African Synod concludes discussion, endorses 57 propositions

The Synod of Bishops for Africa concluded its deliberations on Saturday, October 24, voting to approve 57 propositions to be presented to Pope Benedict XVI as the basis for an apostolic exhortation.
At the final meeting of the Synod assembly, Cardinal Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar, Senegal, speaking for the Synod members, thanked the Pontiff for his "paternal concern, respect and diligence." Pope Benedict in turn praised the Synod delegates for rising to the challenge posed by their topic. He observed that in discussing the often difficult conditions facing the peoples of Africa, "the temptation could have been to politicize the them, to speak less as pastors and more as politicians, and thus in a sphere which is not our own." A companion danger, he added, was "precisely in order to escape this temptation, we should retreat into a purely spiritual world, an abstract, beautiful but unrealistic world."
On Sunday, Pope Benedict presided at a Mass in St. Peter's basilica to mark the form closing of the Synod. In his homily the Pontiff said: "The reconciled Church is a powerful leaven of reconciliation in single countries and in the whole African continent." He exhorted the African bishops who had participated in the assembly: "Start down the road of new evangelization with the courage that comes from the Holy Spirit."
Among the propositions endorsed by the assembly, the Synod issued:
- a "heartfelt appeal to all those who are at war" to stop the bloodshed, and to those responsible to stop all activities that destabilize the societies of Africa;
- a clear rejection of the "unacceptable" Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol, which "trivializes the seriousness of the crime of abortion and devalues the role of childbearing," and a plea to the people of Africa generally to protect marriage, the family, and life against "the ideology of divorce and a new relativistic ethic;"
- a statement of concern for the 15 million migrants living in Africa-- some in their own countries, others in new lands;
- a condemnation of "all acts of violence against women, such as the battering of wives, the disinheritance of daughters, the oppression of widows in the name of tradition, forced marriages, female genital mutilation, trafficking in women and several other abuses such as sex slavery and sex tourism;"
- a call for justice and fair treatment for those afflicted with AIDS, an end to discrimination against AIDS victims, and the provision of medicines that are available in the Western world.

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