African Synod II- A Faith initiative and African Social Reality

The Second African Synod opened on October 4th, 2009, on the feast day of St. Francis of Assissi, at the Vatican. This synod, in fact, was proposed by the late Pope John Paul II in November 2004. The African Synod was the first of continental extra-synodal assembly ever held when the first one opened at the Vatican on the morning of the resurrection (easter) 1994. The theme of that first synod was more robust and encompassing. The current synod has a more restricted theme focusing on the issue of reconciliation, justice and peace. In all, the convening of the second African Synod is a welcome development.

Between 1994 and 2009 a lot has changed on the African continent. These realities of change equally affect the African ecclesial communities in their evolving development, as they are also confronted with new realities and challenges. Some of these are positive, while others are utterly negative.

It must be remembered that between 1994 and 2009, even the universal church has undergone its own changes and onerous challenges. Pope John Paul II had passed on to glory. He loved Africa and was much beloved by Africans, as by the rest of the people of the world, whether Catholics or not. Pope Benedict XVI had emerged on the scenery.

The two prominent African Cardinals Bernadin of Benin and Francis Arinze had retired after long services at the Vatican. New African saints have been added to the ecclesiastical hagiography and liturgy. These positive aspects are often diluted by some negatives, such as the involvement, just as the first African Synod was unveiling in Rome on the morning of Easter, of Rwanda Catholics, including some bishops, priests, and nuns, in genocidal killings of Tutsis and moderate Hutus, many themselves Catholics. The boom of wars and ravages of poverty continue to eat deep, even as many African nations made some vital transition to democratic rules, after years of military dictatorships.

Africa too, as undergone many changes. Many African countries can today more than in 1994 boast of being ruled by democratic governments, rather than the prevailing atmosphere of dictatorship under the military as was then mainly the case. Many African countries are also catching up with global trends. Internet access and global communications is heightening social networks, human connectivity, and mutual affirmation of social values and technological usage.

In spite of these elegant development, the monumental realities confronting Africa are mainly those ordered by poverty, stimulating suffering of massive populations, breeding injustices, and continuing in spite of democratic achievements corrupt governments, and many still tinted by dictatorial traits; thus minimizing the secured advantages democratic rules are supposed to be producing. Elections rigging, violence, human rights abuses, torture, ethnic antagonism, and wars continue to be sadly familiar and unfortunately the predominant and sealed characteristics marking African sociopolitical affairs and greatly highlighting its social spheres and existential realities.

Within the church, some enormous positive advances have been made. Many bishops, priests, and religious have emerged. The laity are increasing and progressing in their participation in church life and vitally witnessing to the truths and foundational basis of the Christian gospel and worldview. Churches are been built, seminaries are robustly enlarging, baptism and the celebration of the other sacraments are quantitatively on the increase. In deed, these are good vital signs that would ordinarily be promising and laudable.

However, we are also sadly noticing devious aspects of our Catholic Church, in its institutional and hierarchical forms, as the citadel harbouring human rights abuses, and even abusing and devaluating these rights within its own structures.

The eerie case of the Rwanda genocide of the Tutsi and moderate Hutu is one such aggrieving reminder. There, some bishops, many priests and nuns were alleged to have been either involved or acted callously in ways that led to the death of thousand of their fellow Rwandans, including some of their own faithful or parishioners.

Unfortunately such sad specter was simultaneously encapsulated within the fabric of the consciousness of Catholic adherents, who were probably aware within their faith consciousness about the despicable nature of their actions against their fellow Rwandans, many of whom they shared the same Catholic faith. Rather, they selected to witness in reverse form away from the truths so often cited as evil within our Catholic social and faith consciousness. In the Rwanda instance, Catholics were armed against their fellow Catholics, with whom they shared the same baptismal font and Eucharistic presence, primarily allowing the dominating influence of ethnicity, as ugly amplified by politics, trends and traits that were grostequely, at times, condoned and abetted within church institutions.

This sad scenario haunts the church, even when it claims to be an instrument for justice and peace in the world, and haltingly minimizes her projection of the word of truth and salvation. It significantly taints the church as part of a criminalized order, whose words framed hypocritically does not match her actions when it comes to issues of social justice. Yet, even within the unfolding of these ugly events, many other Catholics proved heroic, including some priests and nuns, and bishops, whose actions though less song by the media were humanly risky for them in the worldview of the killing militia, but yet highly decisively necessary and significant in saving human lifes.

The church in Africa also has a very poor track record in the ways she treats her own employees. Catechiests and other church workers are, in many parishes and dioceses, poorly paid. Many church employees are denied of jobs and other social benefits. While, the financial situations of most church institutions are hard, when compared to the affluent and opulent lifestyles of bishops, priests, and nuns the contrasts in lifestyles and privileges are equally ranked. It behooves urgently on the African Catholic church to rethink her mission regarding faith, social justice and peace. Our sense of commitments and our understanding of justice and peace issues must rise beyond mere fancy rhetorics and glibbish fanciful sermonizing. If we do not create the foundations for the fundamental embedding of justice and peace in our world, as a church, we too are doomed.

In 2001, the media was awash with the report of the sexual abuses of nuns and young African women by priests and some bishops on the continent. It was a sad revelation, even though the western media, seemed to be using such facts in the pursuit of some of their own agenda in assembling hurried facts toward scuttling the relevance of priestly celibacy. The issue of the abuses of nuns is not only sad but reflects a poor evangelization. The truth is, that no matter the level of denial by some of us African church personnels, the reality does exists and cannot be swept under the carpet. We must own up, apologize and set standards that would help protect this vulnerable population within our church family.

We cannot deny this fact, for it is all too palpably apparent. Different cases are instructive. In Malawi, a Catholic priest was sentenced for lewd sexual acts, in fact caught by the police having sexual liaison (intercourse) with a nun, in a car at the airport's parking lot. The case of the erstwhile Zimbabwean archbishop of Bulawayo, Mr. Pius Ncube, reflect such an instance of the extent of this kind of ill within the African Church. Often attempting to present a false positive face to the public, as a Church, the African Church is so much mirred in acute denial of facts and deeply muddled in the mud of secrecy.

While, Jesus notes that the truth would set us free, the Church often prefers lies, denial, falsehood, rather than to honestly confront its ills. Why, this is the case, when we all too know that the Church while a divine reality has a human side, still beat the imagination of many. Afterall, we know the human frailty of Jesus' apostles, that includes the denial of St. Peter, yet Christ awarding him the first among many position of leadership within his body, the Church.

Sadly, the Ncube case mentioned above shows that the truth cannot be caged for long, and denial would open up, while the scarification that marks a deep wound would be too visible to continue denying. Ncube, initially denied his adulterous affairs, until photographs emerged in the press. Even then, he was trying to prove to be a saint, still denying. After, he resigned he admitted to being involved with that married woman on a South African television interview months afterwards. Allegations that he is involved with other women also abounds.

A Dallas, Texas newspaper, the Dallas Morning News (July 2oth, 2006), reported the incidence involving the allegation of sexual harrassment and intimidation made against the former bishop of Okigwe, in south-eastern Nigeria, Mr. Anthony Ilonu, by a Nigerian nun, Sister Pauline Aligwekwe, who declined his sexual overtures.

Within Nigeria this scenario is rampant, especially among bishops. Some of these bishops sponsor nuns and other young women, "girlfriends" abroad, building them homes, buying them cars, and even paying for their family members out of diocesan accounts. In fact, in the 1990s, there were allegations against the incumbent archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Okogie, whose philandering with a married woman, the then military regime had recorded and used as a bait to secure his cessation f criticisms against the military dictatorship. Okogie, though somewhat damaged and discredited at home, rose within the church becoming a Cardinal following his elevation by the late Pope John Paul II during the 2003 October consistery.

Another highly placed Nigerian church official ,known among the priests and religious to be "wild" in drawing his "wide catchment dragnet" from among young nuns is the incumbent, Catholic archbishop of Abuja, the Nigerian Federal capital, Mr. John Onaiyekan. The various rumour and allegations surrounding the Mr. Onaiyekan, a very intelligent but ambitious church personnel with his eyes on becoming another future Nigerian Cardinal, are legion and needs the Vatican to set a machinery into motion to investigate these many claims. Unfortunately, while Onaiyekan may be an intelligent man, as some claim, though there is nothing palpably outstanding about him, his assumed intelligence has no use when it comes to his perverted promiscuous sexual overtures, orgies, and acts.

Significantly, in his case these young nuns are used as puns in the unceasing posturing for different kinds of favours from women religious' major superiors. Leaders of these various communities of nuns in cajoling Mr. Onaiyekan for favours offers him nuns from their religious communities to satisfy his orgiastic sexual urges. His "internal forum gratitious escapades" are according to a former Nigerian nun, who wants to remain anonymous for reasons of security, "is beyond telling." Among many Nigerian priests and nuns, it is often joked about of Onaiyekan whose is known to harbour an harem of nuns across many religious communities and congregations of Nigerian nuns from where he draws his pool for his orgiastic amorous pleasures.

Even, this breds acrimonious jealousy and caused strifes among some nuns, who antagonize one another because of their shared claims to Onaiyekan. It is also on record, at least according to one Nigerian priest, who absconded and is residing in Europe against Onaiyekan's wish, and who served as a top Onaiyekan's aides while still in Nigeria, that on many occasions nuns have "engaged in physical fights at Onaiyekan's residence," because they are each "seeking his attention."

It is alleged that favours that are well ordered to the "aesthetics" of the archbishop are favourably rewarded directly by the archbishop (archdiocese) or indirectly using his connections and vast networks within the Nigerian Federal government. Such silent negotiations bordering on "bedroom hockey" pastimes with these gullible, often young nuns, incapable of resisting their religious superiors even as rumour mills seem troubling. The archbishop has done nothing to mitigate such rumours and it has while been met with silence continued to grow into clerical whisperings.

These abuse of vulnerable nuns by African bishops and priests is a case of abuse of power; and an act of bodily and social injustice. Many of these nuns are highly vulnerability, afraid of their future, their willingness to engage in such acts are due mainly to forced consent as many fear expulsion from their religious orders should they refuse. The stigma of being unable to continue as a religious, priest, seminarian is high in Nigeria. These various forms of intimidations surely constitute issues of social justice, and borders on how church institutions massively perpetuate injustice and disrupts bodily and harmonic peace of individual religious and their diverse faith communities.

In some cases, daring nuns, seminarians, and priests that have spoken out against abuses within their church and faith communities have been punished with silence, expulsion, punitive ecclesiastical assignments/threat of transfers to "hard" regions away from civilization. These are often told, they cannot keep secret, confidentiality, and are ruled as incompetently incapable of being obedient. Complacent and game players, on the other hand, are often rewarded with lucrative ecclesiastical positions, further studies, good cars, and other accruing benefits.

In considering the theme of the synod, one is amazed at the some of the constitution of this synod. For instance, one wonders what archbishop Onaiyekan, who has stated he receives "blood money", gift larges often given as bribes from different past and present Nigerian government would articulate regarding corrupt government and their officials, when he hob-nobs with them and accepts their gifts- even if at times he pretends to speak out against these corrupt politicians, military leaders, etc. remains largely inconceivable. One wonders the moral authorities of bishops such as Onaiyekan and his coterie of like minds, who receive material and monetary gifts from top government functionaries, politicians, and officials, such as Sport Utilities Vehicles (SUVs), funds, and other material benefits, especially their commitment toward social justice, and preferential option for the poor that is not marked by lipservice.
Such considerations make it just overtly laughable, and even present the outlook of this synodal assembly as largely unserious.

Another tainted individual at the synods, is one the Pope's appointed expert, Monsignor Matthew Hassan Kukah, Vicar General of the Kaduna archdiocese. Msgnr. Kukah used to be highly respected until he threw it all overboard, with his relationship with the government of former president Obasanjo, and his role within the ruling PDP party. The nature of his relationship with many Nigerian governments is becoming more than ever scrutinized and interrogated by the Nigerian public.

For instance, Msgnr. Kukah role when he was appointed by the Nigerian government of former President Obasanjo to broker reconciliation between the corrupt, environmental degrading company Shell Petroleum and the aggrieved Nigerian Ogoni ethnic group left much to be desired. In fact, he proved to pro-actively partisan, to the extent that the Ogoni almost lynched him as his scripted favouring of Shell and the Nigerian government was all too apparent. He definitely proved to be on the side of the oppressor, and notably biased was, therefore, acting in their favor.

Kukah, therefore, did not only diminished his own personal status, but became an opprobium to the image of the Nigerian Catholic faith. It turns out that he was sponsored to study at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard by the ruling government of President Obasanjo, and has also used his access to government advantageously in harnessing government funded and sponsored projects especially to his native southern Kaduna homeland.

Kukah is not an exception. The former bishop of Port-Harcourt, Mr. Alexius Makoji, while he was sick, had all his medical bills bankrolled by the government of Rivers State of former governor, Peter Odili, who has since been indicted and fighting massive corruption charges.

The above scenario differs essentially from the stance of the Malawian Bishop in 1992, in the intervning prelude to the first African Synod, when through their pastoral letter they boldly confronted the indecent political machinations of the late President Kamuzu Banda, and were all declared persona non grata.

Yet, there are enormous outright examples of stellar stewardship among the ranks of Nigerian bishops. The late Nigerian Bishop of Lokoja, and former secretary to the Nigerian Catholic Bishop's conference, Joseph Sunday Ajomo, represents a quintessential example as a focal opponent of social injustice and an astute witness to a sound separation of church and state affairs. He represented a veritable prophetic voice in the desert- lone but powerful. Archbishop Peter Sarpong, former of Kumasi, Ghana, Archbishop Anthony Obinna of Owerri, Nigeria, Archbishop Laurent Monsegwo from Congo, Archbishop Francis of Monronvia, among many others reflect radiant examples of those who have shown outstanding character in confronting social injustice, speaking truth to power and walking alongside their people in finding solutions to their diverse and mounting conditions.

Another area today within African Churches that is the subject of injustice, dissent, and lack of peace reflects the choice of episcopal candidates. Africans, especially bishops and priests, including nuns, are too much like other members of their African society, preoccupied with titles, power of domination over others, prestige, privilege, influence, and wealth. Given the erroneous interpretation that "only" bishops constitute the fullness of the priesthood and the social respectability accruing to that office, many African bishops see their position as one of domination over others, especially the priest. The tendency to gloss over the priests, as if they do not matter, simply because one becomes a bishop is a time-bomb waiting to detonate and fragment the peace within many dioceses.

Hence, at any slight opportunity for advancing a candidate to the bishopric, the fight, scuttle, and ambitious antagonisms among priests have become a source of deep and dismaying dissension within many dioceses. Open campaigning for positions, nepotism by bishops advancing their relatives and favourites, and interferences by certain bishops in the affairs of other local churches has continued to breed incredible tension.
These tensile situations often also lead to the breakdown of peace within different dioceses. Priests become highly suspicious of one another, and ecclesiastical life is played out as if within the secular political arena with the unity of the priesthood and the diocese waning.

For instance in Maiduguri diocese, the recent appointment of a new bishop, Oliver Doeme, for that diocese is a case in point. The metropolitan archbishop of Jos, Mr. Ignatius Kaigama, had advanced his nephew, Fr. Peter Kamai, the Vice Rector at the St. Augustine Major Seminary, Jos, as a candidate for that diocese. Also, the metropolitan archbishop of Kaduna, Mr. Matthew Ndangoso, also the immediate past bishop of Maiduguri, advanced a priest from his home area in Yola diocese, Fr. Lawrence Dim, for the same position. The livid priests of Maiduguri protested in favour of their own priests.

Ndangoso backed out, but to teach the priests of Maiduguri a lesson they would never forget, for not enabling Kamai, a nephew of the Jos archbishop to succeed as a bishop, he imposed a less educated and inexperienced priest upon that diocese, to despise, Fr,. John William, who was the diocesan administrator in the interim. The same situation occurred in Idah diocese, with archbishop Onaiyekan, helping to impose the current bishop of Idah upon its prebysterate, simply because the late bishop of Idah, Mr. Ephraim Silas Obot, was very sick. Today, the palpable chaos and disharmony among the priests of an hitherto cohesive diocese of Idah, is unbounded.

Even as this is going on, a lot of young Catholics are bidding farewell to the faith. Joining the growing Pentecostal field, the future of the Catholic Church in Africa is imperilled. Except the tide changes, the lifestyle of priests, bishops, and nuns, continue to send the wrong messages to these youth, as they forage and quest for the faith that gives meaning to their lives. Recently, the religious following of the former archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, Mr. Emmanuel Milingo is growing. Mr. Milingo recently ordained a former Catholic priest, Daniel Kasomo, now married as a bishop in Kenya.

This is the sad realities facing the church on the continent. But all is not doom. There are also vivacious events effecting joy and excitement within the Catholic life and faith on the continent. In Nigeria, during the failed elections and transition to democracy and the crises that begulfed the Nigerian nation between 1993 and 1999, the Church, inspired by some of their leaders, stood firmly on the side of truth and justice.

The valiant display of courage by the Malawian bishops in 1992-1993 reflects a towering testament to justice and the foundation of peace in society; and offers a paradigm of witnessing action to other bishops in the praxis for social justice. Many Africans are also representing the face of the church globally as missionaries and faith workers, bringing to the fore their own religious cultures and heritage in different and discrete nations of the world. Many of these African workers are awaking the faith and collaborating with others to show the universality of the Catholic Church, offering witness to the vitality of our Catholicity.

This synod should pay attention to the mode in which African immigrants are treated within the churches where they immigrate. Many fervent African Catholics are leaving the faith of their youth, after their incursion to western countries, because of the sad fact of racism and the diminishment of their persons and gifts by their fellow brothers and sisters of the faith, who validate color, skin pigmentation, materiality, and politics over love and community.

It is our expectation, that this synod would inject some dynamic realism into the life of faith and the living of the faith among African Catholics and Christians, both within Africa and outside of it, and through these agents into the universal church as a whole.

It remains to be seen, how this synod would be fruitful in the life of the Catholic Church and people of the African continent. It is our hope that this is not just a talking shop where African bishops went to show off before the authorities in Rome, using it as a kind of stunt for increasing their visibility and propelling their ambition for higher ranks within the church, while themselves not attuned to the ordinary lives of Africans, merely paint pictures appealing to the western church.

In the next ten to fifteen years, we shall see whether the present growth in African Catholicism could be sustained, or whether it would decline with the onslaught of interdenominational and charismatic/pentecostal churches, mimicking the organizational structure of churches such as the Catholic faith, while more contemporarily addressing the needs of the youths. Only time will tell, if this synod was of any vital use. Lets pray and watch!!!