With the announcement of the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Phillip Cardinal Ouédraogo, to have tested positive for COVID-19 on March 31, the Treasurer of the African Body, Ghanaian Archbishop John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp, has expressed his solidarity by assuring the Cardinal that “we (Bishops) join you in the fight against Coronavirus that you insisted must be a pastoral priority.”
Burkinabe Cardinal Ouedraogo is the first African Cardinal and the second Prelate after Archbishop Seraphin Rouamba, Archbishop Emeritus of Koupela in Burkina Faso to have suffered the scourge of COVID-19.
Very Rev. Henry Akaabiam, the Secretary-General of SECAM, headquartered in Ghana, confirmed that the Cardinal Archbishop of Ouagadougou and President of SECAM, has tested positive to Coronavirus.
In a telephone conversation with the Archbishop of Accra and Treasurer of SECAM, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, Msgr. Leopold Ouedraogo, has also assured that the Cardinal is responding to treatment and is in a stable condition. We continue to support His Eminence and all who have fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic with our prayers.
In a solidarity message to the Church in Africa on March 31, 2020, the Ghanaian Archbishop of Accra, Ghana, who doubles as Treasurer of SECAM said “As different countries in Africa with the rest of the world live these challenging times of COVID-19, we unite with you in living this difficult time and assure you and the entire Church in Burkina Faso of our solidarity and the support of our prayers for you and all.,
“His Eminence Philippe Cardinal Ouedraogo loves the continent of Africa,” stated the SECAM Treasurer, recalling that “At the meeting of the Standing Committee of SECAM in early March in Nairobi, he was deeply worried about this scourge, adding that “he demonstrated leadership when he said, “our people must stay alive and healthy to serve God”, and so he led us to compose a prayer to be said against the spread of COVID-19.”
Advising Catholics on the African Continent, Archbishop Kwofie who is the Prelate of Accra Archdiocese, said “We are living in difficult and scary times especially when we cannot easily identify who is infected with COVID-19, caution that “It is important that each person lives responsibly.”
Living responsibly means respecting the basic restrictions the authorities of our countries are requesting from us, he added, saying that “We are not to take anything for granted. “In Ghana and many other countries, we are required to observe social distancing in relating with one another and follow the prescriptions on personal hygiene such as washing our hands regularly with soap and using hand sanitizers. We do that not only for our own sake but for the sake of others, he stated.
According to him, recently, some countries have adopted stricter measures and using Ghana as an example, he said ”the President has come out with stricter measures by calling for a partial lockdown of our two big cities, Accra and Kumasi, and has asked us to stay at home.”
“When a President of the country requests these measures, he is asking us to be responsible not only for our own sake but for the sake of others. This is another way of being your brother’s or sister’s keeper,” he stressed, pointing out that “Various Episcopal Conferences have also added their voices to call their people to observe the directives of governments and have also added some guidelines to help the fight against COVID-19.”
“I exhort all Catholics to be meticulous in observing these measures. The temptation of putting God to the test by some of our Christians is also real. Let us not succumb to the type of religious fundamentalism that seeks to throw away reason in matters of faith, the SECAM Treasurer cautioned, adding that “Reason is a faculty the creator God granted us to be used in our lives and in serving Him.”
Adding he said “Let us not throw away reason by believing that our faith will save us from the Coronavirus even when we act irresponsibly. God wants us to remain healthy and alive in our service of Him by obeying the directives that our government and Church leaders place before us to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.”
According to the Archbishop of Accra, “This is really the time people need the Church most but it also the time circumstances do not permit us to come together for worship. COVID-19 has made these times strange and abnormal…yet the Church accompanies you in this difficult situation.”
He assured Christ’s faithful that “The Church cannot and will not abandon you. We hear the voice of the Lord in all these, “I am with you until the end of time”. The Lord calls us in these difficult times to strengthen the domestic church and family life. We shall not forget to lift our eyes to heaven to implore God to heal our land.”
“We shall remember that as Church, we shall support our government and health workers with our prayers so that our government would make the right decisions to protect the citizens and also medical workers and researchers to find a vaccine to cure the sick,” he concluded.
Source: newswatchgh.com // Editorial Team
