Your Most Reverend Archbishop John Onaiyekan, President of SECAM; Your Grace Ivan Cardinal Dias, Prefect Propaganda Fide from Vatican;

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1 SPEECH BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EDWARD LOWASSA (MP), THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE 14 TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SYMPOSIUM OF EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES OF AFRICA AND MADAGASCAR (SECAM), TANZANIA EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT KURASINI CENTRE, DAR ES SALAAM, 16 JANUARY 2007 Your Most Reverend Archbishop John Onaiyekan, President of SECAM; Your Grace Ivan Cardinal Dias, Prefect Propaganda Fide from Vatican; Your Excellency Joseph Chenoph, Ambassador of Vatican to Tanzania; Your Excellency Bishop Yuda Thaddaeus Ruwa ichi, President of Tanzania Episcopal Conference; Members of the Clergy and Religious Men and Women; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen. I am greatly honoured and pleased to be among you in this opening ceremony of the 14 th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). I greet all of you with great affection and welcome you warmly to Tanzania to an Island of Peace, the United Republic of Tanzania. Indeed, this auspicious occasion prompts me to say: How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God s people to live together in harmony (Ps 133:1). Please, accept eminences, the New Year greetings and best wishes from H.E. President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. Despite his earlier commitment to attend this meeting he regrets that, he is unable to do so. He nonetheless wishes this conference fruitful and successful deliberation. Permit me at this juncture to express my deepest condolence that is beyond words, to the people and the family of the Roman Catholic Church for the death of the beloved Frederick Cardinal Epson Nzabi-Bamungwabi, the Cardinal of Kinshasa, DRC. May the Almighty God rest his soul in his eternal kingdom. Amen! We are meeting here today after 38 years since the creation of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in Kampala, Uganda in This was during the visit of Pope Paul VI to Uganda - the first ever visit of a Pope to Africa in modern times. The visit resulted in a series of working groups which encouraged the idea of working together to study the religious problems that concern the whole continent. 1

2 The launch of SECAM in 1969 thus heralded a new era and a new vision. An era for wider cooperation among Episcopal Conferences in Africa but also a new vision whose mission not only, among others, to propagate faith but to promote human development, good governance and justice. The later area is one where the partnership with governments can surely be strengthened. Twelve years ago, from 10 April to 8 May 1994, Pope John Paul II opened the first Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops in Rome. At this meeting, various issues concerning the Church and the people of Africa were discussed. Among range of issues, the main themes were: Church as a family of God in Africa, living the good news in our culture, to promote unity, solidarity, issues of justice, peace, and reconciliation in society and social communication. The Pope came to Africa to celebrate the Synod on African soil. He brought back home, the fruits of that Synod in the famous document known as Ecclesia in Africa of which this Plenary Assembly will review and set the way forward. The theme of the 14 th Plenary Assembly of SECAM is: Evangelization in Africa:Ecclesia in Africa (EIA), in Retrospect and the Way Forward. Available statistics indicate that the number of Catholic believers in Africa is big enough to champion the theme for this meeting. According to the 2004 statistics, the Faithful now total million with 630 bishops and 31,259 priests, of whom 20,358 are diocesan and 10,901 religious. Moreover, there are 7,791 lay brothers, 57,475 consecrated women and 379,656 catechists. Missionary in Africa working in pastoral programs of other particular Churches in Africa or other continents are remarkably on the rise. It is possible that currently the figures are much higher since This is a sign of progress and growth of the Church because we believe that the integral development of African people depend on the growth of the Faith within the community and hence lead to their social developments. Africa is a big and diverse continent with multidimensional cultural values. This situation creates a delicate balance from the East to the West and the North to the South. It is therefore necessary to avoid generalizations both in evaluating problems and suggesting solutions. It is true that the continent of Africa faces unmatched economic, social and political predicaments. The Continent has been characterised by rampant poverty, inter-state and intra-state conflicts and wars, diseases, mismanagement of scarce resources, political instability and social disorientation. These have subjected the population to the endless sufferings and misery. As a result, Africa remains economically and socially very poor. Nevertheless, we have to acknowledge and accept the fact that in the last two decades, Africa has undertaken serious economic, social and political reforms in order to address challenges facing the continent. The reforms range from trade liberalisation, privatisation, multiparty democracy, institutional reforms to market economy. Some positive results have been registered including GDP growth of an average of 5.1 per cent in 2005, decrease of inflation, and stability of other macroeconomic variables. It is also most important to recognise that the continent is blessed with natural resources, arable land and good climate conditions. In spite of all these factors, it is disturbing that, the African population live under less than a dollar a day which is far less than a 2

3 subsidy of about 2.5 US dollars given to a cow in Europe and America. This situation is inhuman, unethical and morally unacceptable. This situation has sometimes tempted some Africans to think that God has abandoned them and that He has forgotten them. We all know this is not true. Thus, we all have the responsibility to reverse this kind of thinking and desperation. You will agree with me that Africa is not poor. It is one of the richest continents on earth. However, due to lack of technology, inequitable global economic systems, unfair globalisation, exclusive and undemocratic international financial architecture and trading system, African continent has not been able to fairly accrue the benefits of its natural resources and wealth in general. I challenge the Church today to be upfront in ensuring that Africa has its fair share in the global structures. In deed, the Church has a great role to speak against injustices in Africa. I therefore, urge the Church to persistently call upon developed countries, international financial and trade institutions to make sure African natural resources and other forms of wealth benefit Africans and not otherwise. By helping African continent benefit from its abundant wealth you would have fulfilled the Holy Scripture by Mathew (25: 35-40) which says and I quote: I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me. The righteous will then answer him, when, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink?. sick or in prison and visit you?. The King will reply, I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me! end of quote. We must all champion for the economic, social and political right of the African continent. Among the priority tasks of the Church in Africa is the aspect of the evangelising mission. The Church as the Family of God in Africa must bear witness to Christ by promoting justice, peace and security on the continent and throughout the world. The Church s witness must be accompanied by a firm commitment to justice and solidarity by each member of God s People. The Church, as a community of faith, must be an energetic witness to justice and peace in her structures and in the relationships among her members. In that regard, I believe that the Church in Africa today needs to apply the Gospel to concrete life. The Church must continue to exercise the prophetic role and be the voice of the voiceless so that everywhere the human dignity of every individual will be acknowledged. Evangelism must be felt strongly. We are quite aware that justice, peace and security without development are unsustainable and unachievable. When poverty is rampant, like in Africa, sometimes peace and security are always in jeopardy. This confirms why the Church must stand for the development. The true mark of humanity is to reach out to, and help, those among us who are weak, poor and disadvantaged. In this, our globalising world, we need to rediscover the spirit of giving. In the Encyclical Letter of His 3

4 Holiness Pope Paul VI, promulgated on 26 March 1967, he began with the following words, and I quote: The development of peoples has the Church s close attention, particularly the development of those people who are striving to escape from hunger, misery, endemic diseases and ignorance; of those who are looking for a wider share in the benefits of civilisation and a more active improvement of their human qualities; of those who are aiming purposefully at their complete fulfilment. We need, therefore, to strengthen the partnership between the churches of different beliefs, governments and other private entities to harness development and eradicate poverty in Africa. We need to remember, and be reminded where necessary, that we are but one world, one human race, and, in death, have one destiny. When I was reading the Bible about what King Solomon said about wealth and poverty, I came across a short story written by Leo Tolstoy which he called How Much Land Does a Man Need? It was about a peasant, Pahom, who swore, If I had plenty of land, I shouldn t fear the devil himself. Pahom then heard about the Bahkirs, people who sold land cheaply. He travelled there and was offered land at a thousand rubbles a day. What did that mean? They told him: We sell it by the day. As much land as you can go around on your feet in a day is yours. Only one condition: If you didn t return on the same day to the point you started, the money would be lost. Pahom, delighted, started walking and walking and walking He was getting so much land! He kept going, all day, only to realize that he had better get back before the day ended. He had gone too far. He had to rush, or else all was lost! He hurried and hurried, only to collapse dead within sight of the starting spot. His servants dug a grave and buried him. How much land does a man need? Six feet from his head to his heels was all he needed, wrote Tolstoy. The partnership between the Church and the Government must focus on how we could ensure that the majority of our people are enabled to get the basic needs in life. Everything that prevents a man from living in dignity and decency must therefore be under attack from the Church and its workers. The Church must work with the people in the positive tasks of building the future based on the social justice. The Church must champion to reduce hatred and promote its doctrine of love to all peoples. Its love must be expressed in action against evil, and for good. The Church must show that its purpose is service to the people. The role of the Church is also organising the people towards godliness by joining with them in the attack against the injustices and deprivation from which they suffer. Speaking on the role of the Church in New York at the Congress of Maryknoll Sisters on 16 October 1970, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania, said, and I quote: In the poor countries, the Church has to be consistently actively on the side of the poor and unprivileged. It has to lead men towards the godliness by joining with them in the attack against the injustices and deprivation from which they suffer Its members must go out as servants of the world, as men and women who wish to share their knowledge and their abilities with those whom they recognize as their brothers and their sisters in Christ. 4

5 Although I recognise that the Church has been the champion for social justice, still much more needs to done. I humbly appeal to the Church to raise its voice for global economic, social and political justice. Africa thus needs a fair, democratic and transparent global system that would help them achieve sustainable development. Development, justice, peace and security in the prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS are equally unsustainable. Let me take this opportunity to issue a special plea for partnership in the fight against this disease. This pandemic is both socially and economically catastrophic. It is a health and development crisis throughout the Sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania. The Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated the number of infections worldwide at about 40.3 million by the end of 2005, of which about 25.8 million were found in Sub- Saharan Africa. About 4.9 million persons became newly infected in 2005, 3.2 million of whom were Sub-Saharan Africans. Worldwide, about 3.1 million persons died from AIDS in 2005; Sub- Saharan Africans alone accounted for 2.4 million of the total. In Tanzania, for example, the HIV/AIDS continues to infect large number of our population. Recent statistics indicate that about 7 percent of the population aged 15 to 49 is infected. A prevalence rate of 7 percent is very serious and it means that about 1.3 million Tanzanians of all ages are now living with HIV/AIDS. His Holiness Pope John Paul II in his address during the 12 th Meeting of the post-synodal Council on 15 June 2004 stated, and I quote: other scourges come to afflict Africa and Africans: poverty that derives both from a compromised economic situation as well as from the difficult conditions in the areas of education and health care. In this regard, how could we fail to mention the social scourge of AIDS or the insecurity due to conflicts, latent or being fought out, and lastly, the corruption that still beleaguers too many levels of civil society? All of this makes up the vicious circle that causes gangrene in this young and vigorous body, end of quote. The situation calls for immediate intervention by all parties, be the Church, the Government, the private sector and the civil societies. Let us agree then that despite that you are already doing much on this front, but still more needs to be done. Let me thank you for what you have done, but I ask for more concerted efforts in this regard. I appeal to you, to help the community change their behaviour. The Church in Africa and elsewhere has always been a vehicle of positive changes in the society. I believe that African Church will not wait until the whole generation is wiped out by this epidemic. We need to act now. If we do not, the future generation will not only judge us harshly but will not have followers and congregations. Before I conclude, allow me to underscore the role of the Church in the areas of: Justice, peace and security; Fight against diseases, particularly the HIV/AIDS; Poverty eradication and sustainable Development; 5

6 Creation of a fair, inclusive and transparent global financial architecture and trade system; and Strengthen the partnership between the Government and the Church. Finally, let me wish you a pleasant stay in Dar es Salaam. I now declare the 14 th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar open. I thank you for your kind attention. 6