The Synod on the Family is "an opportunity for us to assume our responsibilities, while taking into account our unique culture." These were the words of Msgr. Louis Portella Mbuyu, Bishop of Kinkala (Republic of Congo) and Vice-President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
Of what importance is this Synod for the Church in Africa?
"For Africa, this Synod is of great importance in an ecclesial, pastoral and cultural perspective. Gender theory, homosexuality and same-sex marriage are all ideologies that destabilize the family and deeply undermine the moral and cultural equilibrium in the world. When the Pope convoked the Synod, the continent’s Bishops saw it as an occasion of grace for Africa."
What, on the other, is the goal of the preparatory workshop in Cotonou?
"The Bishops in Africa could simply prepare themselves individually, as is usually the case in every diocese of each country’s Episcopal Conference or in the Regional Bishops' Conferences. Today, however, the Bishops of Africa feel the need to think and act together. Instead of proceeding in a disorderly fashion, we have decided to coordinate the preparation for this important Synod. The workshop in Cotonou has been a theological and pastoral consultation in preparation for the Synod."
How could this contribution be useful to the universal Church?
"Africa has much to offer to the world. In many areas, African culture is in consonance with the Revelation, with the Gospel. For example, in Africa, there are marginal forms of behavior, as in all parts of the world; yet in our culture, we can deal with marginal behavior in a realistic and respectful way. In Europe, marginality has long been countered by repression, and now the West wants to take marginal types of behavior as references. Africa needs to keep its sense of the family, for the good of African families, but also for the universal Church."
