MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –
Source: The Holy See in Italian
by Fabio BerettaLeena (Agenzia Fides) – Low education, lack of services, leprosy, the spread of aggressive sects: these are some of the problems that the Catholic community has to face daily in Angola, where pastoral emergencies “are often different from what is discussed during the Synod”. This is underlined in an interview with Agenzia Fides by Martín Lasarte Topolansky, Bishop of the Diocese of Leena. “What the Pope said is true, that when we think of the Church we are ‘Western’. Of course, this is the history of the Church, two thousand years of beauty and richness of Christianity cannot be erased. But the Holy Spirit – explains the Angolan bishop – has blown everywhere. However, it is noted that the Church is Eurocentric on many occasions, like this Synod. Sometimes they want to pass off the problems that the Church has in the West as if those were precisely the great problems of the universal Church. Instead, we should say: calm down, you have these problems, and it’s okay to face them, we give you courage. However, we have many other critical issues, such as the first evangelization, or the formation of the laity, interreligious dialogue or the enormous growth of sects of any kind”. “In my Diocese”, the Bishop continues, “leprosy still exists. It is true that in Europe there is advancing secularization, but in Africa there are hundreds of seminarians who need to be supported in their training. We are a Church in development. The Catholic Church is beautiful with its diversity, it has riches and critical issues in every latitude that are too often not understood”. And if we talk about critical issues, in Angola one problem is the increase in Islamic extremists. “Objectively, the problem exists”, the Bishop recognizes. In some cases, Christian girls marry Muslim boys, their children are sent to study in countries with a Muslim majority and when they return they have become Muslims linked to extremist groups. It almost seems like a ‘vocational pastoral care’ … “Obviously the situation changes depending on where you are: “Dialogue exists, but not always and not everywhere. In the East there are situations that are the exact opposite of the West, so dialogue becomes more difficult in some areas. And when poverty and lack of horizons are put together, a dangerous mixture is created.” And the same happens with neo-Pentecostal sects: “These are completely disconnected groups that do not even enter into dialogue with Protestant Churches” explains the Bishop of Leena. And the problem of witchcraft persists: “There are places where magic and witchcraft are the primary cause of violence and murder. Every day we have to deal with a society where there are so many situations of hardship. Everyone is free to believe what they want, maximum respect for ancestral beliefs, but we must respect first and foremost the dignity of each person”. In this, the industrious presence of many missionaries helps: “Having missionaries from different peoples and nations is a wealth. One could fall into the temptation to say: ‘We are mature, we do not need anyone’. It is true, I am the only non-Angolan bishop, the others are all local, but we all recognize – underlines Topolansky – that their presence is a sign of the times. In my diocese, 123 thousand square kilometers, among the largest in sub-Saharan Africa, where 8 languages are spoken, they are a resource”. “Today then – concludes the Bishop of Leena – we have Angolans who have left as missionaries in Papua New Guinea and in the Amazon. Countries that previously received missionaries have now become countries from which missionaries depart. The Gospel is always the same, the styles of evangelization change, but the Church by its nature is missionary and will always continue to be so”. (Agenzia Fides 30/9/2024)Share:
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.