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Answering the Call to Solidarity with Africa
Why Do We, As A Church, Write a Pastoral Statement About Africa?

The urgency of our attention to the Church and the peoples of Africa is prompted by two conflicting convictions: hope and concern. We write in hope, recognizing the history, strength, spirituality, courage, and capacity of the Church and peoples of Africa. We write with deep concern, witnessing the proliferation of armed conflict, a deterioration in health care and education infrastructures, the weakening of social and community structures, and an increasing spread of disease and other threats to the lives of our African brothers and sisters.

We stand with the Church in Africa; we seek to call attention to Africa’s problems and potential; we want to amplify the voices of Africans, so that they can be heard by a sometimes distracted world. As we do this, we are reminded of the words of the Holy Father: “Africa is not destined for death, but for life!”

We are called because . . .
Our faith demands it.
Our sisters and brothers are asking for our help.
Our world needs this effort.
The United States has special responsibilities.
We can make a difference.

What is the Makeup of the Church in Africa?
In Africa, the most viable institutions providing social services are those operated by the Church. In areas of intense conflict, the Church continues to serve the needs of the people with great courage when governments and other political organizations fail. Africa is the fastest growing region in the world, with more than 350 million Christians.

Why Should Americans Answer the Call to Solidarity with Africa?
Our call to solidarity with the Church, nations, and peoples of Africa, particularly the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, recognizes and is based on the special responsibilities and opportunities that we have as Catholics and citizens of the United States. As Americans, we acknowledge the singular position enjoyed by the United States as one of the wealthiest nations on earth, but privilege cannot be divorced from responsibility. Our nation’s lack of serious attention to the needs in Africa is a scandal. Contrary to popular opinion, U.S. commitment to development assistance ranks the lowest as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) among the developed nations.

America and the world community owe much to the peoples of Africa. One of America’s worst legacies, slavery, a system fundamentally evil and base, stole from the African continent many of its most precious resources: men, women, and children. America’s own responsibility to overcome this legacy of slavery and racism should be reflected in our domestic and international programs and policies. Africa also provides to the United States material resources with nearly 15 percent of U.S. oil imports and a large percentage of diamonds, gold, precious woods, and many other commodities coming from the continent.

Why Write About Africa Now?
The destitution and deprivation of so many Africans demand an urgent response from the international community. Nearly 300 million Africans live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than one dollar a day. Most lack access to health services or safe drinking water. Even with enhanced international debt relief, a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa continue to pay debt services that average close to one-quarter of government revenues.

Africa hosts more than 3.5 million refugees—nearly 30 percent of the world’s total—and approximately 50 percent of the world’s 25 million internally displaced persons. Primarily because of long-lasting conflicts, millions of refugees have fled unrest in their respective homelands, only to face an unstable and meager existence in insecure refugee camps. Because of a lack of resources and political will from the international community, many refugees, for whom resettlement is the only durable solution, languish in camps for years.

How Bad are the HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Epidemics in Africa?
Infectious diseases are responsible for almost half of all deaths in developing countries. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria cause more than 300 million illnesses and 5 million deaths each year. Those most affected by illness are the poorest people who do not have access to health care, drugs, clean water, or daily minimum nutritional requirements.

The social and economic impact of these diseases is reflected in the perpetuation and deepening of poverty through work loss, school dropouts, decreased financial investment, and increased social instability.

Where the adult population HIV infection rate is greater than 20 percent, African economies are shrinking at an average rate of 1 percent of GDP per year. This is the case in Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, and elsewhere.

What Can We Do to Answer the Call of Our Brothers and Sisters?
Prayer. Too often we fail to recognize the power of prayer and how important it is for our brothers and sisters in situations of great difficulty to know that we truly are one with them in the Spirit.

Responsible investment. Retirement or other investment funds can either be used to strengthen Africa’s capacity to address its problems or, wrongly invested, can exacerbate conflicts and human suffering.

Corporate responsibility. Managing U.S. and multinational corporations bear a special responsibility in the exercise of their professional obligations, particularly where the activities of their corporations might exacerbate conflict, corruption, human rights Abuses, and environmental degradation in Africa.

Self-education and involvement in public advocacy. Individuals and groups are actively engaged with the Church in Africa in the promotion of human rights, debt relief, increased development assistance, demobilization of child soldiers, promotion of peace in troubled regions, and protection of the environment.

Diocesan and parish twinning. Dioceses and parishes have found twinning to be an enriching experience of communion with other members of the Body of Christ and a means of deepening bonds of solidarity with a Church in need.

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