Catholic Bishops in Africa End Plenary Assembly with Call on War-Torn Communities to Commit to Lasting Peace

To also foster lasting peace in areas prone to violence in Africa, SECAM members further urged “political leaders to have at heart the wellbeing of the peoples they govern, to protect the weakest, and to promote dialogue and a better way of living together.”

In the document, SECAM members underlined the need for peace, warning that interethnic and interstate tensions in various African regions are resulting only in human impoverishment, which they said in turn triggers further deprivation that paralyzes the entire continent.

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They said that no one truly emerges victorious from a conflict, regardless of its nature, and emphasized that reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace are crucial for the advancement of all aspects of human life.

The Catholic Bishops in Africa emphasized that reconciliation among individuals, especially among Christians, should be rooted in the belief that God reconciled all humanity to Himself through Jesus Christ.

As pastors, the Bishops affirmed that their belief is rooted in their mission, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to call “all baptized persons in conflict to reconciliation and forgiveness, so that the harmony and peaceful coexistence established by Christ’s salvific act may become a lifestyle for all.”

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Reconciliation and peace, they said, “are indeed ‘a path of hope’ in that they reveal the true nature of the human person as intrinsically oriented toward others.”

The proclamation of the message of hope SECAM members further said, “is all the more urgent in light of the continued reality, tragically, where “so many men and women, children and the elderly, are denied their dignity, their physical integrity, their freedom, including religious freedom, deprived of community solidarity and of hope for the future.”

“Countless innocent victims bear the burden of humiliation and exclusion, of bereavement and injustice, and even the trauma of systematic persecution directed against their people and loved ones,” they said.

The Catholic Bishops in Africa emphasized that peace among the people of God of the Church in Africa and the Islands, baptized in Christ, “must be uncompromising and unconditional.” Such peace, they continue “must be rooted in the gratuitous gift of God given through Christ by the Holy Spirit.”

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In their document, SECAM members said that the message they sought to place in the hearts of the people of God in Africa and Madagascar at the 20th Plenary Assembly was to “fully embrace the great mission of reconciliation.”

The Catholic Bishops also said they sought to use the Plenary to express their desire to revive and embody the Church’s true identity as a family of God, recognizing God as Father, the Church as Mother, and all people as brothers and sisters.

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SECAM underlined the need for the people of God, owing to their “fragile nature” of wounding each other, “to heal and restore our relationships.”

“Reconciliation, whose source is Christ, enables us to mend broken bonds,” they said, and added. “Through this healing, we are called to live in justice and peace. This is the mission entrusted to us by the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.”

They explained that to walk and live as the Church-Family of God means to be in the right relationship with God and with one another. “It means recognizing God as our Father, the Church as our mother, and ourselves as brothers and sisters. This image calls us to a life of communion, love, and mutual responsibility.”

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“Today, Christ sends us forth on a mission: to renew our understanding and practice of being a Family of God, and to serve our communities and our continent with the Gospel of reconciliation, justice, and peace,” the Catholic Bishops said in their final document.

Making reference to the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the Church leaders reminded the people of God in Africa that the fundamental mission of all the baptized is to be messengers and builders of hope.

“May the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Africa, accompany the Church on our continent, so that she may bear witness to Jesus, our Peace and our Hope,” SECAM members implored at the plenary that brought together 13 Cardinals, 100 Archbishops and Bishops, over 200 Priests, and many Religious, and thousands of faithful.