Delegates at III Pan African Congress Call for Support of African Missionaries Frustrated by Immigration Challenges

Abidjan, 11 August, 2025 / 10:16 PM

Delegates of the III Pan-African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society, and Pastoral Life who gathered in Ivory Coast’s city of Abidjan from August 5-10 have called for the support of African missionaries who are experiencing hardships in their missions, especially those set back by immigration challenges.

In a statement at the end of the congress, the delegates say that divisions such as ethnicity and racism must not stand in the way of missionary discipleship in Africa and even outside the continent.

Noting that self-reliance is an imperative for the Church in Africa, “not as isolation from other local Churches, but as mature participation in the universal communion of faith,” the delegates say, “This means… supporting African missionaries in the challenging mission in some parts of the world where some African missionaries experience racism and immigration restrictions.”

The delegates acknowledge that the African Church has transitioned to “a Church of the Sheaves”, sharing personnel within the continent and even outside Africa.

 “We recognize with gratitude how far the African Church has journeyed: transiting from a mission Church receiving the Gospel to a Church of the Sheaves, sharing gifts and sending missionaries to other parts of the world,” they say, and add, “We commit ourselves to deepening this transformation as missionary disciples of the Lord to Africa and the world.”

They say that synodality, as explored in the Synod on Synodality, is the pathway of the mission of evangelization, and calls for “overcoming divisions based on ethnicity, status, or ideology.”

The call by the delegates of the III Pan African Congress comes amid mounting frustrations of foreign Catholic Priests who have been forced out of South Africa on alleged expiry of their visas.

In some of the most recent incidences, two Ugandan-born Catholic Priests were recently forced to abandon their ministry in the country after reportedly being frustrated in their visa renewal processes. Fr. Stephen Syambi served in South Africa’s Catholic Diocese of Klerksdorp before he was forced out on July 16, and Fr. Jude Thaddeus, served in the Catholic Diocese of De Aar before he was sent packing from South Africa in May. The President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), Stephen Cardinal Brislin, has expressed his spiritual closeness with foreign Church ministers who have been forced out of South Africa, telling them not to lose hope, but to “try and resolve this matter.”

Organized by the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) , the five-day conference in Abidjan brought together Theologians, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Women and Men, Lay Leaders, Youth, and Catholic Communicators who engaged on the theme “Journeying together in Hope as Church, Family of God in Africa”.

In PACTPAN’s characteristic palaver engagement, the participants explored Africa’s contribution to the global Church’s understanding of the Synod on Synodality, advancement of African theological scholarship, and the place of women and youths in the Church in Africa.

Participants also engaged on urgent issues affecting African communities, including human trafficking, religious persecution, and environmental degradation.

Underlining the urgent need for the African Church to be self-reliant by generating and managing resources in transparent manner.

They also underscored the need to support Clergy, the Religious, and pastoral workers materially and spiritually.

Also important is the need to invest in theological formation, research, and Catholic education at all levels, and to build sustainable institutions of evangelization, healthcare, and social service.

The delegates further suggested that an African-led missionary fund be developed in Africa to support the work of African missionaries to the rest of the world.

In their statement, the delegates at III Pan African Congress also described Africa as “a gift to the world”, saying, “Africa is rich in faith, culture, and values.”

“The African family remains the domestic Church and the moral bedrock of society, preserving traditions of solidarity, hospitality, and mutual care. We affirm the irreplaceable role of women, youth, and elders as bearers of these values and as agents of renewal in the Church and society,” they said. 

Central to their deliberations, however, was the theme of hope that Pope Leo XIV explored at length his message of solidarity with the participants in the Pan-African congress.

The participants presented Hope as “not simply an idea, a sentiment, or an aspiration.”

“Hope is a Person—Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. He is the unshakable anchor for our faith, the sure foundation for our dreams, and the wellspring of courage for our mission,” the delegates said in their final statement.

They added, “Hope, grounded in Christ, enables us to…stand firm amid wars, political instability, and violence that afflict many African nations, resist despair in the face of poverty, corruption, and social breakdown, and care for our common home even as climate change threatens ecosystems, livelihoods, and future generations.”

Hope, they said, helps the people of God in Africa to heal the wounds of displacement, forced migration, and the loss of human dignity on the continent, and to create new structures of love and programmes of reconciliation.”

“Our hope is not naïve optimism,” they said, and added that hope, for Africans, “is a theological virtue rooted in the resurrection—trusting that God is always creating and re-creating, raising life from ashes, and bringing light out of darkness.”