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“Africa offers the world a beauty

and natural richness which

inspire praise of the Creator.

This patrimony of Africa and of

all mankind is constantly

exposed to the risk of

destruction caused by human

selfishness of every type.”Pope Francis, in the UN offices in Nairobi,

26 November 2015

Africa is a youthful continent, with halfits population under 30 years of age.Africa does not need these so-called “newethics” but our brotherly support and helpin promoting integral human develop-ment. Just as Africa offered the HolyFamily refuge in Egypt when they fledHerod’s massacre of the children, and sohelped pave the way for a truly Christiancivilisation, so now we must help Africa

to escape the tyranny of modern colonial-ism and slavery.

Africa’s mineral resources are being un-scrupulously exploited today – as theywere in the past – yet there is barely aflicker of interest in the media. Who is in-terested in the millions killed in brutalwars, which are dismissed as ethnic in-fighting? Who talks about the greed of thearms dealers? In the Democratic Republicof the Congo alone more than 6 millionpeople have already been killed. Whocares about the millions of refugees who

True fasting demands not only that wesubject our bodies by self-denial, in orderto celebrate Easter with a pure heart, butalso that we share our bread with the hun-gry (cf. Isaiah 58:7). Our fasting is onlyreal when we share our food with thosewhose daily bread is taken from them bythe greediness of the world.

In Africa 200 million peoplego hungry (17% of the entirepopulation) and 600 million(50%) live below the breadline– that is the terrifying reality.But despite its vast deserts,Africa is blessed with fertile soil and a cli-mate that allows year-round harvesting inmany regions. The continent also has im-measurable mineral riches, not to mentionvast religious and cultural riches. Africacould be a veritable paradise on earth. TheAfrican people have a joyful attitude tolife. But the nations of Africa have fallenprey to epidemics, bad administration and corruption – while the so-called “advanced nations” are trying to impose a“culture of death” on them through “healthprogrammes” that contain the poison ofabortion and radical gender ideology.

for decades have been forced to flee fromthe “diamond wars” or Islamist terror?Africa is like the man beaten by robbersand left half dead by the roadside – thecontinent needs not only our balm on herwounds but also the voice of Christ,telling her of the dignity of the children ofGod. Perhaps Africa’s vocation, as PopeBenedict put it, is to be the “spirituallungs” of a world that has lost its hope and

no longer believes in the fruit-fulness of love and the joy oflife?

Dear friends, we can do some-thing about this. The projectshighlighted in our Lenten cam-

paign show that Africa is rich in spiritualresources. May our fasting and sacrificeshelp her to conserve these treasures andalso satisfy her hunger for justice.

I wish you a blessed Lent and a joyfulEaster,

Father Martin Maria BartaEcclesiastical Assistant

“Our fasting is only real when weshare our food with those whosedaily bread is taken from themby the greediness of the world.”

That not a single sheepmay be lost – whether inAfrica or elsewhere.

© Ismael Martínez Sánchez/ACN

70 years of ACN

No 3 – March/April 2017Published

eight times a year

Persecution

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A few years ago the number of Christians persecuted for their faith wasaround 100 million; today it is more than double that number. Among theworst places are Nigeria and Sudan. And in both countries the violence iscarried out by radical Islamists.

They need the security of the conventwalls: the Sisters of Our Lady of Fatima.

Nigeria, with its 180 million inhabitants, isthe most populous nation in Africa - but ithas also seen the highest number of deaths.Last year more Christians were martyredthere than anywhere else. They were mur-dered just because they were Christians.Their churches were attacked and set onfire in the middle of religious services, andthere were indiscriminate bombings in

crowded markets, murders and abductionson an almost daily basis. Almost 3 millionNigerians have been uprooted and maderefugees in their own country. And yet theChristians are not giving up. On the con-trary, they continue to seek peace with theirMuslim neighbours. And there are manyMuslims too who have always lived andworked peacefully alongside the Christians.

Most of the 25 million Catholics in the coun-try live in the south. In the new diocese ofPankshin in the north there are around170,000 Catholics – about 15% of the pop-ulation. In his pastoral work Bishop MichaelGokum relies heavily on the Sisters of OurLady of Fatima, a Nigerian congregationwith 65 sisters. Their mission includes run-ning the large school here and praying, likethe shepherd children of Fatima, for peace.100 years ago this year, while the FirstWorld War was still raging, Our Lady ap-peared to Jacinta, Lucia and Francisco and

Bringing the peace of Fatima to Nigeria

promised them that the soldiers would soonbe returning home. But added that they mustfirst continue to pray the Rosary daily.

As their vocation combines prayer and education, they need a convent with excel-lent security, close to the school, with achapel. We have promised €45,000 for this.As Father Werenfried said in Fatima, “Weknow that Mary can crush the serpent’shead underfoot. That is why we have con-secrated our entire charity to Our Lady ofFatima, who has shown us the way to lib-erate the persecuted Church.” It is a way ofconversion, penance, praying the Rosary –and sacrifice. Our Lady desired peace, somay there be peace for the sisters, theschoolchildren and the people of Nigeria.Let us help them. •

The power of the Rosary: Father Weren-fried in Fatima, praying for peace.

Christians aren't safe anywhere -there is civil war in South Sudan,oppression under Khartoum in thenorth.

Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako, the emeritusArchbishop of Khartoum greets us in hisEaster message “as we accompany OurLord Jesus in his Passion for the redemptionof mankind”. The seemingly polite formulain fact reflects a harsh reality, as it is notonly at Easter time that the Christians inSudan accompany Jesus in his sufferings,

but every day of their lives. Sharia law hasbeen imposed on the country. When priestsarrive for retreat days and formation coursesin Khartoum many of them are exhaustedand sick, especially those from the Nubamountains, where Christians are hunted bythe Islamists like wild beasts. These priestsneed rest, peace and quiet. The encounterwith the Lord during the retreat gives themnew strength. Solidarity with their brotherpriests also revives their courage. But the retreat house itself is in need of repairs, andexisting work has stalled. Their slender

resources have been eaten up by inflation.They need our support – and not just for the€30,000 shortfall. They need solidarity toshow them that the Easter hope is real. •

Easter hope for Sudan

A place of safety and mutual trust.Celebrating Holy Mass in the retreatcentre in Khartoum.

Any donation you kindly give will go to support these, or similar

One third of the funds we give to Africa go into construction: parish houses,seminaries, convents and chapels. These are safeguards against suffering,spaces suffused with the love of God.

This sort of space is needed by the youngparish of Saint Anne in the diocese ofNatitingou, in Benin. The parish includes 20villages; the largest of them, Dakou, is wherethe chapel will be built. Some 15 years agothe tiny Catholic community of Dakou builta small mud chapel, but it collapsed a fewyears later. For many of the pagan animistpeoples of this mission territory, that was abad omen. The Christian God does not en-dure, they thought. But the Catholics of theparish have remained steadfast and faithfulto Christ and one another. They continue togather in another building, which also servesas the village school. Now the younger

people want to make a new start and, facedby brand new mosques and their gleamingfacades, they plan to build their own, if mod-est, house for God. The only problem is theyhave nothing but the work of their hands.With these they will gather sand and stone.But the bricks and mortar, the cement, win-dows and doors, paint, plaster and benchesall cost money. “We will be so grateful foranything you can do, that God may be knownand loved here”, writes Father HippolyteBakoma, the parish priest. We have promisedhim the €9,200 they still need.

Father Hippolyte belongs to the congregationof the “Frères Missionaires des Campagnes”(Rural Missionary Brothers), who work inevangelisation and development education inrural areas. They work to stop the burning ofthe forests, while teaching good husbandryand forest management (including the use ofagricultural implements and machinery),bookkeeping and fair trade. And they them-selves are setting an example in agriculture,while at the same time sowing the seed offaith. They form prayer groups, teach thefaith, and celebrate Holy Mass. The aim is tosow seeds of fruitfulness not only in the soilbut also in the human soul. •

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Constructio

n aid

“Marriage is the most beautifulthing that God has created.” As hecreated man and woman in his ownimage (Gen. 1:27), says Pope Francis.

Years before Pope St John Paul II madesimilar statements about the dignity ofhusband and wife at the 1994 AfricaSynod. Anyone who does not understandthis dignity should ask about the state oftheir own marriage, or of the married cou-ples around him. Do they all live likeChristians? Do they all understand theirvocation as married couples? Do they re-alise their potential for happiness, or thebeauty of their vocation? What is mother-hood? What is fatherhood? What about thedignity of women? These and other similarquestions are being addressed by the 86married couples taking part in the ongoingformation courses on the “Fullness of mar-riage and family life” in six of the diocesesof Zambia.

The teaching materials are in Bemba, oneof the country’s most spoken local lan-guages. All the participants will returnhome to pass on the knowledge they haveacquired to others in their own and neigh-bouring parishes. They will become mes-sengers of the family apostolate, heraldsof married love and family harmony. Theyare the beginning of a movement to pro-mote everything that is beautiful and true,for family life in God – a movement madepossible by your generosity (€15,000). •

New evangelisation:the family apostolatein Zambia

Plenty of space, too littlemoney: the site of thenew chapel.

Eager to work in the vineyard: thehelpers of the rural missionaries.

Married life – an image of the love ofGod, and that’s what they need toteach the family apostolate.

Benin: Making soil andsoul fertile to bear fruit

projects, and enable the pastoral work of Aid to the Church in Need.

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They love the priesthood and the con-secrated life: Bukavu’s seminarians.

The essential characteristic of courage, its “actus principalior”, is stead-fastness, endurance in the face of adversity, holding fast to the truth even,if necessary, to death. This is the teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

There are no lack of adverse circumstancesin the eastern Democratic Republic of theCongo. For over 20 years now rovingbands of armed militants have been disrupt-ing the structures of society, creating a stateof civil war. Again and again the attemptsby the major seminary in Bukavu to standon its own feet and support itself withoutoutside help have been frustrated orbrought to nothing by the violence andlooting. But they remain steadfast. Theseminarians – 72 of them at present – theirsix permanent professors and the four reli-gious Sisters have all kept going: studying,teaching and looking after the every-day

needs of the seminary. They all know thathere, unseen and unnoticed, the future lifeof the country is germinating, despite theinsecurity all around them. They know toothat this life is possible only thanks to yourgenerosity. As, once again, you have madeup the shortfall in their modest budget –€21,600 this year. This is mostly for foodand the support of the seminary professors.What the students have learned cannot belooted.

Your aid has borne wonderful fruit. Oneseminarian, Kasereka Kikandu, 24, recalls,“My first years in another seminary wereyears of fear. We constantly heard of mas-sacres and lootings. Then I came here. I’mamazed at the courage and the joyful man-ner of the teachers. They urge us to pray forthe dead and for their killers. The biggestsurprise of all for me was to learn that thereare Christians who are helping us withouteven knowing us, simply because we aretheir brothers in the faith. This gives uscourage, it gives us hope. We hold them inour hearts and our thoughts.” And to you,these “friends and brothers of ACN” headds, “I have nothing but my constant

The brave seminarians ofBukavu

prayers to give you. But they come rightfrom my heart.” Bitaha Murhula Franck hasbeen in Bukavu for just a year. He is brim-ming with joy. “I love the priesthood andthe consecrated life”, he says. He too ismoved by the selfless solidarity of yourhelp. “You have awakened the joy of themissionary life in me, and I tell myself:Bita, you still have a long way to go beforeyou feel this impulse of mercy in the faceof other peoples’ need.”

Taking to heart the need of others and beingwilling to help is a mercy that bears fruit.Throughout Africa the need is great. Lastyear you helped almost 4,700 seminariansin Africa, twice as many as just two yearsbefore. This suggests that the number ofvocations in Africa is rising. The 72 semi-narians in Bukavu will no doubt be con-scious that Jesus himself sent out 72disciples (see Luke 10:1ff). This was also asymbolic number, indicative of the wholeworld, since at that time there was thoughtto be only 72 different peoples. Today thereare more than that in the Democratic Re-public of the Congo alone. To them, thanksto your help, the seminarians of Bukavuwill soon be proclaiming the Gospel, withcourage and endurance – and perhaps alsoto other nations, beyond the borders ofAfrica. •

Formation

Steadfast in their studies:exam time for the seminarians.

A time for every-thing: after prayer,work in the garden.

Any donation you kindly give will go to support these, or similar

material help of the missionaries, but for avariety of reasons this aid is no longer pos-sible. In keeping with our mission and ourpastoral outlook, more than anything elsewe focus on the formation of candidates forthe priesthood, on supporting seminariansand providing scholarships, and also on theongoing formation of priests, retreats andspiritual exercises, the support of religiousSisters. We also help with bicycles, motor-cycles and cars for pastoral work, Bibles inthe local languages, radio stations and reli-gious programming, and for the construc-tion of churches and chapels, convents andparish centres etc. Needless to say, we re-ceive a huge number of requests for aid andhave to be selective, according to the actualsituation and need. For a time the prioritywas the former Marxist regimes such as An-gola, Madagascar and Mozambique, atother times it has been the countries suffer-ing civil war, such as Liberia, the CentralAfrican Republic and the Democratic Re-public of the Congo, or again the countriesthreatened by radical Islam, such as Nigeria,Mali and today even Kenya and Tanzania.

How is this aid received by the Christiansin Africa?

They are immensely grateful to us, and toall our benefactors. It is so important to

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“They are immenselygrateful to us”

Keeping informed: Christine duCoudray talking to one of our projectpartners.

them to experience our solidarity, the senseof unity in Christ, the assurance that theyare not alone in their need. During the sec-ond Africa Synod we organised a North-South meeting between the bishops ofEurope and Africa. A hundred bishops tookpart and shared their problems and priori-ties. It was a worldwide first.

How important is the family in your aidfor Africa?

Over the years we have often been ap-proached by local family organisations ofall shapes and sizes and in every corner ofthe continent. We not only help individu-ally, but also via the overarching AfricanFamily Life Federation, thereby encourag-ing them all to work together. This is enor-mously important in an age of globalisationand massive anti-family campaigns such asthe promotion of gender ideology. TheHoly Father has repeatedly warned usabout this ideology; many governmentsand organisations in the West have fallenfor it and are now pressurising the Africannations. Hence it is all the more necessaryto defend and promote the true values ofhuman nature and the expertise in this un-derstanding that the Church has accumu-lated over the course of 2000 years as arock and refuge for the family. •

To find out about the work of ACN issupporting in Africa, we spoke toChristine du Coudray Wiehe, whoheads the Africa Section of ourpontifical charity.

How important is Africa to ACN?

For 13 years now the Church in Africa hasbeen a top priority for our pontifical foun-dation, at least in terms of the volume offunding for the projects. When I first startedhere 25 years ago, the priority was still thepersecuted Church behind the Iron Curtain,but after the fall of the Berlin Wall Africaincreasingly began to claim our attention,particularly after the first continental synod,the Synod for Africa, which was called bySaint John Paul II in 1994. With the words“Christ is calling Africa”, the Pope drewour attention to a young Church, dynamicand rich in priestly and religious vocations,but poor in infrastructure and opportunitiesfor formation, and additionally threatenedby an aggressive Islam and a West-inspired“culture of death”, that is destructive espe-cially towards the traditional family. So thisis precisely the area to which our aid is directed.

Which kind of projects are your priority?

The Church on this continent has long survived, thanks in good measure to the

© Ismael Martínez Sánchez/ACN

“Christ is calling Africa”.

projects, and enable the pastoral work of Aid to the Church in Need.

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Johannes FreiherrHeereman,Executive President, ACN (International)

Dear friends,Africa is one of the main focuses ofour aid for the Church in need. Onequarter of all your donations go toAfrica – over 22 million Euros. Thisaid is much more than merely helpfor the poor and needy; it is a realinvestment in the future. On the onehand, the Church is growing on thiscontinent like nowhere else; on theother, this young and dynamicChurch needs the help of her broth-ers and sisters outside Africa inorder to withstand an expansive andoppressive Islam. And in the longterm this helps us as well, as themissionary outreach is not simply aone-way street.

There is no comparison betweenour aid and that given by many gov-ernments and NGOs, which oftencomes with pressure to comply withtheir anti-life policies on the familyand human life. We help people tolive in fidelity to the teaching ofChrist. The common bond we sharewith the Church in Africa is the“Civilisation of Love” – which isstronger than the “culture of death”and degradation, as it is a source oftrue hope. For this reason also,thank you for your generosity!

Need, love and thanks − your letters

Inspired by Werenfried’s words When Father Werenfried preached in ourcathedral after the war on one of his beg-ging campaigns, my father was so im-pressed that he emptied the entirecontents of his wallet into the collectionbasket and was about to pull the weddingring off his finger as well. But then he hadsecond thoughts and decided not to, as herealised my mother would not be bestpleased. Instead, he went straight homeand immediately wrote out a cheque.

A benefactress in Belgium

Prayer and practical supportI’m always impressed by your Mirror andI want to support you, both with myprayers and my financial help for thepoor and persecuted Church. May Our

Lord and Our Blessed Lady be with youalways.

A benefactress in Canada

Solid support Thank you for sending me some of yourpublications. They provide me with solidsupport for my work with children andfamilies. They are really valuable in theseconfused and troubled times.

A benefactor in Germany

Our hands and feet ACN is the representative of all thosepeople of goodwill who would love to beable to help in person, but unfortunatelycannot do so. Your work is like our handsand feet.

A benefactress in Brazil

The diocese of Dapaongin northern Togo is some-times described as thegateway to the Sahara. Itis one of the poorest dio-ceses in Togo – which isone of the 20 poorestcountries in the world.Four out of five peoplehere have to get by onless than half a Euro aday. Lack of money means lack of schooling, as it is not always possible to teach outdoors. Spanish missionary Father Joan SoleRibas (pictured) asked for help to build a classroom for his parishand when we said yes, he wrote back spontaneously: “I cannot findwords to thank you. It was like Christmas; a gift for the whole parish.I’m very moved, since we have prayed so much for this project. God’sgrace is unfathomable. May you be filled with his blessing, so thatChrist may remain always with you.” Now over a hundred childrencan be given religious instruction every day. It is a joy for them, andfor Father Joan as well.

Catechism for the children

Editor-in-chief: Jürgen LiminskiResponsible Publisher:

ACN International, Postfach 1209, D-61452 Königstein

De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae

www.acn-intl.org

How to make your contribution to the Church in Need:

1. Go to our Head Office website: www.acn-intl.org2. Click the donate now button

3. Either: Go to the National Office of Aid to the Church in Needin your country.

4. Or: Make an online donation (if you live in a country without an ACN National Office).