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Introduction
The celebration of this ever first synod in Onitsha Archdiocese was a colossal success. It ran smoothly from start to finish without any hitch or accident. We are grateful to Almighty God for his benevolence during this period.
1. Summoning of the Synod
The Archdiocesan Synod, 2004-2005, is the first meeting since the coming of the missionaries in 1885, although Bishop Joseph Shanahan’s Catholic Congress held in Onitsha in 1915 was a landmark event, and discussed and made proposals, just like a synod, on the major pastoral questions of the day, such as traditional titles, marriage customs, and the masquerade cult. The Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Val. M. Okeke, on assuming the mantle of leadership in Onitsha Archdiocese in September 2003, had a vision about the portion of the People of God entrusted to his pastoral care, and that vision was “that they may have life” and have it to the full (John 10,10). This synod was called to assist in translating the vision to reality.
2. Synod in the life of the Church
2.1. Synods used to be a regular feature of the life of the early Church. Many doctrinal and pastoral issues used to be discussed and decided upon in provincial synods, which brought together bishops from the same region. The Eastern churches, both Orthodox and Catholic, have retained this practice down through the centuries.
2.2. Apart from the synod of Bishops, which meets in Rome, there are also diocesan synods like the present one, which bring the members of the Church, family of God in the diocese together with and under the bishop, to seek the face and the will of God for the diocese. An important aspect of synods derives from its very etymology: syn hodos, a Greek work, which means “being on a road together”. The synod gives an opportunity for the various segments of the diocesan family to plot a common course in her journey of faith and witness.
2.3. The diocesan family is made up of many members, organized in different categories, according to the specific call of God on each person. The broad categories are the clergy, the religious, and the laity, each organised within its own group, and all in the hierarchical communion with the bishop to whom the local church is entrusted by the Holy Spirit. It is his duty to make sure that all work together for the good of the Church. This is done in the normal administration of the diocese. But the synod is a privileged opportunity to jointly clarify objectives, assess progress, and review strategies for evermore effective pastoral action.
2.4. Faith and witness are the two dimensions of the task of the synod. They correspond to the life and mission of the Church; they indicate on the one hand what the Church is, and on the other, what she does. One depends on the other.
3. Theme of the Synod
The present synod has in view these two dimensions, with the searchlight on the theme of
evangelisation, since the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom is the chief means of bringing people to the knowledge of the abundant new life offered by Christ. With the publication of his Lenten Pastoral of 2004, entitled That they may have Life, and precisely on 25 February 2004 on Ash Wednesday at Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Archbishop, Most Rev. Val M. Okeke, solemnly declared his intention to convoke an Archdiocesan Synod on “Evangelisation in Onitsha Archdiocese Today.” The synod and its preparation were to run from 2004 to 2005, with the general sessions in November 2005 and the conclusion in December 2005. The work got underway when in February 2005, a secretary general was appointed, and a committee set up to assist in the preparation.
4. Celebration of the Synod
4.1. The general sessions of the synod were inaugurated with Mass in the Centenary Field of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Onitsha, on Sunday, 6 November 2005. The Mass was led by His Excellency, Most Rev. John Onaiyekan, the Archbishop of Abuja, with Most Rev. Val. M. Okeke, the Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. A.K. Obiefuna, the emeritus Archbishop of Onitsha and Most Rev. E.N. Otteh, the emeritus Bishop of Issele Uku together with a large body of priests concelebrating. The consecrated religious and the lay faithful also attended in large numbers. Goodwill messages were received from His Eminence, Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Vatican City, His Eminence, Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Vatican City, His Excellency, Most Rev. Renzo Fratini, the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency, Most Rev. Hilary Odili Okeke, the Bishop of Nnewi, and many others.
4.2. The celebration had colour and many markings of solemnity. The vast congregation was dressed mostly in the cloth specially made to commemorate the synod. Mass vestments for the clergy and the assisting ministers were also of the same cloth. Some of the significant actions inserted in the celebration were the solemn enthronement of the Book of the Gospels, preceded by joyous procession, with traditional music and liturgical dancing; the profession of faith by the synod delegates immediately after the singing of the Creed, and the offertory procession by all the lay faithful participating in the synod.
4.3. The Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Val. M. Okeke, gave a memorable address after the Communion Prayer on the rich heritage that had been built up and handed on from the first landing of the missionaries of 5 December 1885 until he became the chief custodian of that inheritance in 2003. He paid a glowing tribute to all those who had made significant contributions to that heritage, mentioning them by name and highlighting their more notable contributions. The address ended with the formal inauguration of the synod, and this was greeted by thunderous applause and innumerable cannon shots. The accreditation of the delegates followed after Mass.
4.4. The business of the synod got underway in the evening with communal recitation of the rosary, Vespers, and the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. After other preliminaries had been completed the following morning, 7 November 2005, the oath of office was taken, and the general sessions began with a keynote lecture by the Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. John Onaiyekan. The general sessions featured a total of nineteen lectures on various issues related to evangelisation, ranging from canon law, the liturgy and the sacraments to priestly formation, family life, social communication, education and inculturation.
5. The Mandate to Evangelise
5.1. The theme of this synod, Evangelisation in Onitsha Archdiocese Today, is a crucial one not only for the Archdiocese but also for the universal Church. The Church exists to
evangelise. In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI is emphatic on this: Evangelising is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to
evangelise, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection. (n.14).
5.2. Vatican II Council reminds us in Apostolicum Actuositatem that evangelisation demands the complementing of “the testimony of the word” with “the testimony of life” (n.13). A Christian cannot witness in one or the other form exclusively; both are involved in the call to become ever more faithful witnesses to the Lord Jesus. Effective witnessing, therefore, requires the deepening of faith and holiness of life.
5.3. Our call and commitment to Evangelisation is a call to holiness. All pastoral initiatives must be set in the context of the call to holiness. According to Lumen Gentium (nn. 39-41), holiness is not the prerogative of a few uncommon heroes. Holiness demands the fidelity of each Christian to his or her vocation. The whole life of the Christian community and Christian families must head in this direction of holiness. All the Christian faithful of whatever state or rank are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our model of holiness. God sent the Holy Spirit to all to move them interiorly to love God with their whole heart, with their whole soul, with their whole understanding and with their whole strength (Mark 12,30) and to love one another as Christ loved them (John 13,34).
6.1. The Nature of Evangelisation
Evangelisation is bringing God’s message of salvation to everybody, both believers and non-believers, but mainly to those who have never had the opportunity of hearing the Word of God for the salvation of their souls. For those who have heard this Word, it takes another dimension; that is, strengthening the Word of God in them so that it will be fruitful both for them and those around them.
6.2. The Subject of Proclamation
The subject of proclamation is Christ who was crucified, died and is risen: through him is accomplished full and authentic liberation of the human person from evil, sin and death; through him God bestows “new life” that is divine and eternal. This is the “Good News” which changes man and his history, and which all peoples have a right to hear.
6.3. This must be made clear that the mission of the Church is evangelisation… “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10,10). “The mission activity is nothing other and nothing less than the manifestation or epiphany of God’s plan and its fulfilment in the world and in history, God by means of missions, clearly accomplishes the history of salvation.” (Ad Gentes, n.9, cf. also nn. 10-18).
6.4. One of the central purposes of mission is to bring people together in hearing the Gospel, in fraternal communion, in prayer and in the Eucharist. To live in fraternal communion means to be of one heart and one soul (Acts 4,32), establishing fellowship from every point of view: human, spiritual and material. A true Christian communion is also committed to distributing earthly goods, so that no one is in want (cf. Acts 2,45; 4,35).
6.5. First Proclamation of Christ the Saviour
We need to understand that proclamation is the permanent priority of mission. The Church cannot fail to carry out Christ’s explicit mandate, nor deprive men and women of the “Good News” about their being loved and saved by God. Therefore, evangelisation will always contain — as the foundation, centre and at the same time the summit of its dynamism — a clear proclamation that, in Jesus Christ… salvation is offered to all men, as a gift of God’s grace and mercy (Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 27).
6.6. Proclaiming Christ to Non-Christians
The missionary is convinced that, through the working of the Spirit, there already exists in individuals and peoples an expectation, even if an unconscious one, of knowing the truth about God, about man, and about how the human being is to be set free from sin and death.
6.7. Keeping the Word of God
The Church is called to bear witness to Christ by taking courageous and prophetic stand in the face of corruption of political and economic power. Therefore, she does not seek her own glory and material advantage, by using her resources to serve the poorest of the poor and by imitating Christ’s own simplicity of life.
7. New Challenges of Evangelisation
7.1. In a recent pastoral letter of the Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, the bishops noted: Nigeria is a country blessed with rich and varied cultures and traditions. The various ethnic nationalities exhibit many features which harmonize with, and indeed promote, the proclamation of the Good News. Among such values are: a deep sense of the sacred; a keen interest in spiritual realities; joy of life; openness to mystery; belief in the effectiveness of prayer; sense of community and hospitality; reverence of fatherhood; respect of age and elders; love of tradition and loyalty to kinsfolk. (I Chose You: The Nigerian Priest in the Third Millennium, p. 2).
7.2. Though our country can boast of all these rich cultures as well as vast lands rich in agricultural and mineral resources, yet the majority of her citizens wallow in dehumanising poverty and want. Thanks to the curse of an unending succession of corrupt and incompetent leaders our country has nothing to show for all its natural resources except the conspicuous consumption of the rich few and the degrading poverty of the vast majority of her citizens. Massive corruption and gross mismanagement of what is available has left a vast segment of society bereft of even the most basic of social infrastructure.
7.3. Perhaps no where is this more apparent than in the education sector. Our educational system has virtually collapsed. Examination malpractice has become an accepted way of life at all levels of our educational system. Skills building, civic education and character formation have been relegated to the limbo of forgotten things. Teachers no longer act as role models for the young people. The result has been that many who have been through our national education experience can hardly read or communicate what they know in writing. The situation is further compounded by the fact that the country provides very few prospects for young people. Many spend years after graduation without obtaining any meaningful employment.
7.4. Although our people have embraced the Christian faith in large numbers, their basic worldview is still steeped in the traditional ways of African Traditional Religion. The bishops of Nigeria recently observed: “We note with Christian concern the absence of deep commitment to the values of our faith. The crass dichotomy between life and faith in many of our Christians manifests, to say the least, a contradiction to the faith they profess. This shows that God has not become a reality in many areas of our daily life; for example, the family, social life, politics, profession, culture. After many years of Christianity in our country, there is still idolatry and destructive superstition in different manifestation. Even after feeling the strong pains of the Nigerian civil crisis, tribe and tongue and village and clan and family ties still separate baptized Christians and render the Family of God subservient to the tribal affiliation (The Church in Nigeria: Family of God on Mission, pp. 47-48).
7.5. We have also to contend with the influence of new-wave Christianity. This pattern of belief and practice has certainly helped some of our Catholics to develop a burning love for the Word of God as contained in the Bible, and to deepen and interiorise their faith. However, it also seems to go with evangelical revivalism: an evangelising style that addresses the heart, a piety focused on feelings and faith healings. We can see this in the obsessive preoccupation with the preternatural and the miraculous that is rife among our Christians and a segment of our young priests.
7.6. Since the end of the civil war, our society has become more materialistic. Our young people find themselves in a social setting characterized by moral decadence, uncensored media (pornographic literature, video and film, TV and radio programmes), social ills (bad governance, corruption, crime, violence, political injustices) and unbecoming leisure activities (awilo dance, drugs, alcohol and cheap sex).
8.1. Issues of Evangelisation
Evangelisation of the human person and his society involves a whole gamut of activities, which can be considered under conversion, liberation and inculturation.
8.2. Evangelisation and Conversion
Flowing from the nature of the mission of Jesus (cf. Luke 4,16-21), the Church has the task of communicating the Gospel (evangelisation). The Church is, therefore, a communicating community. It is a task that is not optional, but rather obligatory. In other words, mission is a “must” for the Church. And as we have seen from the command of Jesus, this mission has a universal character; it is the proclamation of the gospel to all peoples — a universal call to conversion
(metanoia). Because no human person is perfect, and human persons are found everywhere, it means that mission is everywhere and not merely in places where the Gospel has not been preached for the first time. The mission which the Church has been mandated by Christ to be involved in is primarily God’s mission. The Church as an agent of evangelisation cooperates with God in his salvific activity. This implies that it is a task of service that should be approached with the spirit of humility, just as Jesus did and symbolically demonstrated at the Last Supper by washing the feet of his disciples (cf. John 13, 2-15).
8.3. We Christians should regularly remind ourselves that we are not only the depository of the Gospel message as a Church, but also part of the entire humanity yet to be saved. It is in this context that Paul VI reminded Christians that “the Church is an
evangeliser, but she begins by evangelising herself.” As members of the Church participating in calling every human person back to God, we should also work out our salvation in fear and trembling, as St. Paul would advise the Church at Philippi (Phil. 2,12). In prayer we are always drawn closer to God.
8.4. Evangelisation and Liberation
Although the mission of Jesus does not exclude anybody, it is, however, a liberating activity in which solidarity especially with the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized is shown. In describing the nature of his mission, Jesus cited the Book of the prophet Isaiah where it is written: The spirit of the Lord is on me for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted, he has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord (Luke 4,18-19).
8.5. This passage clearly reflects the character of God’s mission as it was revealed to the chosen people of Israel. The content of the text (Luke 4, 18-19) is indeed another way of speaking of the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom of God which Jesus claims to be his mission.
8.6. Evangelisation and Inculturation
Mission is about the task of the communication of the Gospel message. For any message to be understood by the recipient and relevant to him or her as well, it has to be communicated not only by using the “language or symbol” he or she understands but also relating the message to the person’s context (life-situation). That is precisely what God did when he became human in the person of Jesus Christ in order to communicate his love to human persons. Jesus was a Jew, lived as a Jew in the Jewish cultural context. He was able to communicate his message effectively because he was quite at home with the Jewish culture and context of his time.
8.7. Culture is indispensable in the process of evangelisation because the “symbols” with which messages can be communicated to individuals are embedded in it, and these individuals are deeply connected to a culture and influenced by it. It should also transform culture, the agent that shapes the human person. Culture needs transformation because as a human product, it is in itself imperfect. That is why Paul VI, in relation to
evangelisation, declares that what matters is to evangelise man’s culture or cultures (not in a purely decorative way as it were by applying a thin veneer, but in a vital way, in-depth and right to the roots)… always taking the person as one’s starting point and always coming back to the relationship of people among themselves and with God. (Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 20).
8.8. The process by which the Gospel values are integrated into a particular culture and thereby transforming it from within is what modern theologians refer to as inculturation — a concept based on the theology of incarnation. Incarnation here refers not merely to the birth of Jesus Christ but rather to his entire life. And so, inculturation can be said to be a process of evangelisation modelled on the interaction of God — in the person of Jesus Christ — with humanity through their cultural values. In doing this, the Gospel values are integrated into a culture.
9.1. Agents of
Evangelisation. The Church as a whole has been sent to teach the whole world, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Church proclaims the Kingdom of God, which is the mission of Christ, for the salvation of souls and the whole world (Can. 208); this proclamation is to go on in every age and in every land…(cc 211, 528, 529, 530). All Christians share in this mission (c. 209), and this is connected to the three offices of Christ in which all Christians participate by virtue of baptism: the Priestly, the Prophetic and the Kingly offices. In baptism, therefore, all are called to work toward the salvation of the world through these offices, each one according to his or her own position in the Church.
9.1.1. Pastors of Christ’s Faithful. If the Church exists in order to
evangelise, priests are indispensable for the Church’s mission of
evangelisation: According to Pope John Paul II: “Without priests the Church would not be able to live out that fundamental obedience which is at the very heart of her existence and her mission in history, an obedience in response to the command of Christ: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations’, that is, an obedience to the command to announce the Gospel and to renew daily the sacrifice of the giving of his body and the shedding of his blood for the life of the world.” (Pastores dabo vobis, n.1).
9.1.2. The priest is to strive to discover Christ in an intimate personal relationship. When this happens, there arises an urge to tell others about Christ. St. Paul says this very forcefully when he writes: “I reckon nothing can…outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Jesus and be given a place in him. All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3,8-10). The more the priest comes to know Christ, and indeed the more a Christian faithful comes to know Christ, the more intimately he or she desires to share in him: the priest cannot but proclaim him, as Paul does, as an ultimate value, worth selling all that one has, worth giving up everything, including one’s own life. What is more “There is no other name in the whole world given to me by which they are to be saved” (Acts 4,12).
9.2. Consecrated Persons.
A life consecrated through the evangelical counsels is of surpassing value. Such a life has a necessary role to play in the circumstances of the present age. Since consecration implies mission, in other words, evangelisation, those consecrated through the profession of the evangelical counsels should be the starting handle and the generator of the new era of evangelisation in the Archdiocese of Onitsha. When God consecrates men and women in the religious life, He chooses, sets apart and dedicates them to Himself, but He also engages them in His own divine work. Their particular form of consecration necessarily and deeply commits them to the mission of Christ in the diocese. Like Him, they are called for others. Thus consecration cannot be considered apart from evangelisation. These are two facets of one reality.
Thus, the specific contribution of consecrated persons to evangelisation in the archdiocese of Onitsha should be first of all the witness of a life given totally to God and to their sisters and brothers in imitation of the Saviour who out of love for humanity mad Himself a servant. Consecrated persons should make visible in their consecration and total dedication the loving and saving presence of Christ. Allowing themselves to be won over by Him, they prepare to become in a certain way a prolongation of His humanity.
9.2.1. Apart from the apostolate proper to each religious institute or society of apostolic life, the Council itself affirms that non-clerics who have received the munera Christi (threefold office of Christ) namely, priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ inherent in the sacrament of baptism also have the capacity of being appointed by the hierarch to some ecclesiastical offices with a view of spiritual end (Lumen Gentium, n. 33), to which are linked certain obligations and rights implying some kind of juridical power (as indicated in canon 145, §2). The consecrated persons may accept to do these works, but what matters is the spirit with which these actions are performed. If they are to be done well, a total self-sacrifice, humility, love of Christ and compassion must be employed. Consecrated persons should know that their greatest glory is to be washers of feet, serving the poor, the sick who are the suffering feet of Christ.
9.3. The Laity.
Once baptized, we become children of God, a holy people, a royal priesthood and people specially chosen by God to offer Him spiritual and acceptable sacrifices, etc. Therefore, we go to Church because we are holy! How then should people so exalted by God behave? How should children of God behave? We are called to be holy and to act like holy people. This sets the stage for the involvement of the laity in the work of evangelisation. Their mission is to evangelise particularly by their way of life, starting from the family and going on to their social, political, business and religious activities.
9.4. Social or Community of life.
For the laity, social and community lives are the most important tools for evangelisation. Vatican Council II teaches in Apostolicam Actuositatem that this aspect of witnessing belongs peculiarly to the laity: The apostolate in the social milieu, that is, the effort to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws and structures of the community in which one lives, is so much the duty and responsibility of the laity that it can never be performed properly by others. In this area the laity can exercise the apostolate of like toward like. It is here that they complement the testimony of life with the testimony of the word. (n.9). It is here where they work or practice their profession or study or reside or spend their leisure time or have their companionship that they are more capable of helping their brethren (n. 13).
9.4.1. They must show by their actions that they are Christians, Catholics, followers of Christ who are trying to carry out everything the Lord Jesus commanded when He mandated us to evangelise (Mt. 28,20), the most important of which is love one another as I have loved you (Jn 15,12). If they have that kind of love, or even something resembling it, their lives will always show genuine concern for other people particularly those in need. This is evangelising action, which will always speak louder than evangelising words. This is particularly topical and important in today’s Nigeria. With the lack of security of lives and property, the marginalisation and maltreatment of many due to oppressive, inept and uncaring governance, we see that what is needed is a new impetus towards
evangelisation, towards being one’s brothers’ keeper, spiritually and corporeally. This new impetus or new era of evangelical action has also been referred to as new evangelisation.
10.1. Means of evangelisation: The Witness of the whole Community of Faith
The minister of Table of the Word and the Table of the Eucharist is also assigned the role of President of Charity intensified at his declaration: “Ite Missa est”. The Church’s service to the poor begins at the offertory when the faithful bring forward money or gifts. The collection is publicly made for the needs of the Church and the poor. We recall that at the LAST Supper Jesus washed the feet of his Apostles leaving a trademark of fraternal charity. From that institution, the Eucharist is closely linked to agape and diakonia. The Priest presides also at the Table of Service that follows the Mass in the distribution of part of the collections to the poor and the down-trodden. The Eucharist will evangelise the more and faith strengthened when this collection is judiciously used for the purpose, and seen to be so. The community’s hospitality and outreach are indications of a fruitful Eucharistic participation. A priest who knows how to receive and help his parishioners, especially the little ones “who approach him with esteem and respect, appreciative of their value as persons, will generate an authentic charity which will become contagious and will gradually extend itself through the entire community” (Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests, n. 36).
10.2. The Liturgy and the Sacraments
Evangelisation embraces the whole activity of the Church. The various activities of the Church can rightly be called various phases of
Evangelisation. Liturgical celebration therefore equally belongs to the evangelising mission of the Church. Indeed the Church’s liturgical celebration is affirmed by the Vatican II Council Fathers to be the heart of the whole activity of the Church and so of
evangelisation. According to them, “The liturgy is the summit towards which the activity of the church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power flows. For the goal of apostolic endeavour (in other words,
evangelisation) is that all who are sons of God by faith and Baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of the Church to take part in the sacrifice and to eat the Last Supper (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n.10).
10.2.1. There are aspects of liturgical celebrations in the Archdiocese which enhance the apostolic endeavour of which the Council Fathers speak. For example, the active participation of the faithful: there is little need to encourage our Christians to join enthusiastically with the appropriate words and gestures during the liturgical celebration. They do it of their own accord. It has been said that to the Africans music comes easily. The level of attendance at liturgical celebrations, particularly the Sunday Eucharist is also striking. Most parishes in the archdiocese have more than two well attended Masses. In such settings, the liturgy easily assumes a festive character. Enthusiastic and massive participation in the liturgy is in no small measure due to the full adoption of the vernacular in the liturgy. By their clothing, people also show the value they put on Sunday Eucharist. It is a happy and joyous undertaking; it is a feast.
10.2.2. Some unsavoury aspects which have been observed include tendencies towards showmanship in liturgical celebrations and even theatricality. There are also cases in which Christians seem to forget that reconciliation and forgiveness of sin are intrinsic to the meaning of the Eucharist, and that worthy participation entails that Christians cannot be part of the practice of ostracism used in some communities in cases of intra-community disagreements. Before Paul ended his teaching on the Eucharist, he warned the Corinthians: “Everyone is to recollect himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognizing the body is eating and drinking his own condemnation”. The mystery of the Eucharist is well brought out here: It is the Body of Christ resulting from the change of Bread through transubstantiation; but it is also the mystical Body of Christ resulting from the presence of Christ in the assembly in keeping with his promise, “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them”. In this sense of the “Body”, not recognizing the Body would mean not realizing that the assembled community is the Body of Christ Himself. Clearly then, what Paul is saying is that when Christ’s faithful gather for liturgical celebrations, especially for the Eucharist, they are each related to the other and to the whole. The Christians cannot therefore afford each to forget the other. The Christians may be a multitude but they are one with the unity of an organism and not just a heap of unrelated objects.
10.2.3. The Sacrament of Anointing is also a very important means of evangelisation. It originated within the ancient Christian community that provided care for the need and the sick. Anointing was done in the context of prayer made in faith for healing. The healing sought was bodily, as well as emotional, relational and spiritual health shown by emphasis on reconciliation and forgiveness of sins in the early Christian community. Following Jesus Christ, the healer par excellence, who went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil, the Church is her various activities has concerned herself with ministering to afflicted children of God. The anointing of the sick is one of the chief means by which the Church continues this ministry; and it relates ordinarily to healing, rather than curing, which happens as an extraordinary manifestation of divine favour. To enable the Sacrament of Anointing to become an instrument of evangelisation, anointing of the sick should not be reserved only to terminal cases, but given even in cases of mild ailment if judged appropriate. The rite of anointing gives room for repeated anointing under the same illness. This is advisable if evidence exists of changes in the psychic condition of the patient and he meaning he or she gives to the ailment.
10.2.4. Healing prayer sessions should be regular features in a Christian community as good preparation for the Sacrament of Anointing, and a means to strengthen and prolong the sacramental grace it confers. The community should be involved in the celebration of the Sacrament of Anointing. It is especially in times of sickness, suffering and setbacks that Christina faith and the relevance of faith-community to the individual are put to the test. The celebration offers an opportunity for expressing real solidarity with the sick, who are often marginalized and abandoned. Members of Christ’s faithful should be exhorted to visit the sick in their midst, whether as groups or as individuals. In cases of protracted illness, such visits should be organized by the station or zone, so that the sick are not abandoned and forgotten. The love and support experienced from members deepen the faith of these afflicted members, making the Church’s koinonia meaningful.
10.2.5. The subject of health has its fullest meaning when it is linked to the harmony of human beings with themselves and with their surroundings. The relatives and neighbours of the sick should be encouraged to reconcile and make peace with the afflicted member, take a leading part in the prayers for the recovery, as well as participate actively during the Sacrament of Anointing. Grace given during the anointing of the sick is by no means reserved only to the sick-recipient; participants at the anointing receive grace also to be “Good Samaritans” to their brothers and sisters in difficulty.
10.2.6. Weekly visitation of the sick in their homes and in the hospitals should be undertaken by pastors, even if only to pray and to lay hands on them, or to bring Communion to them. Faith in God should be constantly nourished by the Word of God to lead to total trust and reliance in the Holy Spirit. As Sacraments of faith, the anointing of the sick and sacramentals should never be presented as magic or panacea for instantaneous healing. For holistic healing, the faith should engender a childlike trust in the divine providence, which has its root in conversion. Conversion, forgiveness, and reconciliation should therefore be emphasized as constants.
10.2.7. Since sickness opens to the ultimate questions about humankind, for instance the meaning of pain, suffering and death itself, the Sacrament of Anointing should effectively proclaim Christ’s redemption as God’s radical and ultimate response to the enigma of life. As Pope John Paul II puts it:
In Christ lies the hope of true, full health; the salvation that he brings is the true response to the ultimate questions about man. There is no contradiction between earthly health and eternal salvation, since the Lord died for the integral salvation of the human person and of all humanity (cf. 1 Pet. 1,2-5; Liturgy of Holy Friday, Adoration of the Cross). Salvation consists of the final content of the New Covenant (Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the 13th World Day of the Sick, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 11 February 2005).
11.1. The Healing and Prayer Ministry
At the commissioning of the twelve Apostles, Jesus gave them “power and authority” over all devils and to cure diseases, he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal (Mt. 10,1; Mark 6,1-2). To the seventy-two Jesus gave a similar instruction “whenever you enter a town…cure those in it who are sick…” (Luke 10,9). As Jesus was ascending to the Father he again commanded the apostles “Go out to the whole world, proclaim the Gospel to all creation…. These are the signs that will be associated with believers; in my name they will cast out devils…. They will lay hands on the sick who will recover” (Mark 16,16-18; Mt. 28,19). The Apostles as testified in the Acts of the Apostles were know to have healed people in the name of Christ. The Bible acknowledges that miracles, signs and wonders accompanied the words of the Apostles as confirmation that God was working through them (Mark 16,20). The idea that healing was part and parcel and an essential element of evangelisation was there even in the time of the Fathers of the Church. This healing element of evangelisation was supposed to confirm the word preached. Jesus made it clear that all priests and indeed all Christians or, in the words of Jesus, all believers in Christ are healers because healing must accompany them and occur when they lay hands on the sick in the name of Jesus (Mark 16,18).
11.1.1. Healing in the time of Christ is an essential element and outcome of
evangelisation. It is of such great importance that it has been sacramentalized and falls under the fourth and fifth sacraments. The authority to heal given to the Church by Christ is in face a command (Mark 16,15-18). And just “as the Son cannot do anything on his own except what he saw the Father doing
(Jn 5,19), the Church cannot exercise any authority or will outside the will of Christ. The will of Christ is that the Church should do what he himself did and even more. Among the gifts, which Paul says were given by the Holy Spirit to persons within the Church for use in the Church was the gift of healing (1 Cor. 12,10). This gift coming from the Holy Spirit is not tied to a set formula, nor to a specific group. It depends on the sovereign and free action of the Holy Spirit, which blows wherever it will. Paul further says that these gifts given to persons are to be put to the benefit of the Church and should be exercised within the context of the entire Church’s healing ministry. Persons involved in this ministry are to be mindful of the 1997 Guidelines for Healing Ministry in the archdiocese of Onitsha to ensure that the charism is protected from abuse and promote
evangelisation. However, the priests and the faithful should always remember that healing goes beyond physical curing. Christ healed all who had faith, nonetheless physical sickness remained in his time. Therefore, He did not intend to phase out physical ailment but wished to use it as a didactic means of teaching about life everlasting and the eternal kingdom.
12. Blessed Michael Cyprian Iwene Tansi and
Evangelisation. Through a Life of Prayer and Asceticism.
Blessed Michael Cyprian Iwene Tansi, is an example of heroic Christian faith, who evangelised not only by proclaiming the Lord Jesus with power, but lived the message of the Gospel in charity and self-sacrifice. He imitated Christ in striving to know by name the flock entrusted to his care one by one. He cared as much for those who knew and harkened to the voice of the pastor, with the love the Good Shepherd, as for those who wander away or are lukewarm. During the last phase of his life, evangelisation through prayer, contemplation, and penance took the dominant position in his pastor’s heart. He reminds us that evangelisation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit. Human evangelisers can participate actively to the extent that they bring themselves close to the action of the Holy Spirit — and the Blessed Trinity.
13.1. Catechesis and Mystagogy
Evangelisation, normally, entails a catechesis, whereby knowledge of Christ and the Christian doctrine is conveyed as part of the preparation for the reception of the sacraments. But it should also entail a
mystagogy, as anciently in the Church, to enable the new Christian to deepen his knowledge of Christ and the Christian doctrine through experience by sharing in the life of the community of faith. Strictly, it signifies a method of leading a person to a mystery, which begins with faith-encounter an individual has with the Lord through grace, marked by person experience of the crucified and risen Christ, and followed by ongoing surrender in the Spirit to God the Father. For
mystagogy, emphasis is always laid on repentance, conversion , discipleship, and community. Since the Sacraments reproduce the salvific actions of the life of Jesus through a recalling (anamnesis) and imitation (mimesis), mystagogy guarantees that frequency of reception goes hand in hand with a deepening of the experience. For mystagogy to take place, access of the individual to the mystery of Christ’s abiding presence should be made in the pre-sacramental catechesis to be followed by post-baptismal catechesis
(mystagogy proper), which drills the initiate in Christ’s way of life.
13.1.1. The neophytes are exposed to intense prayer, reflection on the Word of God, pious works that open their lives to the influence of the Holy Spirit, over and above the doctrine they receive. In this way, Christians subject their lives to the Holy Spirit, the principal agent of evangelisation, who enlightens the minds of believers and intensifies their conversion.
14.1. Evangelisation through the Media
Modern means of communication can be very effective in evangelisation, provided that these communication activities are informed by a definite theological image. The African Synod that took place in Rome in 1994 gave to the Church in Africa a pastoral plan of action, which would enable her to remain “faithful to her vocation and mission, and as she serves suffering humanity in this fluid and turbulent period of history” (John Paul II in Johannesburg). That plan has a dominant theological image, namely, Church-as-Family, the Family of God. The Nuntius of that Synod (n.25) says that even the Good News brought by Jesus Christ is to be understood in terms of this theological model. “We are the Family of God: this is the Good News! The same blood flows in our veins, and it is the blood of Jesus Christ. The same Spirit gives us life, and it is the Holy Spirit, the infinite fruitfulness of divine love”.
14.1.1. Consequently, the great mission, entrusted by Christ to the Apostles and through them to the Church of all ages to “go…and make disciples of all the nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teach them to carry out everything I have commanded” (Mt. 28,19-20) and “to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1,8), is now understood in terms of the new image. This is why for them and for us, evangelisation “is not a theory but a life, a meeting of love which radically changes our life, today as at the beginning of the Church… To evangelise is to bring about life in Christ, the unique Redeemer of mankind (by) the proclamation of the Good News of salvation realised in Jesus Christ and offered to all.” (Nuntius of the African Synod, n.9).
14.1.2. This person-based approach understands communication to be a human activity, a new and emerging cultural world that has its own language, specific values and counter-values (Ecclesia in Africa, n. 71). It also brings out the communal dimension of communication. For instance, communication within a family is far from being a one-way monologue or a monopoly of one or a few addressing the many. It is rather a two-way, interactive, participatory and dialogical process that allows those involved to realize themselves and in the process build up their family community.
14.1.3. The Church is born, lives and grows by communication and its mission of evangelisation cannot be realized without an effective system of communication. This system must take into consideration all the levels of social interaction. In her attempt to carry out her mission of evangelisation, it is obvious that the Church in Onitsha must adopt a multimedia approach. This approach demands planning and the establishment of appropriate structures and training of personnel.
15. Inculturation and Dialogue
The message of Christ usually meets with resistance when it breaks into a culture, perhaps because it is believed to be introducing values that would upset the status quo. The degree of resistance differs however from culture to culture. Evangelisation has been an ongoing struggle to make cultures accept and interpret the Gospel message in terms intelligible to them — hence the need for inculturation. The outstanding characteristic of inculturation, which makes it preferable to all other processes of cultural encounter, is that it initiates a mutual interaction between the Gospel and the hearers of the word, in such a manner that both are scrutinized, evaluated and prepared for eventual mutual enrichment and integration. Inculturation adapts the incarnate existence of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself and took our human form, without compromising his divinity in any way. His kenotic life-style (Phil. 2,6-9) lived in truth, simplicity, humility, unique compassion, forgiveness, service-oriented leadership, unconditional love should serve as a guide towards effective inculturation. Evangelisation succeeds to the extent that we allow these characteristic values in the life of Jesus to take flesh in the culture of the people.
16. Youth Groups
The youth yearn for presence; they need encouragement; they want to be reassured; they want to be shown the way. The best presence would be an exemplary life. Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi says that modern man listens more to witnesses than teachers. He said that if at all he listens to a teacher, it is because he is a witness (Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 41). The youth are quick to welcome and show appreciation for programmes and activities that answer to their needs. Thanking Pope John Paul II for spending quality time with the youth in Paris, Archbishop J. Francis Stafford said to the Pope I heard other words from young people. As the Popemobile passes, an extraordinary number cried out: “Merci! Merci,
Saint-Père! » « Thank you, Holy Father”. You have surprised them Holy Father, by encouraging them to be themselves and to show their best selves to the world. They have done so in their song and dance, in their speech and friendship, in their prayer and contemplation. Not many give young people that opportunity. And they know that you have delight in them (Pontifical Council for the Laity, 1998, 132).
To get the best out of these young men and women and lead them to God, we need to be attentive to their needs and aspirations, and we need to devote quality time to them, just as Pope John Paul II did. The popularity of the Bible movement and the Charismatic Renewal — both mainly youth-based activities — is in part because the youth are enthusiastic to share what they have and value with their peers.
17.1. Education and the School
What the Church does have to say to the world is clearly of the utmost importance, and one way of saying it is through education. As is made clear in Pastoral Guide for Diocesan Priests in Churches Dependent on the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (p.19), education and culture themselves need to hear the Church’s message; they too are in need of
evangelisation. The dimension of the school apostolate which seems mainly to exercise the Church in Nigeria is the early primary to secondary school range, on the understanding that correct mental orientations developed early would guide the child through adult life. This has much to be said for it, but we must bear in mind that there is nothing more difficult to teach and learn than virtue, discipline, rule-governed
behaviour. The teaching and learning of these must be endlessly reinforced if anything is to come of it: that is the whole point of the intensification of evangelisation among the faithful themselves.
17.1.1. Formal education in the school has a decidedly future reference. The earlier the school age, the remoter the future in question. With university/tertiary education, that future has drawn near and imminent. The transition to higher levels of education also corresponds to the empowerment of the individual with skills he can depend on for livelihood. At the same time, one grows in awareness of the organic nature of society, of the necessity of social morality, the values of work and productivity, of division of labour and the requirement to contribute one’s labour in the building up of society and the generating of new cultural forms. As John Paul II teaches in the Preamble in Laborem Exercens, “work bears a particular mark of man and of humanity, the mark of a person operating within a community of persons”; and this is how we may take it from Pope Leo XIII, quoting Thomas Aquinas, “all men share with one another in establishing a commonwealth. (Rerum Novarum, n. 71). Civilization, in short, is served by education, to communicate, sustain, and propagate it, and is one of the main drivers whereby civilization evolves and grows in sophistication.
17.1.2. In Populorum Progressio, Paul VI describes the “tragic dilemma” faced by modern man, between “the older moral, spiritual and religious values”, on the one hand, and on the other, “new forms of societal life”. And “the sad fact” is that the former often “give way without finding any place in the new scheme of things”. This is a situation to be ameliorated by Catholic education. The Pope further identifies involvement in education as essential in the Church’s mission, especially among “those peoples who are trying to escape the ravages of hunger, poverty, endemic disease and ignorance; of those who are seeking a larger share in the benefits of civilization and a more active improvement of their human qualities; of those who are consciously striving for fuller growth.” The Church’s involvement in education is both as a social service and as a means of
evangelisation. On the one hand, it tries to provide education especially for those who are left behind by social progress, giving them skills and the means to improve themselves and share in the benefits of civilization; on the other hand, it is concerned to ensure that young people are given sound human, moral, spiritual, and religious values to sustain them in adult life. Catholic education of Catholic children in Catholic schools is therefore indispensable. Every effort should be made to subsidize education in Catholic schools.
18.1. Family Life and Preparation for Marriage
The Church teaches that marriage is a natural institution, ordained by God himself. When God created man and woman in his own image and likeness and asked them to increase and multiply, as we read in Gen. 1,28, he made marriage a means of perfecting the spouses and a means of propagating the human race. Marriage is thus not just any relationship between human beings. The creator established it with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. Hence, it is a relationship that exists solely between a man and a woman, who by a mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend towards the communion of their persons.
18.1.1. Sacramental marriage, which is the intimate community of a whole life, has two distinguishing essential properties, namely, unity and indissolubility. Unity refers to the fact that marriage is a monogamous relationship. It is a relationship between one man and one woman. It implies that in Christian marriage conjugal relationship has an intrinsic importance. Hence Unity as an essential property excludes all forms of polygamy. The total gift of self cannot be divided. It must be given and continuously expressed to one person. The total self-giving, which is essential to marriage, is impossible with a plurality of husbands or wives.
18.1.2. Indissolubility refers to the fact that after a valid marriage, the bond, which comes into existence between the parties can no longer be dissolved, neither by the parties themselves nor by any other external power, until the death of either of the parties to the marriage. This is generally referred to as intrinsic and extrinsic indissolubility. There is also what is called absolute indissolubility. For baptized Christians, the indissolubility of the marriage becomes absolute when sexual intercourse, performed in a human way (humano modo) takes place after a validly celebrated marriage. Such marriages are referred to as ratified and consummated marriages and no human power or agency can dissolve them.
18.1.3. Some of the attacks against Christian marriage witnessed the Archdiocese of Onitsha today arise from cultural or traditional practices like widowhood practices, levirate marriage (Nkuchi nwanyi), symbolic transformation of a girl into a man (Nhachi nwanyi), and “woman marries wife” marriage, as well as polygamous marriage. Others include separation, divorce, marital disaffection and loss of affection between couples which are on the increase. These call for greater efforts in catechesis, especially as part of the preparation for marriage.
18.1.4. The family has major roles to play in
evangelisation. As the target of evangelisation, the African Christian family which is the fundamental cell of society has to become indeed the primary cell of the ecclesial community, ready to undergo radical transformation to accommodate the great changes taking place in the world as well as the gospel message, which remaining faithful to the deep seated positive family values in Africa. As the goal of
evangelisation, the African Christian family presents the image of the Church to be planted and nurtured in African soil, namely the Church as God’s family. This implies that in the evangelised African family with its characteristically African values of “care for other, solidarity, warmth in human relationships, acceptance, dialogue and trust” would become the model for the church, since the proposed new evangelisation will aim at building up the church as family. (John Paul II, Ecclesia in Africa, n. 63).
18.1.5. The family is also an important agent of evangelisation. The evangelising role of the family is not only ad intra, spouses evangelising each other and the children, who in turn can evangelise the parents, but it is also the corporate task of families evangelising one another. The family must always be regarded as a centre to which the gospel must be brought and from which it must be proclaimed. It is the best means we have of ensuring that the Gospel message sinks deep into the authentic traditional values of our African way of life. Therefore in a family, which is conscious of this role, all the members of the family are evangelisers and are themselves evangelised (Paul VI, Egangelii Nuntiandi, n. 71).
18.1.6. The very ministry of evangelisation carried out by Christian parents is original and irreplaceable in the sense that it assumes the characteristics typical of family life itself, which should be interwoven with love, simplicity, practicality and daily witness (John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, n. 53). This is why John Paul II launched an explicit appeal to each African Christian family to become a privileged place for evangelical witness, a true domestic Church, a community which believes and evangelises, a community in dialogue with God and generously open to the service of humanity (John Paul II, Ecclesia in Africa, n. 92).
19.1. Option for the Poor
A lot has already been done with respect to addressing the needs of the poor. But a lot more can still be done. Among the things already being done or possible to be done are: Giving financial help to needy people to help them establish a means of livelihood, providing shelter to the homeless, feeding the hungry, educating the young and the old, establishing pension programme for Church workers, giving scholarship to poor but brilliant students, employing and training in our faith qualified teachers for our schools, standardizing our schools through solid and beautified structure and infrastructures, establishing in every parish a section of the JDPC that visits the sick and the aged on regular basis, builds shelters for indigent people especially widows, and gives financial help to those in dire need of it. What remains is to provide funds for the on-going projects, which can be done through cutting waste.
19.1.1. As a nation, we are very wasteful and that is where the injustice lies because whatever I waste does not in reality belong to me. It is God’s provision for his children meant to be equitably shared which I have appropriated a double portion of, to the disadvantage of a poor person somewhere, whose share I am wasting. That will help us understand the instruction of Jesus Christ to his disciples after the miracle of the loaves in
Jn. 6,1-15. He said: “Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing is wasted.”
20.1. Finally, the synod wishes to address a few words to the following:
20.1.1. Priests
As co-workers of the Bishops, priests are called by virtue of the Sacrament of Orders to share intimately in concern for the Church’s mission. The spiritual gifts that priests have received at ordination prepare them, not for any narrow or limited mission, but for a more universal and all-embracing mission of salvation to the ends of the earth. They are called upon to renew themselves in the grace of their sacred ordination and re-commit themselves to the work of evangelisation in which their role is indispensable.
20.1.2. Priests with care of souls
Pastors of souls are reminded of the centrality of their role in
evangelisation. They have the responsibility to teach the faith. In addition to the Sunday instructions, which they personally supervise and deliver, they are to seek out and ensure that they miss no opportunity to teach and share the faith. They are to bear in mind that one of the key aspects of the pastoral ministry is to seek out and save what was lost. Therefore, home visitation throughout the parish should be revived and more hours devoted to consultation and counselling in the office. Let them be mindful to celebrate the liturgy with dignity and as provided in the Church’s liturgical regulations; let them ensure that summons to visit sick parishioners are attended to without any delay. They are also to pray for the people unceasingly, and if possible reserve an hour or two each week for prayer for persons in special need.
20.1.3. Seminary formators
The priesthood is a call not a career; a redefinition of the self, nut just a new ministry, a way of life not a job; a state of being, nut just a function; a permanent life-long commitment, not a temporary style of service; an identity, not just a role (cf. Timothy Dolan, The Priest in the Third Millennium). When priests fail to appreciate and accept this fact about their priestly identity they become subject to all kinds of problems and abuses.
20.1.3.1. Those who are called to this exalted state are mere human beings with weaknesses and faults. There is need for their formation. Priestly formation must be geared towards moulding the essential priestly identity, which stands above all circumstances of time and place. Formation must bring about a change in the life of the future priest. N order for this to happen, formation must get to the depths of the person. Priestly formation must aim at forming a person in an identity appropriate to the priestly state.
20.1.3.2. It is clear that no human being can achieve this on his or her own, no matter how astute, adept or skilled. That is why the true author of formation is none other than the Blessed Trinity. It is God the Father that moulds the candidate into the image of the Son through the action of the Holy Spirit.
20.1.3.3. However, God makes use of human instruments for this work: the bishop, seminary
formators, parish priests and others including the candidate himself. In fact, the candidate himself is principally responsible for his own formation. There is no real formation without self-formation. Pastores dabo vobis makes this point when it states: “…we must not forget that the candidate himself is a necessary and irreplaceable agent of his own formation: all formation, priestly formation included, is ultimately a self-formation. No one can replace us in the responsible freedom that we have as individual persons” (n. 69)
20.5. Consecrated persons
The synod wishes to see in the religious families or communities how much harmony exists between the consecrated persons themselves and in their places of work; between the human and the divine, between things that seen and things that are unseen and how much the latter surpasses the former. Prayer and work, action and contemplation: these are interrelated concepts, which, in Christ, do not reduce to antithetical opposition, but complement each other fruitfully. The task of the witness of consecrated persons is precisely this: to show every one how much humanity there is in the mystery of Christ. When this is done, the profession of the evangelical counsels appears as a sign, which can and ought to attract all members to an effective and prompt fulfilment to the duties of their Christian vocation.
20.5.1. Consecrated persons are also challenged to bear witness to the Gospel of the beatitudes. This supposes a life style which involves deep personal commitment and requires a constant and adequate asceticism; in short, renunciation and sacrifice. Surely if Jesus is truly the centre of life and history the author of evangelical counsels, it is worth following him faithfully, participating in the fascinating mystery of his redemption, even when that entails difficulties and renunciations.
20.6. Catechists
Catechists will ever remain a powerful force in the implantation and expansion of the Church in our archdiocese. They are highly esteemed for their level of participation in the Church’s mission of
evangelisation. According to the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, reviewing the situation worldwide, “Their number continues to grow and in recent years has been between 250,000 and 350,000. For many missionaries they have been absolutely indispensable, serving as their close assistants and at time interpreters. They have often been able to keep the faith of a community alive during trying periods, and their families have given priestly and religious vocations.” The synod encourages them and urges them to bring even greater commitment to their very important work.
20.7. The Laity
The lay people in the Church comprise over 99% of Christ’s faithful believers. By baptism they are all called to
evangelise. All share in the mandate given to the Church by Christ, to “to (and) make disciples of all nations”. The synod notes that the faithful in this archdiocese are showing increasing awareness of their involvement in the command of Jesus. It calls upon them to participate still more actively. The result is bound to be wonderful. Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi (n. 70) says: “Lay people… exercise a very special form of
evangelisation. Their own field of evangelisation is the vast and complicated world of politics, society and economics… it also includes other realities which are open to evangelisation such as human love, the family, the education of children and adolescents, professional works, suffering….”
20.8. Parents
The family, the domestic Church, the nuclear society is under relentless attack from all corners today. Very few people, even Catholics, regard marriage any more as a sacred institution established by God himself. Couples no longer make adequate preparation for that holy vocation whereby God has given us a share in his work of creation. So-called trial marriages are widely
practised. We now have the ultimate abomination of same-sex marriages, so called. All these new trends aim at destroying the first cell of the living ecclesial community and the fundamental cell of society. It is from the family that we all set out on life’s adventure. It is our first and most fundamental school of
evangelisation. Therefore, despite these attacks, no effort should be spared in preserving our fundamental Catholic values regarding the family. Parents, first and foremost, must bring up and educate their children with the fear of God, giving them good spiritual and bodily care.
20.9. The Christian Family
Because of the enormous change in society, African families face great political, economic, social and cultural difficulties. The challenge is to adopt the positive values of modern life and at the same time to keep the essential values of the African family. The family is not to be closed in on itself, but open to other families and to society. The future of the world and of the Church is tied to the family. This is why the synod considers the evangelisation of the family a priority. The evangelised Christian family must become an active agent of evangelisation of families throughout the archdiocese.
20.10. Government and Political Leaders
The common good embraces the sum total of social conditions, which allow the people either as groups or as individuals to reach their
fulfilment. For this to happen, an authority is needed to guide the energies of all towards the common good in freedom and a sense of responsibility. Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature of God: “In his own image he created them” (Gen. 1,26). Since human fundamental rights are prior to society, society must therefore recognize them. They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority. To refuse to recognize and abide by them is for the state to undermine its own moral legitimacy.
20.10.1. Politics should be seen as an art and means of service, leadership and governance. The synod assembly affirms that politics is not dirty but it is possible that some people in politics are dirty. Christians with basic virtues of love and good conscience who go into politics may become good political leaders. Catholics are advised not to be spectators in the area of politics, but should endeavour to participate actively so as to renew its face.
20.10.2. Government is urged to show always that it is at the service of the people. In this regard, it should undertake job-creating projects, which will keep more young people usefully employed and contributing to wealth creation for the benefit of all.
20.11. The Media
It is abundantly obvious today that the means of social communication – the press, radio, television, film and the worldwide web — exert a far-reaching influence for good or ill on the entire society: on the family, the school, on faith and morality, on political and economic institutions. The synod urges the media and professionals in information technology to exercise their office with a sense of responsibility and the fear of God.
20.12 The Poor and the Disabled
The synod is aware that though God created all human beings equal, some are disadvantaged in one way or another. This does not mean that God loves them less than those who have advantages. In face, Christ identified himself specially with the poor and the dispossessed. The Church, therefore, cares in a special way for these groups of people. The synod encourages those who are poor, sick, homeless, disabled, or abandoned not to lose heart or become embittered, but to trust in God and try and join their sufferings to those of Christ for the salvation of mankind. Also they are to be prepared to accept help offered them to improve themselves and rise beyond their condition. The archdiocese of Onitsha is intensifying its efforts to bring them relief and calls upon government and all people of goodwill to do the same.
20. 13. Children and Young People
There is much unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and frustration among the youth who are alienated from their homes and can find nothing worthwhile to engage their abundant energy. This causes insecurity. Increasingly, children ten to revolt against their parents and constituted authority. Young boys and girls are targets of proselytising religious sects and political thuggery. Our society has become too secularistic and materialistic. Religion is commercialised. The youth are more vulnerable and consequently fall easy prey to bad and corruptive influences. They are unable to find fulfilment and meaning in life. They have no spiritual anchor to help them steer themselves through life and so there is a disturbing wave of sects, moral laxity, robbery and killing and gross indiscipline in our society. With so much confusion among the youth, the future of both the Church and society is precarious and uncertain.
20.13.1. Youth are urged to pay more attention to religious teaching and to take their education seriously. These are essential conditions if they are to find meaning and get on in life. Parents are also urged to pay more attention to their children, take interest in the company they keep and the leisure and recreation they frequent.
20.14. The Business Community
This Sacred Synod recognizes the commercial nature of the city of Onitsha and therefore admonishes the inhabitants to do their normal business with the fear of God. This synod is aware of the difficult period the people are passing through, consequently, it urges the members of this business community to look upon their customers not only as potential sources of income and profit, but as human beings and children of the same Father, who is God. They must ensure that the goods and services they provide are genuine and safe for human use; they are also urged to invest their profits in job-crating and wealth-creating enterprises to assist in social development and well-being.
20.15. Men and Women of Goodwill
Conversion, which means a total change of heart, is the first fruit and goal of
evangelisation. It calls for a deeper personal relationship with God, involving real knowledge of God and awareness of self in the presence of God. To achieve this conversion, there is need for constant spiritual exercises, daily study and reflection on the scriptures, fervent prayer and of course frequent reception of the Sacraments especially reconciliation and the Eucharist. Men and women of good will are urged to use the goods of this world with an awareness that these are provided by God for all his children without exception, and that undue accumulation or waste is an abuse of God’s generosity and an insult to the disadvantaged and dispossessed. Christians pass through this world on pilgrimage and as far as possible should be detached and ready to make sacrifices for the good of their
neighbours.
21. CONCLUSION
The Synod rose with a special request to all, urging them to have continuous self-renewal, on-going conversion, and sincere and relentless determination to communicate the faith, the Good News of Jesus Christ, and to carry on the mandate of Jesus Christ to evangelise the whole world.
21.1. All groups of people are urged in the words of Pope John Paul II to cast the net anew into the deep for a fresh catch. In other words, after one hundred and twenty years of the arrival of our early missionaries with Catholicism, we should be read to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ in the spirit of our founding fathers, which is the spirit of our Lord and Saviour, who came that we have life in abundance (John 10,10)
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