Monday, July 10, 2006

Arinze praises beauty of African Liturgy

At a congress on the Promotion of the Liturgy in Africa and Madagascar that is being held in Kumasi, Ghana.
He praised their love of song and their desire to see acceptable elements of their culture incorporated into public worship of the church.

The Nigerian-born cardinal said this at the opening of a six-day congress for the Promotion of Liturgy in Africa and Madagascar that is currently going on in Kumasi, Ghana. The congress is organized by the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in collaboration with the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference.
The Pope sent a message to the congress as well:
In a goodwill message, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI called on the participants and the African Continent to ensure that the praise of God is proclaimed with an authentically African voice and that the faithful enter more deeply into the mysteries that they celebrate, proclaiming them with confidence and live them with joy.
Attendees were also feted by a King
The delegates participating in the Congress were hosted to a durbar and lunch by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, King of the Ashanti Kingdom at his Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
[Silly question. Why "Africa and Madagascar?" Is Madagascar not considered a part of the African continent?]

1 comment:

Baldman76 said...

In response to your silly question about madagascar and Africa, I thought the same thing. I think that is the only time I have ever seen the two separated like that. madagascar does have a lot of cultural differences though, having more in common with the Australasian (sp?) than with what is commonly considered "African."

Also, having just experienced two masses while in Tanzania and kenya, I can attest to how fun and authentic they can be. The first mass was surprisingly not really African at all, but the second was a blast. All the important elements were there, but there was so much dancing! A little troupe of dancers danced down the center isle as the priest entered, all the while a choir singing Swahili music was singing hymns. Then back to the back to dance in the liturgical book, then dancing again for the offereing, then dancing out, with music throughout the whole thing. It was obvious that these were traditional dancces that have been adapted and incorporated into the service.

We also visited a museum about Sukuma culture that was founded by Catholic priests wanting to preserve the Sukuma culture, and on the museum ground there was a still functioning church that was built to look like a huge hut in order to welcome the locals inside.