There are also major hunger problems. "A hungry person is an angry person" so the saying goes. As a woman, I am worried to see that there are many who face persistent everyday hunger in Africa today. The number of undernourished in 1970 was 94 million = 35 per cent, in 1975 it was 112 million = 37 per cent, in 1980 it was 128 million = 36 per cent, in 1990 it was 175 million =37 per cent. I am sure the number has grown in recent years to 200 million. In most countries very few can afford to eat two meals a day. The Church as Family needs to ask herself: "What unnecessary demands do we make on the poor? How prophetic are we in our lifestyle?" The Exhortation challenges us to look at this: "It is necessary therefore to examine with care the procedures, the possessions and the life style of the Church" (n. 106). There is a spirit of sharing in the African family. How can we encourage and challenge one another to be prophetic, honest Christians, in our places of work and to share our gifts generously?

  Education is the key to success and enlightenment. As an educator, my heart aches to see that literacy rates have fallen in 30 out of 39 sub-Saharan African countries. Generally, new schools are not being built, while drop-out rates run as high as 45 per cent in Senegal, for example.

  Enrolment in higher education is 21 students per 100,000 inhabitants in Tanzania New Internationalist, December 1994, p. 29). University students in Ghana and Nigeria in recent years have lost a whole year because of strike actions. Primary and Secondary schools are closed for months, teachers and students go in search of other means of making a livelihood because of lack of an adequate living wage. What can the Church as Family of God do to fulfil her prophetic role in this area? The Pope's challenge to the Church as Family is to foster "education for all" (n. 102).

  Economics

  As an African woman, I do care about the plight of many of our people who experience in a terrible way the effects of the Structural Adjustment Programmes. At present the former middle-class and lower middle-class seem to have been wiped out. Many families are feeling the pinch. In fact twenty-five out of the fifty-four countries of Africa are feeling this severe effect of the Structural Adjustment Programmes imposed by the International Monetary Fund. This devaluation favours the First World market, in that it determines the price of African cash-crops like cocoa, coffee, bananas, to name but a few. There is "need for a compassionate ear" from First World countries to the cries of the poor nations" (n. 114).

  I remember the Synod Fathers wrote an open letter to their Brother Bishops in Europe and North America on the issue of the foreign debt entitled "Forgive Us Our Debt". The U.S. Bishops responded with a programme of action, calling for systemic changes and co-responsibility from their Governments and the banks (SECAM Newsletter, August 1995). Groups working for justice and peace, too, have been very outspoken on this issue of the Third World Debt. I am told, "The Bank Members are faceless, so nothing can be done". As a Church, we have our Church Family members in strategic positions and we need to encourage them to put pressure on their Governments not to go into further debt and to learn to spend wisely and honestly, being able to differentiate between private, individual pockets and the public fund. The Pope's pressing appeal in this area was very encouraging and challenging (n. 120).

  Environment

  It is impressive to see that many all over the world are championing the cause of Africa, calling for a ban on the dumping and import of toxic and solid waste, nuclear weapons and the sale of arms, calling for investment in renewable energy resources - use of solar energy for cooking and lighting in Africa, inclusion in decision-making processes on environmental issues and education of rural women and men about alternative sources of energy which reduce men and women's work while protecting the environment. Can anyone tell me why solar energy is not used in every household in Africa?

  Many have urged that strong measures be meted out to African Heads of State who are dictators: freezing the foreign bank accounts of the individuals concerned, and those of their family members and associates; formally suspending these countries from the IMF and the World Bank; placing embargoes on the countries' exports; banning weapon sales to the regimes; expelling their ambassadors from Western capitals... (New Internationalist, September 1994, p. 25). I think some of these measures would only make life more unbearable for the ordinary people. What other strategic plans can the Church as Family make? I hope the image of Church as Family will move and empower people to address these problems individually and as a community.

  Mass Media

  A teacher once said "When I listen, I know; when I read, I understand; when I see, I am enriched". But the effect of hearing and seeing can be negative - which is often the effect of most mass media programmes today. The Vatican Radio and Television is a powerful force in Italy and indeed in the world for spreading the Good News of the love of God, especially Good News in Africa - which is rarely proclaimed elsewhere. As an African women living in Rome, I see the potential for our Church as Family in this area to produce good and challenging media coverage that would educate, conscientise and liberate our people, and also train them in the area of media-critiquing.

  Health - Demographic Concerns and Threats to the Family "Lack of Elementary Health and Social Services, Resulting in Endemic Disease, the Scourge of AIDS"

  In the field of health there are also grave concerns. Many of our members from all over the world, including Africans both lay and religious, have responded very generously to the cry of African countries for help in the area of primary health care, e.g., those attacked by Ebola disease in Zaire, victims of AIDS in East Africa, the refugee centres in Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, Uganda and Sierra Leone, to name a few. Much more needs to be done in the area of preventive medicine. The Exhortation calls for more education and involvement in this area.

  Politics and Government: Political Instability

  "I feel it my duty to express heartfelt thanks to the Church... as a promoter of peace and reconciliation in many situations of conflict, political turmoil and civil wars" (n. 45). As a woman, I acknowledge with great admiration what the Bishops' Conferences of many African countries had done before, and more so after the Synod, in the area of political conscientisation, by posing very challenging questions to African Governments. Through their communiqu,s they address unjust structures in various countries. Letters have been written to Governments and regimes by Bishops' Conferences on democratic rule, justice and peace, etc.; they are, of course, a strong force to be reckoned with. They are in many places the voice of the voiceless. How can the different groups in the family be mobilised to do the same in this non-violent prophetic way? I would hope that more education will be available at all levels to conscientise our people on their voting rights and obligations, too. With the Synod Fathers and the Pope I pray fervently that "holy politicians" (n. 111) will arise in Africa as we move towards the year 2000. Evil triumphs when good people stand by and do nothing.

  These are some of the major areas of concern which the Church as Family must continue to find ways to deal with.

  Post-Synodal Plans

  Many national Episcopal Conferences have mapped out strategies for working with the people to claim and to proclaim the post-Synodal message; for instance, calling for good and solid formation programmes in the area of Evangelisation, and in the promotion of reconciliation. Translation of the Documents of the Synod including the Exhortation have been and are being made in many countries into local languages: Swahili, Arabic, Yoruba, etc. At the Regional Conference level and SECAM, plans have also been made to implement the Synod. I hope that with all these plans more of our Church members at every level will be involved.

  I feel very positive about the Exhortation. Personally, as an African woman, I do not find it offensive, patronising or discouraging, but rather confirming and empowering.

  While there is much that is positive, there is also some disappointment regarding the Synod and the Exhortation. I see these disappointments as continuous challenges to the Church as Family:

  a. Priestly Celibacy: One would hope that adequate formation in the areas of spiritual and human development would be given in all institutes of initial and continuing formation. I single out this comment: "I would have thought that this should have been raised as an issue requiring the pastoral concern of the Church and perhaps requesting the Church at the universal level to look at the issue in relation to the Church tradition" (Rt. Rev. Prof. Zabion Nathamburi, a Methodist Bishop from Kenya, who was a Fraternal Delegate at the Synod: SECAM Newsletter, August 1995). My response is that celibacy is a universal challenge to the Church and the African scene is no exception.

  b. The Challenge of Polygamy: Baptism of the women and men who want to be Christians. There was surprise in some quarters that this topic was not addressed under the section on Marriage and Family, nor under the Dignity of Women. I suppose the Church in Africa as an adult Church feels that many of her members for decades have been conscientising and exploring ways of ministering to the people concerned. I hope this exploration will continue especially in the area of formation of youth in their choice of partners for Christian marriage. (Other issues like the combining of traditional marriage with Church weddings, and naming ceremonies with Baptism, are being given attention in experimentation).

  c. Youth: Some felt that the problems of youth in African society were not given priority in the Exhortation. Briefly but concisely, this topic was treated and, or course, young people are included in other areas of the Exhortation. The Exhortation encourages youth to take seriously their own personal development and that of their country. I suppose that the youth in Africa will face the next century with greater confidence if the Church as Family forms her youth to value Christianity as a way of life, and tackles some key problems such as the exodus to urban areas and other countries, respect for other Christians and religions, and ethnocentricity. Also we need to encourage adequate family supervision, provide positive media programmes, form youth to ask the right questions, and teach them to be self-reliant as was done in the traditional family.

  d. Environment: I would have loved to see more done on this topic, but then it is impossible for the Pope to touch on every area in great detail. In Yoruba we say: "A small word is enough for the wise one, for when it gets inside the person, it grows into a huge bunch".

  Conclusion

  The post-Synodal Exhortation is very rich, full of possibilities and challenges for the Church in Africa as it faces the third millennium. Like an endangered species in today's world, the Church as Family in Africa must seek creative ways to face squarely its challenges of inclusivity, interdependence and inculturation in order to be deeply rooted in Christ our Elder Brother, Healer, Liberator and Friend. Evangelisation needs personal knowledge of Jesus Christ, understanding of the African culture and spirituality. In owning the Gospel message, we must be ready to be counter-cultural. The Church as Family must resist the pressure of materialism and the negative effects of the media and promote its connectedness as a united family of God with all the diversity of cultures and languages. The laity, priests, religious and Bishops as a family embody Christ, and each one needs the others to promote life in the Church. We are all called to a life of holiness as faithful followers of Christ. "The fully trained disciple will always be like the teacher" (Lk 6:39-49).

  We need to be liberated from our fear and suspicion of one another, from fear of the forces of evil spirits and of sects that entice our members away. We must find ways to include the contribution of our members in our liturgies by making the Eucharist a celebration of life in every aspect. As we move towards the year 2000, we Catholics in Africa must be empowered to see ourselves as guardians of the faith and to proclaim it confidently by our way of life. We have been commissioned "to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last" (Jn 15:16).

  In this presentation, I have shared with you the story of the African Synod at its various stages. My impression of that great Document Ecclesia in Africa has many possibilities for the "Church as Family" in Africa. My hope and expectation is that it is in the concrete strategies that the Family of God in Africa, at all levels of the Church, will map out for further exploration, experimentation and implementation, trusting that our God is with us and leading us in the dance. It is said that "It is not the size of the giver of the gift that counts, but the size of gift in the giver". The African Church is fully equipped for action! She must dance in response to the fruits and gifts of the Spirit. Indeed, I am proud to be an African and to be part of this great African Church with so many possibilities for its self-discovery and work on the eve of the third millennium. Africa continues to depend on your support and to give you hers in an interdependent way just as it is in the family.

  Yes, the stage is set, the fruit of the Synod, the FAMILY DANCE of the African Church continues. In the words of this special song, I end: "...Since Love is Lord of Heaven and earth, how can we keep from singing?" How can we keep from dancing to the rhythm of those musical instruments which are so alive that they echo on?

  (Conference given by Sister Veronica Openibo, SHCJ., at the SEDOS Annual General Assembly in Rome on 5th December 1995).