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| Mr. Patrick Markey and Mr. Fritz Zuger from USCCB |
Those who participated in the meeting were: AMECEA Secretariat staffs who are involved in the projectAMECEA Secretariat staffs who are involved in the project; Conference Secretaries General; Vice Chancellors of Catholic Universities from the region and USCCB delegates Mr. Patrick Markey and Mr. Fritz Zuger.
Among the many things discussed the participants had a chance to deliberate on the challenges in the implementation of the program while and plan for theWay forward of the project.
Speaking in an interview with AMECEA Online News, in Nairobi Kenya, the Executive Director of National Collection Office-USCCB, Mr Patrick Markey said the collaboration is based on a mutual relationship that the USCCB has built with the African Bishops Conferences.
“Bishops in the United States are looking for ways on how to build stronger bonds of solidarity with Bishops in Africa. This is for a couple of reasons, one being that we recognize the major impact the Church in Africa has in the United States, and it is enormous,” he said adding that “Most recently, a number of clergy and religious are coming from Africa to serve in their parishesespecially in the areas where we don’t have the personnel.”
“So it is such a major impact in such a positive way and our Bishops are very grateful and they recognize this so they ask themselves whether is it mutual because in Christianity everything is mutual,” he said.
Mr. Markey further explained that for about six years the USCCB has been engaging with African Bishop Conferences in a formal way. “This has been very well received such that the USCCB bringsUS Bishops to visit Bishops Conferences in Africa while representatives from Bishops Conferences in Africa also get the opportunity to visit US,” he said.
He said that apart from visiting and exchanging ideas, the USCCB has established a fund because they wanted people from their parishes to be involved. Mr. Markey said that they have 19,000 parishes in the United States and they normally have two collections in a month, whereby the first collection is for the parishes and the second collection for something special such as helping the Church in Latin America; Eastern Europe and Africa.
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| Participants of the Workshop listening to proceedings |
One of those special activities supported by the funds from the second collection is to build a relationship with the Church in Africa. “We deemed it essential to help the rapid growing Church in Africa which has needs. We therefore, engage our people so that they can be part of it and have ownership of it,” he said adding that “That has put us in touch with AMECEA, SECAM, IMBISA and others.”
Mr. Markey said USCCB just wanted to build a good relationship with Bishops in AMECEA, the Secretariat in AMECEA and so far, a good relationship based on friendship has been formed.“All of us want to implement what the Bishops’ gave in their resolutions and what they want to be accomplished in accordance with their mission and vision.
“Our major concern is this: Are we true to our words? Are we implementing? What are the successes, where do we have to make improvements, what are the challenges, and what is the structure going to look like,” he said.
Source: AMECEA Social Communications