On November 4, 2008, the Holy See and Botswana established diplomatic relations, bringing the number of nations with which the Holy See has official relations to 173. The official establishment ceremony took place in the pontifical representation of Pretoria, South Africa. The nation’s approximately 1.5 million inhabitants are about 70% Christian, though there are only about 84,000 Catholics. The Vatican said Catholic missionaries first arrived in the southern African country in 1850, but opened their first school and mission only in 1928. Currently, the country has one diocese and one apostolic vicariate, 27 diocesan priests, 38 parishes, 40 religious-order priests, four religious brothers, 77 sisters and about 300 lay catechists. There are 19 Divine Word Missionaries working in Botswana.

SVDs are well appreciated for their missionary efforts in the diocese of Mananjary. On the feast of Christ the King, Mgr. Jose Alfredo, the Bishop of Mananjary, has entrusted a new suburban parish to the SVDs. This newlby born parish called Christ the King Parish- Mahatsinjo, is 2 kms away from Mananjary town where our Regional House is located. In a meaningful Eucharistic celebration, Fr. Alexander DHAE was given the Baptismal and Marriage Register books and was nominated as the first parish-priest. Fr. Pius PANDAI, the present Regional, took a keen interest in the development of Mahatsinjo parish. A foundation stone was laid on that day for the construction of the new church building. Mahatsinjo, as its name suggests, is in a highly located place in Malagasy with its beautiful garden, facilities for the station of the cross and a panoramic view of Indian Ocean. (Sebastian Quadros)

AFRAM New Website

The AFRAM Zonal Coordinator Fr. Xene SANCHEZ writes: “Please know that our AFRAM Website is functioning well. I’m inviting you to visit www.svdafram.org and keep the address among your favorites.” The website is managed by Fr. Mirek WOLODKO, the Zonal Coordinator for Communications. Fr. Mirek reports that confreres and other interested people from different parts of the world like Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Chile, Argentina, etc. are making consultations. Please send communications to mirekwolom@gmail.com

When Bishop Gaspard MUDISO was participating in the Synod held last October 5-26, 2008 newspapers all over the world were reporting on the bloody skirmishes and the atrocities taking place in the north Kivu region of the Congo. Bishop Mudiso is deeply saddened by the destruction, looting and violence of every type that has forced tens of thousands of people to abandon even what little they have. There are conflicting reports over the number of refugees but the estimate is more than one and a half million. Bishop Mudiso stated, “I am just baffled by the fact that this conflict has been going on for years and why does it happen in the same place?” He pointedly expressed that the problem is not caused solely by tensions between the Hutus and the Tutsis. The ethnic differences and problems are not enough reason for these conflicts to continue. He believes that the mineral resources in the area are the main reason for all these conflicts. “Many countries are way too interested in the mineral business such that they don’t even mind the violence going around. These are nations who want to explore these minerals. So they make war, put the people to war, in order to exploit more easily the minerals.” Those statements were followed by: “That is my impression.” This impression of Bishop Mudiso is believed and shared by many Congolese themselves. This is not the first time that conflicts like these have happened in the region. Bishop Mudiso gave his nod of approval to what Archbishop Francois Maroy Rusengo of Bukayu, Congo remarked to US Congressional representatives: “I hope they understand the gravity of the situation…The world is so silenced it is like we are not even humans.” Bishop Mudiso is wondering about the response of the international community as a whole. The world is aware of what is happening and it seems no one is responding and no one seems to know what to do about it. He added “I would have expected more from the international community, maybe this is some kind of indifference. I don’t understand that nothing or so little is done to our people who are suffering so much.” Bishop Mudiso also spoke of the response of the church. He said that every year the Bishops’ Conference spoke of reconciliation and peace. “We, as a church, don’t have other means of doing things but only to speak out what we feel and think and to try to invite people to work for peace and reconciliation” he said. “I am not even clear what concrete actions as a church we can do. This is difficult because this is more of a political issue that politicians and government leaders have to take.”