Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
October 05, 2009

As preparations continue for the Synod of Bishops for Africa in October, some portions of the African church are concerned that their experiences are not reflected in the synod’s instrumentum laboris, or working document. Bishops, clergy and pastoral workers in North Africa say that the Vatican does not seem to recognize that they face different challenges than sub-Saharan Africa. Among those concerned are Catholics in Africa’s Maghreb region, which includes Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, as well as Catholics in Libya and Mauritania. According to Bishop Maroun Lahham of Tunisia (right), the North African bishops’ conference had sent a letter to the synod planners urging them to take into account the unique situation of the church in the north. Yet when Bishop Lahham read the working paper for the synod, he said, “I have to say I didn’t find myself or this church” reflected in them.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Archbishop Wenski of Miami and some 25 Knights of Columbus saddled up their motorcycles to pray a rosary at the entrance of Alligator Alcatraz, the migrant detention center recently opened in the Florida Everglades.
Federal agents stage at MacArthur Park Monday, July 7, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The U.S. church will have to contend with “deportation on steroids“ as the Trump administration adds vast new capacity to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Kevin ClarkeJuly 21, 2025
Pope Leo XIV has extended his vacation at Castel Gandolfo by two days. How does he relax? And what have other popes done with their downtime?
Colleen DulleJuly 21, 2025
Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of man’s arrival on the moon Sunday with a visit to the Vatican astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo and a call to astronaut Buzz Aldrin.