Page 57 - Reflexions of African Bishops and Priests

“How Is It That the Banks Become the

Owners, the Masters of What We Produce!”

Reflections of Bishops After Our Week of Study on Social Credit

Twice a year, you added another element, the spirit-
we invite bishops, ual dimension. It is a battle against evil,
mostly from Af- against the devil. Your emblem that we
rica, to our week will bring home with us shows this vic-
of study on Social tory of St. Michael over the devil… Each
Credit at our head- day in my personal “litany” that I have
quarters in Rouge- composed, I say: “St. Michael, protect
mont, Canada. my diocese; St. Gabriel, protect my dio-
The ten African cese; St. Raphael, protect my diocese.”
bishops who took I put my diocese under the protection of
part in our seminar the archangels, knowing that the battle
last March left us that I fight is a very difficult one and I
thrilled and deter- believe that these protectors that the
mined to further Church gives us are from the Lord. I am
our cause in their also implicated in this spirituality and
dioceses. Here are it is with joy that I receive this gift, (the
the comments of a banner of St. Michael) because this en-
few of them: ters also into our spirituality.
Bishop Etienne The first problem of the popula-
Ung’Eyowun of the tion of my diocese is hunger; it is the
diocese of Bondo problem of food: the people are not
in the Democratic able to satisfy their hunger. And when
Republic of Congo: I arrived here and heard this repeated
Our professor many times, it touched and struck me:
Alain Pilote is a real Bishop Ung’Eyowun with our Directress, The- the first need is nourishment, to give
pilot who brought rese Tardif, receives a banner of St. Michael. food to the population. What a call for
us to very high and far places. It was a great pleasure me! And the theme of the week of study was: the
to follow him. And in a particular way I would like to daily bread distributed to all! Thank you very much
underline the point that struck me: it was the mastery for reminding us of this crucial question of bread
of the Social Doctrine of the Church by a lay person... for everyone. For me, this is not an imaginary prob-
Everything was presented in a skillful manner, with lem; it is a real need of the population. Our profes-
well-chosen texts that are arranged and orderly, in sor quoted St. Thomas Aquinas who said that there
such a way that it is easy to understand. must be a minimum of well-being in order to practice
There are two elements that I have learned here. virtue; the first point is, that the people eat.
Firstly, the great question of world indebtedness, with I will return home with these new ideas that should
its repercussions on our States of Africa: we speak send us on the road and push us to action, we cannot
many times about our governments but now I am simply stay with the joy of this knowledge but we must
starting to understand that the big problem is the bank- move forward to action… We must influence those who
ers. Our States have been taken by the throat; perhaps make decisions… it is in this sense that we must en-
they do not realize much but now is the moment to gage ourselves. We must not simply let the economic
enlighten them. This is why the proposition to inform and political operators direct us without worries — this
the political actors is very important; they should take reminds me of the intervention by Cardinal Tumi of
into consideration that the solution is here. Mr. Pilote Cameroon during the Eucharistic Congress in Quebec
reminded us that each society, each State, should cre- in 2008 that Mr. Pilote showed us during the week of
ate its money without interest! If, at the national level, study: we must cause them to have an uneasy con-
we take this confidence and liberate the people, I be- science! We must reach people in high places, not leave
lieve that we will have taken a big step. them in peace. You know about our Episcopal Confer-
The second point that you showed us is that this ence, I believe that we will not allow these things to pass
is a battle against evil. The system is vicious from the and we will continue the battle because, as much as
beginning. This was fully demonstrated during the possible, tomorrow must be better; in the sense of your
week of study. We should put all of our intelligence magazine Vers Demain (Towards Tomorrow), tomorrow u
and strength towards this the task of eradicating it but will be better. We believe it and I thank you.

www.michaeljournal.org April, 2011 session 57