U.S., Latin American Bishops Reaffirm Solidarity with Africa at SECAM Plenary Assembly

Archbishop Thomas Robert Zinkula. Credit: ACI Africa

He said that the Pastoral Letter inspired the Bishops in the U.S. to pledge their continued support in acknowledgement of the “real challenges” of the Church in Africa and “the tremendous hope it offers to the global church.

The Metropolitan Archbishop of America’s Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque highlighted “The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa” as one of the concrete expression of their support towards the needs of the Church in Africa, noting, “The Fund has supported numerous projects, distributing more than $40 million, including over $900,000 to SECAM.”

“We believe this is not just financial support, but a deepening of our ecclesial relationship, built on mutual respect and love,” he said, reaffirming the USCCB’s commitment to continue using the Sub Committee on the Church in Africa, “to build and strengthen these ties, not just through grants, but through friendship, collaboration, and a shared synodal path.”

Archbishop Thomas Robert Zinkula. Credit: ACI Africa

He said the ongoing SECAM Plenary Assembly is taking place at “a pivotal moment” when the global church has entered a synodal journey “marked by a renewed commitment to listening: to the Holy Spirit, to one another, and to the voices of the faithful across the world.”

“As the Synod moves into its implementation phase, your discernment here in Africa is a vital part of the Church's response to God's call in this new era,” he stated, referring to the third phase of the Synod on Synodality, whose guideline the General Secretariat of the Synod, has issued with the approval of Pope Leo XIV.

Archbishop Thomas Robert Zinkula. Credit: ACI Africa

Highlighting the broader context within which the implementation phase of the Final Document of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops is unfolding, Archbishop Zinkula underscored the need to explore pathways toward a self-sustaining Church in Africa.

Archbishop Thomas Robert Zinkula. Credit: ACI Africa

“We also are mindful of the broader context,” he said, citing the reality of their setting where “the American Church is undergoing significant cultural and demographic shifts, which inevitably affect the global Church.”

He emphasized that “the work of listening, discerning, and building a self-sustaining Church rooted in the Gospel is more important than ever” for the Church in Africa, particularly as it strives “to bring hope and peace where violence, indifference, and hardship persist.”

Archbishop Thomas Robert Zinkula. Credit: ACI Africa

Meanwhile in their message of goodwill to the Bishops of Africa, members of the Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (CELAM) expressed gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the 20th SECAM Plenary Assembly which is taking place in Rwanda, a land they recognized for holding “in its heart both pain and hope.”

The Second Vice President of CELAM, Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, said the participation of Catholic Bishops from the Latin American and Caribbean at the Plenary Assembly the Catholic Archdiocese of Kigali is hosting “is a sign of their willingness to continue walking and working together in Synodality with the Church in Africa.”

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Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta. Credit: SECAM

“We know that it is not enough to preserve structures,” said the Metropolitan Archbishop of Panama on Thursday, July 31, emphasizing that “in a globalized world it is urgent to walk together as a disciple and missionary Church, allowing ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit towards new forms of incarnation of the Kingdom.”

The member of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA) said CELAM is convinced that “Synodality, mutual listening, shared discernment, and co-responsibility are paths that bring us closer and enrich the communion between our sister Churches.”

“We are united by a history of suffering and hope, of resistance and of faith incarnated in our peoples,” said Archbishop Mendieta, and added, “In our continent there are more than 200 million people of African descent, who have enriched us with their joy, their spirituality, and their hope.”

For him, “This makes Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean two sister continents, with a rich spirituality, humanity, and prophecy.”

He expressed confidence that the gathering of SECAM sets “a new stage of missionary fraternity” and plants a “seed of new bonds, of mutual learning, and of pastoral collaboration beyond oceans and geographies.”

“We entrust this path to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America, and of the holy martyrs of Africa, so that together we may continue building a Samaritan, incarnate, serving, and prophetic Church,” he said on July 31, speaking for CLAM and its 22 Episcopal Conferences.