African Bishops To Meet

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32011, 11 June 1969, Page 4

African Bishops To Meet

(N .Z.P .A.-Reuter—Copyright) KAMPALA (Uganda). Thirty-two cardinals, archbishops and bishops, representing all Roman Catholic episcopal conferences in Africa and Malagasy, will meet in Kampala for three days in July on the eve of Pope Paul’s visit, the first to Africa by a reigning pontiff in modern times. ' The Pope is due to meet the African bishops during his two days in Kampala. He will arrive on July 31. In the three preceding days the bishops will take part in a symposium on the problems of the Church in Africa. Cardinal Laurean Rugambwa, Archbishop of Dar-Es-

Salaam. Tanzania, will be host at the symposium. The idea of the meeting arose - from a discussion last year between another African car- : dinal, Cardinal Zoungrana, of Ouagadoudou, Upper Volta, and the five archbishops from , Africa who are members of the “Council of 24,” serving as counsellors to the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. ' Cardinal Zoungrana wrote - to the chairmen of all the na- < tional and regional episcopal : 1 conferences in Africa, and it i was unanimously agreed to create a flexible organisation ; for exchanging ideas. The symposium was origin- i ally planned for April this : year, but when plans for the i Pope’s visit became known it 1 ! was postponed until July. A wide range of problems will be discussed, but the main item will be to establish 1 an organisation to ensure effi- 1 i cient and constant inter-com- : ; munication between Catholic , Church leaders in all parts of , Africa. This association would re- 1 . semble the bishop’s confer- '

ence of Latin America. But it would not be a juridical episcopal conference, and It would not replace the existing national or regional episcopal conferences. Church leaders stress that there is no question of forming an “African bloc” in the Catholic Church. Items on the agenda include the problem of missionary vocations, the urgent need for an official theology of the Church’s involvement in social and national development, and the relations between local bishops and the missionary institutes. There are also problems of shortage of priests, the need for an African liturgy, and difficulties of communication between English-speaking and French-speaking Africa. All seven . cardinals of Africa and Madagascar are expected to attend the symposium. Also expected is Archbishop Sergio Pignedoli, secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.