Panel: POST-VATICAN II IN DIFFERENT SEASONS: ACTORS, EXPERIENCES, AND INSTITUTIONS



124.5 - BEING A CHURCH FOR THE POOR: RECEIVING THE CONCILIAR OPTION FOR THE POOR IN AFRICA

AUTHORS:
Nnabugwu C. (KU Leuven ~ Leuven ~ Belgium)
Text:
In 1965, the Second Vatican Council concluded with the promulgation of the proposal enshrined in Gaudium et Spes 90, which called for the establishment of an organ of the Holy See tasked with overseeing and promoting Catholic efforts to combat poverty and underdevelopment in the world. The realization of this proposal proved arduous, requiring extensive lobbying, particularly by a poverty pressure group that styled itself the cospiratori. In response to the Council Father's call, Paul VI eventually created the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace (PCJP) in 1967. Once instituted, the PCJP actively worked to foster the establishment of similar bodies within local churches at the continental, national, and diocesan levels. Sixty years on since after Vatican II, efforts have been made in different contexts to receive the conciliar special concern for the poor. While this reception is well known to have blossomed the most in Latin America, the African response remains less explored. At the continental level in Africa, this social mission has been coordinated by the Justice, Peace, and Development Commission of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the umbrella body of the African episcopate. Drawing largely on archival resources, this presentation aims to examine 1) the African agency in the lobbying activities that resulted in the creation of the PCJP and 2) how SECAM has responded to the Council's call for special care of the poor.