AFRICA/LIBERIA – Catholic Association of Friends meets in the spirit of the encyclical ‘Fratelli tutti’
Friday, 9 February 2024
LS
Foya (Agenzia Fides) – Three hundred Catholic women from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone recently met in the parish of St. John Vianney in Foya, in the light of ‘the mystery of the Visitation’. “The international experience of exchange, which began two years ago through the missionary impulse of the Catholic Women’s Association of the Parish of St. John Vianney in Foya, involved the cross-border parishes of Gueguedou, Guinea, and Koindu – Buedu, Sierra Leone,” explained the parish priest, Father Lorenzo Snider, SMA from the African Missionaries (White Fathers). “The peculiarity of this strip of land,” he continued, “is that the English- and French-speaking countries speak the same local language: Kissi, which is also the name of the ethnic group that numbers at least a million people and inhabits the border between Guinea, Sierra Leo and Liberia.” The meeting, which recalled the vocation of Mary and Elizabeth, highlighted the important role of women in the process of proclaiming the Gospel in these countries. “Not only by organizing regular meetings, but also by creating a small network of the three countries, through contacts, common reflections and a process of fraternity and friendship that now involves the whole people of God with their own pastors.” During the opening service, the Bishop of Gbarnga, Antony R. F. Borwa, reiterated the bishops’ support for this initiative and called for an active commitment to reconciliation and peace. “I believe that this is a good example of ‘pastoral care on the margins’, in the spirit of the encyclical ‘Fratelli tutti’, to establish bonds of friendship in common faith in the Lord Jesus,” concluded Father Lorenzo.
These are powerful antidotes against conflicts, nationalism and the stigmatization of foreigners. Suggestions and movements that come from below and that, we hope and pray, can have the dynamics of the yeast in the dough or the mustard seed.” (LS/AP) (Agenzia Fides, 9/2/2024)
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Publish date : 2024-02-09 08:00:00
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