The Catholic Bishops in East Africa under the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) region have committed themselves to implementing Pope Francis’ call to acknowledge the urgency of the world’s environmental challenges.
In the 2012 encyclical titled ‘On Care for Ur Common Home’, Pope Francis appeals to the church and the world for an inclusive dialogue about how the future of this planet could be shaped. Rt. Rev George Cosmas Lungo, the former Chairman of Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops –ZCCB while reading the solidarity message addressed to his holiness Pope Francis at the 20th Plenary Assembly of AMECEA in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania says that the Bishops resolved to reflect on efforts made to raise awareness and the challenges so far met in the process of implementing Laudato Si.
He discloses that this was agreed upon during the study session inspired by the vision of solidarity on Care for Our Common Home, where they also hailed the AMECEA Bishop Chairman Rt. Rev. Charles Kasonde for the reminder to all Bishops to listen to each other in the journey of discernment and faith especially in the current Africa’s struggles to address environmental issues. The Bishops further commended Pope Francis for his 9 years of service in Pontificate and prayed for his blessings during the plenary period. The week-long assembly for the Catholic Church in Eastern Africa from 10-17th July runs under the theme “Environmental impact on integral human development.” Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization represented Pope Francis from Rome at the assembly that was attended by bishops from the host country Tanzania as well as those from Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Zambia, Ethiopia and Eritrea among others.
By Francis Jjunju