African Church leadership

What are the expectations of the Church in Africa for the future after the remarkable service of Pope Francis? What are we hearing as theologians and pastoral leaders in Africa from our people in their joys and sorrows, hopes, and concerns for the future? This palaver will reflect on Africa’s priorities and vision for the future as Church Family of God.  The 18 African Cardinal-electors will go into the Conclave fully aware that the divisive issues in contemporary Catholicism often neglect the concerns and needs of Africa. Even though Africa is the continent where the Catholic Church is witnessing its fastest growth, this demographic advantage has not reflected in influence in the Global church because of many factors including racism and the continuing effects of colonialism and the asymmetrical power relations between Africa and the rest. Have the Catholic churches and regions in Africa been impacted by the polarization in today’s Church especially on issues of marriage and family life, same-sex marriages, immigration, climate change, the place of women in Church leadership, and the autonomy of local African Catholic dioceses and institutions from the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church? The Catholic bishops of Africa have displayed a remarkable unity on these matters as was shown in the clarity of vision in their articulation of the African agenda during the Synod. Could the Catholic Church in Africa be an alternative staging ground for new forms of faith and life that is faithful to the church’s traditions but also open to meeting the spiritual hunger of today’s world with some vibrancy of worship? Could the Church in Africa offer a depolarizing space for finding   new answers to emerging questions troubling many people through dialogue, consensus-building using the tools of the African palaver and communal embrace of all people rather than with old and tired Eurocentric answers and repetitive rituals? Even though Africa is today the continent witnessing the highest growth in population in the Catholic Church, why is the idea of a Pope from Africa still considered by some as a remote possibility? These questions and more will be discussed by our theological and pastoral experts through the African palaver.