Stan Chu Ilo is a senior research professor of world christianity, african studies, and global health at the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural theology, DePaul University, and the coordinating servant of the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network.
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…
On September 8, Pope Leo will mark four months in office. I write this editorial as both a tribute to Pope Leo and a plea for Africa. It is already clear that Pope Leo has shown himself to be a steady hand at the helm—no missteps, only poise, purpose, and a calm clarity of vision. It was never going to…
In his message for the 2025 World Day of Prayer for Creation, Pope Leo XIV calls Christians to unite under the theme “Seeds of Peace and Hope.” He reminds us that “together with prayer, determination and concrete actions are necessary if this ‘caress of God’ is to become visible to our world.” This Season of Creation, he urges, is more…
A brutal Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis claimed at least 20 lives, including five journalists: Hussam al-Masri, Mariam Abu Dagga, Mohammed Salama, Moaz Abu Taha, and Ahmed Abu Aziz. They died for doing what every democracy claims to value—telling the truth. Israel dismissed it as a “tragic mishap.” But what we have seen in the conduct of…
❝ Out of Africa can rise a hope capable of reawakening the whole Church” — Stan Chu Ilo In a recent essay, Carlos Lopes warned of the “structural exhaustion” of the global order. Once-stable arrangements like free trade, multilateral institutions, and geopolitical balance are visibly fraying. Rising protectionism, populist nationalism, climate disruption, and deepening inequality have shaken the rules that…
The III Pan-African Catholic Congress revealed five surprising gifts that show how Africa can help reinvent the Church’s mission and prophetic witness for the 21st century. ❝ “The footprints of God in Africa trace the path toward a flourishing future shaped by an African Church confident in her gifts. This is a Church that invests in her own assets, renews…
Stan Chu Ilo, Reporting from the Kigali Convention Centre, – August 1, 2025 Kigali — In a powerful address delivered at the opening of the 20th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in Kigali, Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, issued an urgent appeal for the…
Reporting from the Kigali Convention Center – July 31, 2025 Kigali — At the Regina Pacis Church in Kigali, under the gaze of Mary, Queen of Peace, the 20th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) opened with a solemn Mass presided over by Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of…
This week marks a historic gathering as African bishops convene in Kigali, Rwanda, for the 20th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). Over 250 participants including presidents of 54 national episcopal conferences, theologians, and global partners are taking part in this landmark assembly. The expectations from God’s people in Africa are high on…
This past week, at an Ecclesial Project gathering, someone asked me where Africans find hope amid all the troubles there. I reminded her: there is no such things as African hope or American hope. We all need hope today, just as our ancestors needed to live in hope amidst the challenges they faced in their own day. Each generation faces…