In Angola, pope encourages postwar spiritual and material recovery

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

LUANDA, Angola (CNS) -- Arriving in Angola on the second stage of his African pilgrimage, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the country to continue on the path of reconciliation after a devastating civil war.

As Angola recovers spiritually and economically from the conflict, it must not forget its own poor, the pope said after landing at Luanda's airport March 20.

"The multitude of Angolans who live below the threshold of absolute poverty must not be forgotten. Do not disappoint their expectations!" the pope said.

Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos met the pontiff as he disembarked from the Alitalia charter plane that brought him from Cameroon. When a young woman who was presenting the pope with flowers lost her white cap, the pope promptly put it back on her head.

Then the president led the 81-year-old pontiff past a long line of dignitaries in torrid midday heat that brought handkerchiefs to many brows. The pope did not appear to be bothered by the warm temperatures, and he smiled as a crowd cheered and ululated from the airport rooftops.

Angola, a former Portuguese colony that became independent in 1975, was evangelized by missionaries more than 500 years ago. Today, about 57 percent of the population is Catholic, one of the highest percentages in Africa.

Angola's civil war lasted 27 years, ending with a peace agreement in 2002. The fighting between government forces and a rebel movement supported by the United States left an estimated 500,000 dead, 80,000 maimed and the country's infrastructure shattered.

In his arrival speech, the pope said that as someone who grew up in Germany during World War II he understood what war can do to a country and the need for moral and material rebuilding. He also referred to Germany's postwar division, with oppression caused by "destructive ideologies."

"You can therefore understand how keenly aware I am of dialogue as a way of overcoming every form of conflict and tension and making every nation -- including your own -- into a house of peace and fraternity," he said.

Addressing all Angolans, the pope said the church would do its part in the country's recovery, and that it shared in the common mission of "building together a freer and more peaceful society, marked by greater solidarity."

The pope's comments about not forgetting Angola's impoverished sectors of the population touched on a sensitive topic in the southern African country. In recent years, Angola has emerged as an important supplier of crude oil, resulting in an economic boom that has created a growing rich-poor gap.

"Unfortunately, within the borders of Angola, there are still many poor people demanding that their rights be respected," the pope said. He emphasized that the whole of Angola needs to be involved in the country's healing and revitalization.

The pope added a particular appeal on behalf of flood victims in southern Angola, where torrential rains left some 20,000 people homeless a week before his arrival. He expressed his solidarity and his encouragement for their reconstruction efforts.

Dos Santos, who has been in power 30 years, told the pope that the entire country was looking forward to what he had to say during his visit.

He said his government's goal was to build a "spiritually harmonious and tolerant nation, able to assume its responsibilities in defense of human dignity and honor, justice, solidarity, freedom and universal peace."

The church should have a key role in this process, he said.

When the pope left the airport, his motorcade was engulfed in a sea of chanting, waving people, many of whom ran alongside the popemobile for blocks. The crowd extended all the way into the city center.

Later in the day the pope was scheduled to pay a formal visit to Dos Santos at the presidential palace, address foreign diplomats and meet with the country's bishops.

END

ANGOLA-ARRIVE Mar-20-2009 (640 words)

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Pope outlines his view of African synod's main themes

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI offered a sneak preview of the Synod of Bishops for Africa, identifying several issues he believes will be crucial.

Above all, he said, the church in Africa is called to be a healing community on a continent torn by "savage conflicts" and other tragedies.

The pope spoke in Cameroon March 19 to a council of bishops preparing the October synod. Earlier in the day, he delivered the synod's working document to African bishops at a Mass.

The pope's essential point, one he has stressed during his visit to Africa, was that to carry out its mission in society "the church must be a community of persons reconciled with God and among themselves."

"In this way, she can proclaim the good news of reconciliation to contemporary society, which unfortunately experiences in many places conflicts, acts of violence, war and hatred. Your continent, sadly, has not been spared, and it has been and continues to be a theater of grave tragedies which cry out for true reconciliation between peoples, ethnic groups and individuals," he told the bishops' council.

The church is challenged in a special way by local or regional wars, massacres and genocides perpetrated in Africa, he said. The aim is to show Africans that through Jesus they all belong to the same family, and so reject hatred and injustice, he said.

The church's goal, he said, should be to "enhance African traditions and to correct and perfect their concept of life, humanity and the family." The church must do so by presenting Jesus Christ as the one mediator and redeemer, he said.

"The Christian vocation consists in letting oneself be freed by Jesus Christ," he said.

The pope reminded African bishops of the continent's long history of contributions to the church, especially in the theological development of the early centuries.

With Christianity thriving in Africa again, he suggested it might be time for a theological rebirth, too. He suggested a particular field of study for modern African theologians: the depth of the Trinitarian mystery and its meaning for everyday African life.

The pope paid tribute to the missionary efforts of the last 500 years and singled out catechists for praise. The tens of thousands of catechists in Africa have helped bring about inculturation, served as a link between local communities and their priests and bishops, and inspired many to join the church, he said.

"This was a case of Africans evangelizing other Africans. In evoking their glorious memory, I greet and encourage their worthy successors who work today with the same selflessness, the same apostolic courage and the same faith as their predecessors," he said.

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CAMEROON-SYNOD Mar-19-2009 (450 words)

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In Africa, pope warns of erosion of values, 'tyranny of materialism'

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) -- Celebrating Mass with more than 40,000 Catholics in Cameroon, Pope Benedict XVI urged African families to reject the "tyranny of materialism" and other social changes that risk eroding the continent's traditional values.

"Brothers and sisters in Cameroon and throughout Africa, you who have received from God so many human virtues, take care of your souls! Do not let yourselves be captivated by selfish illusions and false ideals!" the pope said in a homily March 19 at the Amadou Ahidjo soccer stadium in Yaounde.

The Mass marked the publication of the working document for October's Synod of Bishops for Africa, and at the end of the liturgy the pope personally handed copies of the text to bishops from all over the continent.

Wearing gold vestments, the 81-year-old pope celebrated Mass on a hut-shaped altar erected at one end of the playing field. The liturgy used eight languages, including Cameroon's native Ewondo language, and featured African songs backed by the distinctive notes of wooden balaphons.

In a greeting, Archbishop Simon Tonye Bakot of Yaounde explained that Africans treat the "Mvamba," or grandfather, with immense respect, and that they welcomed the pontiff as the "great Mvamba."

The pope delivered his sermon emphatically, speaking in French and English. He said it was essential for African mothers and fathers to pass on to their children the human and spiritual values of the past, beginning with belief in God.

But social changes, including a growing generation gap and a sense of uprootedness on the continent, have made this difficult today, he said.

"At a time when so many people have no qualms about trying to impose the tyranny of materialism, with scant concern for the most deprived, you must be very careful. Africa in general, and Cameroon in particular, place themselves at risk if they do not recognize the true author of life!" he said.

The pope said traditional values have also been overturned by a rural exodus and urbanization that have broken family ties and left many younger people alone, unemployed and disoriented. Africans in general have left the land, physically and morally, resulting in a kind of "interior exile" that alienates them from God and themselves, he said.

"Is this an irresistible development? By no means!" the pope said. He said the church is ready to bring spiritual and material help to suffering people of the continent.

"The first priority will consist in restoring a sense of the acceptance of life as a gift from God," he said. Every "tiny person, however weak," is created in God's image, he said, adding: "Every person must live! Death must not prevail over life!"

The pope held out St. Joseph, whose feast day was celebrated the same day, as a model for husbands and fathers in Africa. He made a special plea for husbands to treat their wives with respect and love, as St. Joseph treated Mary. It is a sensitive topic in Africa, where in many places wives are still considered the property of their husbands and subservient to them.

The pope also offered special words to young Africans, asking them to allow Christ into their lives and, if they feel called, to enter the "supreme service" of the priesthood or consecrated life.

"To the children who no longer have a father, or who live abandoned in the poverty of the streets, to those forcibly separated from their parents, to the maltreated and abused, to those constrained to join paramilitary forces that are terrorizing some countries, I would like to say: God loves you, he has not forgotten you and St. Joseph protects you!" he said, as the crowd burst into applause.

The papal Mass was the pope's biggest liturgical event in Cameroon, and was broadcast on national television. President Paul Biya, a Catholic, sat near the altar with other leading government officials.

At the end of the liturgy, the pope handed out the 60-page working document for the Oct. 4-25 Synod of Bishops for Africa. The text called on Catholics to help end the rampant injustice that fuels conflicts on the continent and usher in an era of peace. It said the synod would examine ways to better prepare the faithful in Africa for a more visible and active role in promoting unity both in the church and society.

The document said globalization "infringes on Africa's rights" and tends "to be the vehicle for the domination of a single, cultural model and a culture of death." But it also pinned the blame for many of Africa's ills on the evil in people's hearts, which makes them thirsty for riches, power or revenge.

Later in the day, the pope was scheduled to visit a church-run center for the sick and disabled, and then talk with a group of African bishops in greater detail about the themes of the upcoming synod.

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CAMEROON-MASS Mar-19-2009 (810 words)


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Pope encourages Christian-Muslim efforts to defend African values

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) -- Meeting with Muslims from Cameroon, Pope Benedict XVI said Christians and Muslims need to cooperate in Africa to defend traditional values and reject all forms of violence.

The pope's brief talk March 19 offered a capsule version of his take on interreligious dialogue, which he believes should join believers in a defense of religious faith as "reasonable" and as the foundation of any truly human civilization.

Muslims represent about 22 percent of Cameroon's population while Christians make up about 44 percent, and Christian-Muslim relations are generally quite good. In his talk, the pope noted that members of both faiths live, work and worship in the same neighborhoods.

"Both believe in one, merciful God who on the last day will judge mankind. Together they bear witness to the fundamental values of family, social responsibility, obedience to God's law and loving concern for the sick and suffering," he said.

The urgent task for believers today, he said, is to "unveil the vast potential of human reason, which is itself God's gift and which is elevated by revelation and faith."

"Belief in the one God, far from stunting our capacity to understand ourselves and the world, broadens it. Far from setting us against the world, it commits us to it," he said.

It is important for believers, he said, to remind the world that "what is 'reasonable' extends far beyond what mathematics can calculate, logic can deduce and scientific experimentation can demonstrate; it includes the goodness and innate attractiveness of upright and ethical living made known to us in the very language of creation."

When believers step outside the sphere of self-interest and act for the good of others, he said, it shows the world that genuine religion widens human understanding and "stands at the base of any authentically human culture."

"It rejects all forms of violence and totalitarianism: not only on principles of faith, but also of right reason," he said.

The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said the climate of the encounter was very cordial and friendly, and that the 22 Muslims leaders -- two more than scheduled -- greeted the pope warmly and thanked him for his comments.

The pope told the group that he hoped Christian-Muslim cooperation in Cameroon would serve as a beacon to other African nations.

African church officials emphasize that in most African countries dialogue between Christians and Muslims has advanced in recent years. But they are also worried about sporadic outbreaks of violence. In Nigeria, which borders Cameroon, attacks between groups of Christians and Muslims have left hundreds dead in recent months, although church leaders have emphasized that the violence has been primarily political and not religious.

END

CAMEROON-MUSLIMS Mar-19-2009 (450 words)

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Pontiff Tells Muslims Religion Must Unveil Reason

Encourages Cooperation in Building Civilization of Love


YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon, MARCH 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging the participation of all faiths to affirm the unity of reason and religion, to imbue society with genuine values and to build an authentically human culture.

The Pope said this today in an address to Muslim leaders of Cameroon in the Yaoundé apostolic nunciature.

He acknowledged that the meeting was "is a vivid sign of the desire we share with all people of good will -- in Cameroon, throughout Africa and across the globe -- to seek opportunities to exchange ideas about how religion makes an essential contribution to our understanding of culture and the world, and to the peaceful coexistence of all the members of the human family."

The Pontiff noted that both Christians and Muslims "believe in one, merciful God who on the last day will judge mankind."

"Together," he affirmed, "they bear witness to the fundamental values of family, social responsibility, obedience to God’s law and loving concern for the sick and suffering."

He added, "By patterning their lives on these virtues and teaching them to the young, Christians and Muslims not only show how they foster the full development of the human person, but also how they forge bonds of solidarity with one’s neighbors and advance the common good."

Right reason

The Holy Father underlined the "urgent task of religion today," to "unveil the vast potential of human reason, which is itself God’s gift and which is elevated by revelation and faith."

He continued: "We are called to help others see the subtle traces and mysterious presence of God in the world which he has marvelously created and continually sustains with his ineffable and all-embracing love.

"Although his infinite glory can never be directly grasped by our finite minds in this life, we nonetheless catch glimpses of it in the beauty that surrounds us.

"When men and women allow the magnificent order of the world and the splendor of human dignity to illumine their minds, they discover that what is 'reasonable' […] includes the goodness and innate attractiveness of upright and ethical living made known to us in the very language of creation.

Benedict XVI noted that this recognition "prompts us to seek all that is right and just," and "act for the good of others."

Thus, he said, genuine religion "rejects all forms of violence and totalitarianism: not only on principles of faith, but also of right reason."

He added that "religion and reason mutually reinforce one another since religion is purified and structured by reason, and reason’s full potential is unleashed by revelation and faith."

The Pope encouraged his "dear Muslim friends" to "imbue society with the values that emerge from this perspective and elevate human culture, as we work together to build a civilization of love."

He expressed a prayer that "the enthusiastic cooperation of Muslims, Catholics and other Christians in Cameroon" will inspire "other African nations of the enormous potential of an interreligious commitment to peace, justice and the common good."

ZE09031907 - 2009-03-19
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-25414?l=english

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Benedict XVI: When Suffering, Trust God

Visits Sick at Cardinal Léger Centre

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon, MARCH 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Although many doubt God's presence in their lives when facing suffering, it's actually the best time to entrust oneself even more to him, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today upon meeting with sick people at the Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger Centre. He assured those present, "You are not alone in your pain, for Christ himself is close to all who suffer."

"Faced with suffering, sickness and death, it is tempting to cry out in pain, as Job did, whose name means 'suffering,'" the Pontiff reflected. "As our condition deteriorates, our anguish increases; some are tempted to doubt whether God is present in their lives.

"Job, however, was conscious of God’s presence; his was not a cry of rebellion, but, from the depths of his sorrow, he allowed his trust to grow.

"His friends, like each of us when faced with the suffering of a loved one, tried to console him, but they used hollow and empty words."

"In the presence of such torment," the Holy Father continued, "we feel powerless and we cannot find the right words. Before a brother or sister plunged into the mystery of the cross, a respectful and compassionate silence, a prayerful presence, a gesture of tenderness and comfort, a kind look, a smile, often achieve more than many words."

You visited me

Addressing the hospital staff and those who work in the field of health care, Benedict XVI said that by "accompanying those who suffer, through the care and attention you offer them, you accomplish an act of charity and love that God recognizes: 'I was sick, and you visited me.'"

He reminded the doctors and researchers of their "task of putting into practice every legitimate form of pain relief."

"You are called, in the first place, to protect human life, you are the defenders of life from conception to natural death," the Pope affirmed. "For every person, respect for life is a right and at the same time a duty, since all life is a gift from God."

The Pontiff urged priests and those who visit the sick to "commit themselves to an active and friendly presence in their hospital chaplaincy, or to assure an ecclesial presence in the home, for the comfort and spiritual support of the sick. In accordance with his promise, God will give you a just reward, and he will recompense you in heaven."

"I also want to express my wish that none of you should ever feel alone," the Holy Father concluded. "In fact it is the task of every human person, created in the image of Christ, to be a good neighbor to those around him."

ZE09031912 - 2009-03-19
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-25419?l=english

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Pontiff Notes Africa's Vocation to Know Christ

Highlights Need for Reconciliation Among Peoples

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon, MARCH 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Africa has a particular vocation to know Christ, and that's something all Africans should be proud of, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today upon meeting with the Special Council of the Synod for Africa at the apostolic nunciature of Yaoundé. The meeting took place to mark the publication of the "instrumentum laboris" (working document) of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.

The synod will be held Oct. 4-25 in the Vatican 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."

"Your continent has been blessed by our Lord Jesus himself," the Pontiff began. "At the dawn of his earthly life, sad circumstances led him to set foot on African soil. God chose your continent to become the dwelling-place of his Son.

"In Jesus, God drew near to all men and women, of course, but also, in a particular way, to the men and women of Africa. Africa is where the Son of God was weaned, where he was offered effective sanctuary."

Noting the continent's long history of Christianity, the Holy Father recalled that "God himself brought salt and light to Africa. From that time on, the seed of his presence was buried deep within the hearts of this dear continent, and it has blossomed gradually, beyond and within the vicissitudes of its human history.

"As a result of the coming of Christ who blessed it with his physical presence, Africa has received a particular vocation to know Christ. Let Africans be proud of this!"

Rebirth

In reflecting on the events since the Second Vatican Council, which coincided with the emergence of new democracies on the continent, Benedict XVI noted the progress of the Church in Africa, which "accompanied the building of new national identities and, at the same time, sought to translate the identity of Christ along its own ways."

"As the hierarchy became increasingly African following Pope Pius XII’s ordination of Bishops from your continent, theological reflection began to ferment quickly," the Pope continued. "It would be well for your theologians today to continue to probe the depth of the Trinitarian mystery and its meaning for everyday African life.

"This century will perhaps permit, by God’s grace, the rebirth, on your continent, albeit certainly under a different and new form, of the prestigious School of Alexandria. Why could we not hope that Africans today and the universal Church might thereby be furnished with great theologians and spiritual masters capable of contributing to the sanctification of those who dwell in this continent and throughout the Church?"

Turning toward the themes to be addressed by the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, Benedict XVI spoke of the need for reconciliation "between peoples, ethnic groups and individuals" on the continent.

"Your continent," he said, "has been and continues to be a theatre of grave tragedies which cry out for true reconciliation between peoples, ethnic groups and individuals."

For Christians, the Pope said, "reconciliation is rooted in the merciful love of God the Father, and it is accomplished through the person of Christ Jesus who, in the Holy Spirit, has offered the grace of reconciliation to all. Its consequences will be shown, then, in the justice and peace which are indispensable for building a better world."

"If it is true," he added, "that in Jesus Christ we belong to the same family and share the same life -- since in our veins there flows the Blood of Christ himself, who has made us children of God, members of God’s Family -- there must no longer be hatred, injustice and internecine war."

Nourishment

Benedict XVI also spoke of the need of fostering a deeper eucharistic life and a "profound listening to the word of God and meditative reading of sacred Scripture."

"The word of life and the Bread of life offer light and nourishment as medicine and food for our journey in fidelity to the Teacher and Shepherd of our souls, so that the Church in Africa can carry out the service of reconciliation, justice and peace," the Pope explained.

"If they are truly to be this, the faithful must undergo conversion and follow Jesus Christ; they must become his disciples in order to be witnesses of his saving power," he added.

"No ethnic or cultural difference, no difference of race, sex or religion must become a cause for dispute among you," the Holy Father concluded. "You are all children of the one God, our Father, who is in heaven. With this conviction, it will then be possible to build a more just and peaceful Africa, an Africa worthy of the legitimate expectations of all its children."

ZE09031913 - 2009-03-19
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-25420?l=english



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In Africa, pope says Gospel is answer to continent's problems

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) -- Arriving in Africa, Pope Benedict XVI said the church's message of hope and reconciliation was sorely needed by a continent suffering disproportionately from poverty, conflict and disease.

At a welcoming ceremony March 17 in Yaounde, the pope said he was making his first visit to Africa to respond to the many men and woman who "long to hear a word of hope and comfort."

In Africans' fight against injustice, he said, the church is their natural ally.

"In the face of suffering or violence, poverty or hunger, corruption or abuse of power, a Christian can never remain silent," the pope said.

The 81-year-old pontiff stood on a platform at Yaounde's airport next to Cameroonian President Paul Biya, who welcomed the pope on a hot, humid afternoon. Groups of schoolchildren sang and cheered, waving paper flags with the Vatican's colors.

The pope said he came to Africa as a pastor, not a politician, to a continent where the saving message of the Gospel needs to be "proclaimed loud and clear." The encounter with Christianity, he said, can transform situations of hardship or injustice.

He cited the regional conflicts in Africa that have left thousands homeless, destitute and orphaned, as well as human trafficking that has become a new form of slavery, especially for women and children.

"At a time of global crisis in food shortages, financial turmoil and disturbing patterns of climate change, Africa suffers disproportionately: More and more of her people are falling prey to hunger, poverty and disease. They cry out for reconciliation, justice and peace, and that is what the church offers them," he said.

"Not forms of economic or political oppression, but the glorious freedom of the children of God. Not the imposition of cultural models that ignore the rights of the unborn, but the pure healing water of the Gospel of life," he said.

In place of bitter ethnic or interreligious rivalry, the church offers the righteousness and peace of the "civilization of love," he said.

The pope described Cameroon as a "land of hope," noting that the country has accepted refugees from neighboring countries and tried to settle border disputes with patient diplomacy.

Cameroon is also a "land of life, with a government that speaks out in defense of the rights of the unborn," the pope said.

In his remarks on the unborn, the pope may have been referring to a recent exchange between the Cameroonian government and a U.N. committee that monitors compliance with a convention on eliminating forms of discrimination against women. In response to a request to liberalize its abortion law, the government responded that abortion was murder and should not be elevated to a right.

It was Pope Benedict's first papal visit to Africa. As a cardinal, he visited the continent only once, attending a theological conference in 1987 in what is now Congo.

Aboard the plane taking him to Africa, the pope told reporters that he considered corruption one of the continent's biggest problems. According to the U.S. Department of State, Cameroon's corruption level is among the highest in the world.

Biya and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement have retained power for 27 years, giving the country political stability but at a price. Critics say national elections have been unfair, and human rights organizations have faulted the government for restricting freedoms of speech, press, assembly and association.

Last year, Biya, 76, steered a movement to lift constitutional term limits and thus allow him to run for office again in 2011. Cameroon's bishops sharply criticized the move and appealed for the creation of conditions to allow an "effective democratic alternative" in the country.

At that time, Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi, archbishop of Douala and Cameroon's senior churchman, personally appealed to Biya not to carry out the constitutional modifications. Weeks later, riots broke out as the public reacted to the political maneuverings, high prices, high unemployment and widespread corruption. The government said 40 people died in the protests, though the opposition said the death toll was much higher.

Cardinal Tumi was among the church leaders who stood near the president as he welcomed the pope at the airport.

The pope later rode in his glass-walled popemobile some 20 miles into the city of Yaounde, Cameroon's capital, past groups of well-wishers who sat in plastic chairs in front of their cinderblock homes and waved palm fronds in greeting. As the pope drew closer to the city center, the enthusiastic crowd was wall-to-wall.

Yaounde was given a partial facelift for the pope's arrival, and the clean-up projects included the mass demolition of illegal shops around the city's cathedral. That prompted angry protests from the vendors, but city officials defended the move, saying it was needed to ease traffic along the main urban routes.

The main purpose of the pope's stop in Cameroon was to deliver a working document for the Synod of Bishops for Africa, to be held in Rome next October. The pope said the synod would be a summons to all African Catholics to "rededicate themselves to the mission of the church to bring hope to the hearts of the people of Africa, and indeed to people throughout the world."

Cameroon, sometimes called "Africa in microcosm," was chosen for the consignment of the synodal document because the country includes French- and English-speaking populations and approximately 200 ethnic groups.

The Synod of Bishops will be the second for Africa, and its theme is "The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace." The first African synod took place at the Vatican in 1994. In 2004, Pope John Paul announced that another synod would be held to allow church leaders to address the continent's changing religious, demographic, social and political scenes.

For the Catholic Church, Cameroon represents an evangelization success story on a continent that has experienced an explosion of church growth over the last century. Over the last 40 years, the number of Catholics in Africa has increased from 11 percent to 17 percent of the total population; in Cameroon, Catholics today constitute 27 percent of the population, up from 23 percent 40 years ago.

Africa also has the fastest growth in priestly vocations, and Cameroon, with 26 seminarians for every 100,000 Catholics, has one of the highest vocation rates on the continent.

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POPE-ARRIVE Mar-17-2009 (1,050 words)
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