Pan-African Congress urges support for missionaries facing visa, racism challenges
Delegates of the third Pan-African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society, and Pastoral Life gathered in Ivory Coast's city of Abidjan from Aug. 5–10, 2025. | Credit: Radio Grace Espoir
By Agnes Aineah
Delegates of the third Pan-African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society, and Pastoral Life who gathered in Ivory Coast's city of Abidjan from August 5–10 have called for the support of African missionaries who are experiencing hardships in their missions, especially those set back by immigration challenges.
In a statement at the end of the congress, the delegates said divisions such as ethnicity and racism must not stand in the way of missionary discipleship in Africa and even outside the continent.
Noting that self-reliance is an imperative for the Church in Africa, 'not as isolation from other local churches but as mature participation in the universal communion of faith,' the delegates said: 'This means … supporting African missionaries in the challenging mission in some parts of the world where some African missionaries experience racism and immigration restrictions.'
The delegates acknowledged that the African Church has transitioned to becoming a 'Church of the Sheaves,' sharing personnel within the continent, even outside Africa.
'We recognize with gratitude how far the African Church has journeyed: transiting from a mission Church receiving the Gospel to a Church of the Sheaves, sharing gifts and sending missionaries to other parts of the world,' they said, adding: 'We commit ourselves to deepening this transformation as missionary disciples of the Lord to Africa and the world.'
They said that synodality, as explored in the Synod on Synodality, is the pathway of the mission of evangelization and called for 'overcoming divisions based on ethnicity, status, or ideology.'
The call by the congress delegates comes amid mounting frustrations of foreign Catholic priests who have been forced out of South Africa on alleged expiry of their visas.
In some of the most recent incidences, two Ugandan-born priests were forced to abandon their ministry in the country after reportedly being frustrated in their visa renewal processes.
Father Stephen Syambi served in South Africa's Diocese of Klerksdorp before he was forced out on July 16, and Father Jude Thaddeus served in the Diocese of De Aar before he was sent packing in May.
The president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC), Cardinal Stephen Brislin, has expressed his spiritual closeness with foreign Church ministers who have been forced out of South Africa, telling them not to lose hope but to 'try and resolve this matter.'
Organized by the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN), the five-day congress in Abidjan brought together theologians, bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated women and men, lay leaders, youth, and Catholic communicators who engaged with the theme 'Journeying Together in Hope as Church, Family of God in Africa.'
Conference participants explored Africa's contribution to the global Church's understanding of the Synod on Synodality, advancement of African theological scholarship, and the place of women and youths in the Church in Africa.
Participants also discussed urgent issues affecting African communities, including human trafficking, religious persecution, and environmental degradation. They emphasized the urgent need for the African Church to become more self-reliant by generating and managing resources in a transparent manner.
The delegates also underscored the need to support clergy, religious, and pastoral workers materially and spiritually.
Also important, they said, is the need to invest in theological formation, research, and Catholic education at all levels and to build sustainable institutions of evangelization, health care, and social service.
The delegates further suggested that an African-led missionary fund be developed in Africa to support the work of African missionaries to the rest of the world.
In their statement, the delegates also described Africa as 'a gift to the world,' saying: 'Africa is rich in faith, culture, and values.'
'The African family remains the domestic Church and the moral bedrock of society, preserving traditions of solidarity, hospitality, and mutual care. We affirm the irreplaceable role of women, youth, and elders as bearers of these values and as agents of renewal in the Church and society,' they said.
Central to their deliberations was the theme of hope that Pope Leo XIV explored at length his message of solidarity with the participants of the congress.
The participants presented hope as not simply an idea, a sentiment, or an aspiration. 'Hope is a person — Jesus Christ, crucified and risen,' they said in their final statement. 'He is the unshakable anchor for our faith, the sure foundation for our dreams, and the wellspring of courage for our mission.'
'Hope, grounded in Christ, enables us to … stand firm amid wars, political instability, and violence that afflict many African nations, resist despair in the face of poverty, corruption, and social breakdown, and care for our common home even as climate change threatens ecosystems, livelihoods, and future generations,' they added.
Hope, they said, helps the people of God in Africa to heal the wounds of displacement, forced migration, and the loss of human dignity on the continent and to create new structures of love and programmes of reconciliation.'
'Our hope is not naïve optimism,' they said, adding that hope, for Africans, 'is a theological virtue rooted in the Resurrection — trusting that God is always creating and re-creating, raising life from ashes, and bringing light out of darkness.'--CNA
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