My journey to the Republic of Niger started in silence. When I told my family I was leaving for a mission, the room grew cold, as if a funeral had begun. The next Sunday, when I shared the news with my parishioners, their reaction was even sharper: the congregation burst into tears. Their fear stemmed from the dominant media narrative:…
At PACTPAN, empowering young Catholics to be leaders in their communities is a crucial priority. PACTPAN Academy’s “African Digital Faith Influencers Faith Formation Program” began to strengthen the faith, spirituality, and digital knowledge of emerging lay faith leaders within Africa. Under the theme of “Empowering Digital Disciples: Building Bridges of Faith and Social Justice across Africa,” Youth Leaders were trained and…
Nigeria’s Independence Day has come and gone, and once again, we are back to business as usual. Around a confused president, politicians and their allies gathered to sing praises and pretend that the nation is thriving, when in truth, we are only shadows of our early glories. On the same day, many Nigerians gathered in their churches and mosques to…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Sept. 7, 2025) – In a powerful declaration from the Africa Climate Summit, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has framed the escalating climate crisis as a dual “moral and ecological emergency,” demanding that the world’s wealthiest nations honor their climate finance obligations to a continent suffering disproportionately from a problem it did…
On September 19, 2025, Fr. Matthew Eya, a young priest of the Diocese of Nsukka in Enugu State, was ambushed while returning from a pastoral assignment. Gunmen on motorcycles forced his car to stop by shooting its tyres and then shot him at close range. The Enugu State police later announced arrests and promised investigations. However, the grim reality is…
A recent BBC investigation tore open a wound that has long bled in silence: young African women deceived with promises of education or job opportunity, only to be trafficked into darkness, sex slavery, and domestic violence. They leave home as daughters, chasing dreams of light, only to arrive in foreign lands as commodities. What bleeds here is not only the…
[AFRICA] – The Pan-African Catholic Theological and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) will embark on a landmark initiative to draft a 25-year strategic vision for the Catholic Church in Africa during its General Assembly this Friday, September 26, 2025. The virtual meeting, which will also introduce a new executive leadership team, aims to channel the energy of its recent Abidjan congress into…
On Monday, September 15, four consecrated women of God—Sr. Lilian Kapongo, Superior General of the Missionary Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (MCST); Sr. Nerina, the Congregation’s Secretary; Sr. Damaris Matheka; and Sr. Stellamaris—lost their lives in a tragic road accident in Tanzania’s Catholic Archdiocese of Mwanza. Their driver, Boniphase Msonola, also perished, and another Sister remains in…
Amid rising seas and record heat, Africa’s climate crisis is the defining injustice of our time, a profound moral indictment demanding justice, not charity, from wealthy nations.In a world of rising seas and record heat, Africa is a continent of moral contrasts. Here, droughts devastate farmlands, and cyclones, fueled by global emissions, tear apart coastal communities. These are the scenes…
This past Sunday, as we celebrated the Triumph of the Cross, many in our pews were singing of victory. But in the hills of Africa, many Christians are still hanging on crosses of a different kind—massacres in church halls, funerals turned into killing fields. In Komanda, DRC, a community held a vigil toward morning, only to be torn apart by…