ethnic traditions. In fact, this great diversity is one of the challenges that face and also grace this vast territory. There are more than 50 nations that are located in Africa and its related island communities. Most of these states are the artificially configured creations of the colonial period. Some of the nations are amalgamations of peoples who came from many different tribes and did not always enjoy a very warm or cordial relationship. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 called by German Prime Minister von Bismarck divided the continent of Africa into 50 territories that gave little recognition of the languages, tribal communities, and ethnic heritages of the peoples of Africa. One of the bishops from the African Synod made note of the fact that this event occurred 125 years ago this year and was the source of much of the internal strife with which Africa still faces While the Church has been present in Africa from ancient times, its presence was largely to be found north of the Sahara where some of the great Saints and Fathers of the early Church established monasteries and early dioceses. The faith came south of the Sahara along with those same colonial powers that sent missionaries into these territories some of which were then known by other names. The very names of many of the participants attending the Synod are a worthy testimony of the presence of missionaries from European nations: Patrick, Jean-Louis, Boniface, Stanislaus, Alphonsus, Pierre, and many others that link the African peoples of today to the missionaries from the colonial period. Now in turn those very same African nations are supplying clergy and religious as missionaries to the former colonial powers and to the Americas. The Church faces the great responsibility of bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to such a diverse gathering of peoples in Africa. Multiple languages may not be the most difficult challenge the Church faces in that endeavor. Cultural and ethnic differences are even thornier as people cling to their own heritages and reject others not so much because of language as tribal differences. This diversity in ethnic and cultural differences complicates the establishment of state governments that must draw upon people from many different tribal backgrounds in order to form one nation. We in the USA know how challenging it can be to bring people together and to fashion them into a single nation in spite of racial, regional and ethnic differences – it is the same in Africa – only more so. Africa’s great diversity is an operative factor that has repeatedly entered the conversations of the Synod for Africa – both during coffee breaks, in small group discussions and in individual interventions. As an American, I am intrigued by the vastness of the continent, the many ethnic and cultural traditions that are to be found therein and yet the common spirit of hope that the bishops from Africa have that even these challenges will be overcome through the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
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