U.S. bishops’ Solidarity Fund reminds Catholic to ‘stand with Africa’

Bishops gathered at the19th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar in Accra, Ghana, July 2022. / Credit: Courtesy of SECAM

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 14, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The U.S. Catholic bishops’ Solidarity Fund for the Church of Africa is bolstering the needs of faithful Catholic communities across the African continent and helping them to meet their challenges.

In a recent statement from the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ (USCCB) Office of Public Affairs, the bishops said: “Catholics across the United States can answer this call to ‘Stand with Africa’ by participating in their diocese’s annual collection for the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa.”

Though plagued with various difficulties such as poverty, lack of resources, and political conflicts, Africa’s growth and vitality in Catholicism has made the continent a focal point in the Church’s expansion and future aspirations.

According to an October 2023 Vatican report covering the year 2021, the Catholic population of Africa consisted of 265 million, or 18%, of the continent’s population. Whereas Europe has seen declines in its Catholic population, Africa’s Catholic population continues to expand in many places.

“Globalization, climate change, and poverty deeply affect the lives of African men and women every day. But amidst rapid societal change, the Catholic Church remains constant, proclaiming the timeless and hopeful message of the Gospel,” stated Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith of Portland, Oregon, chairman of the bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Africa.

“The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa enables the Church to support those who are in dire need of pastoral care and to inspire those whose faith and hope may be flagging,” Smith said.

Building upon the U.S. bishops’ 2001 statement “A Call to Solidarity with Africa,” the fund’s initiative seeks to “provide a serious, sustained response that will meet genuine needs, strengthen the capacity of the Church in Africa, and provide for effective and transparent accountability.”

The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa awarded over $2.1 million in 2023 to 75 projects put forward by the bishops of Africa, including:

— Grants helping Kenyans and Ugandans recover spiritually from the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the disintegration of marriages and family violence.

— In Cameroon, cited by human rights groups for appalling prison conditions, Catholic prison chaplains have learned to document abuses and advocate for reform.

— The Sisters of the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa received theological and practical training to apply Catholic social teaching to a broad range of threats to human life, from human trafficking to environmental degradation.

— In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the public sector is plagued by rampant financial corruption, diocesan and parish staff studied proper Church administration and financial stewardship.

— In South Africa and Namibia, ethnic groups received hymnals in the Xhosa and Rumanyo languages and a Bible in the language of the Rukwangali people.

Those who wish to support similar efforts and the Church of Africa can either donate year-round to #iGiveCatholicTogether or annually through their parish collection/e-offertory program on their diocese’s scheduled date of appeal.

“The Church helps people to praise God in their own language because God came to us speaking our languages,” Smith said.

“He wants to walk with everyone through whatever hardships or heartaches we suffer,” he concluded in the statement. “That is the purpose of the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa. Gifts to this fund make God’s love tangible.”