Playing the piano's black keys

I remember reading several of Bishop Fulton Sheen's books during my seminary days. He was still very popular in the 1970s. I vividly remember him writing that God has been playing the white keys of the piano for a very long time but soon he will be playing the black keys.

While reading about the special Synod of Bishops for Africa, which today comes to its conclusion with a liturgical celebration, I get the feeling that Sheen was right. A total of 244 Synod Fathers together with a number of experts have been meeting at the Vatican since October 4, analysing the state of the Church in Africa and planning the way forward.

It seems that the piano's black keys are becoming more visible on the Lord's music score. Statistics indicate satisfactory growth in the continent's Catholic population, the number of Church-run organisations providing health and education services, and even in the number of African martyrs.

Between 1994 and 2007 the number of African Catholics rose by more than 62 million, an increase of about 60 per cent, almost twice as much as Africa's population growth, which was about 33 per cent. The number of priests increased by 49 per cent, seminarians by 44 per cent, and lay missionaries by 94 per cent.

Anyone who followed the regular reports released during the discussions could see that the Synod Fathers were actively looking at the Church within the socio-politico-economic context of the people it wants to serve. Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Synod's relator general, encapsulated this strategy in his 10,000-word report, which summarised the discussions that were held during the first part of the Synod.

The report outlines a seven-pronged mission for the Church:

1. Liberating the continent's people from fear of all sorts;

2. Ensuring a conversion that is deep and permanent, and a solid formation of all kinds;

3. Dialogue on all levels, including dialogue about the environment;

4. Advocacy roles for various social concerns and needs, especially the place of women in society, the education of children and youth;

5. Migration and various forms of population movement which require our pastoral care;

6. The challenging ministry of changing attitudes and mentalities, freeing them from effects of a past of colonialism, exploitation, etc.

7. Positioning the continent and its people to resist the onslaught of globalisation and the attendant challenges of a global ethic, unjust trade conditions, ethnocentrism, fundamentalism, etc.

The deep concern that the Synod Fathers have for the people they serve is also witnessed in the words they used during their discussions. Zenit, the Catholic news agency, pointed out that "peace" has been the most often repeated word at the Synod - it has been voiced 402 times. "Justice" has been mentioned 345 times.

Pope Benedict has called on Africans to tap into the strengths of their cultural and religious values to promote reconciliation on the continent and to resist the "spiritual toxic waste" spread by the West.

The Pope's appeal was echoed by several, including Cardinal Sarr, who pointed to the presence of a "sort of cultural imperialism", which puts anti-life conditions on humanitarian aid that is sent to the continent.

The bishops were clear that there has to be an African solution for African problems which are plenty and complex.

Human life most probably originated in Africa. It should not surprise us that a mission to rejuvenate the Church at large will also have its beginning in the same continent.

joseph.borg@um.edu.mt