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| H.E. John Cardinal Njue Archbishop of Nairobi |
His Eminence John Cardinal Njue, the Archbishop of Nairobi Kenya has urged Catholic Women all over Africa to be protagonists of reconciliation, peace and love starting right from their families, to the community and spreading out to the whole continent of Africa. Cardinal Njue said this on 2nd September in Nairobi when he addressed the Pan African Meeting of Catholic Women.
The meeting which begun on Monday 31st August, was organized by the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in collaboration with the Pastoral Department of Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) with the support of Missio under the theme: “The African Women Moving Towards the African Year of Reconciliation.”
“The theme that you chose for this meeting is so vital and very timely because when you look at the things that are happening in various countries where we are coming from; one of the worrying things is the confrontation, which is not only at the national level but beginning from the family,” Cardinal Njue said.
“There is confrontation in the family, in the community up to the national level and even in the wider spiritual bodies that is the Church. And so when you come out with the theme focusing on reconciliation, let this be embraced as a way in which you are going to become instrumental or instruments of God in bringing that so much needed harmony right from the root of the society, the family.”
Cardinal Njue encouraged the women to build identities of integrity and love. “If we are going to have reconciliations let there be the focusing on own identity and know that you are capable of being instruments of that reconciliation. But for that to happen there must be the embracing of that identity and dignity without getting scared of the problems that might come along the way.”
Quoting the words of the document of the Vatican Council, The Church in the modern worldCardinal Njue said that ‘… the Church must constantly read the signs of the time’ and so he advised the women to constantly read the signs of time in order to propagate and evangelize in an effective way.
“Let this initiative that has begun here be continued even when you go back to your various countries. When going home from here, please go with the spirit of reconciliation,” he said urging the women to remain close to God in all their endeavors through God’s word, through prayers and through concretely living the sacraments in their lives.
“You have a wonderful example that is Mary Mother of God, how wonderful it would be if you are able to emulate her character. Mothers are the image of the love of God, while your husbands are the image of the fatherhood of God, take it seriously and live that identity to the latter,” Cardinal Njue advised.
“The last person to come out of a burning house is usually the mother because she wants to make sure that even under the bed no child remains. The responsibility to reconcile your families, your society, your country and Africa at large is in your hands. Do not shy away from this noble cause to bring tremendous differences in the society. And while you are doing that, be assured of our prayers.”
By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News