The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has called on African and global leaders to become architects of a renewed and just continent, underscoring urgent action toward reparations, justice, peace, and dignity for all Africans and people of African descent. In a statement issued on May 25, 2025, to mark Africa Day, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa and President of SECAM, urged immediate action to address pressing challenges facing the continent: Injustice, human rights violations, terrorism, conflict, poverty, economic inequality, inadequate access to education and healthcare, environmental degradation, human trafficking, and displacement.
Citing the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Cardinal Ambongo reminded that millions of Africans, especially women and children continue to endure armed conflict, starvation, and gross human rights abuses. Titled “Let Us Be the Architects of the Africa We Want,” the statement called on Africans and all stakeholders to work together towards building a just and equitable society. Addressing the continent on the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity—now the African Union—Cardinal Ambongo echoed the AU’s 2025 theme: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.” He lauded the African Union Commission for drawing global attention to the long-standing injustices and historical wounds that continue to afflict the continent and its diaspora.
As the Church in Africa, Cardinal Ambongo affirmed the Catholic Church’s solidarity with the marginalised and its deep commitment to justice and peace, inspired by the pastoral messages of Pope Francis and his predecessor Pope Leo XIV. Recalling Pope Francis’s 2023 apostolic visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, he reiterated the pontiff ’s impassioned plea: “Hands off Africa! Stop choking Africa: It is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered. May Africa be the protagonist of its own destiny!” The SECAM President stressed that this call is not merely symbolic but it reflects a broader ecclesial and civic mission.
The Cardinal urged African leaders and the international community to listen to such prophetic voices and respond with concrete action. He highlighted SECAM’s ongoing advocacy through its Justice, Peace and Development Commission (JPDC) and the SECAM Liaison Office in Addis Ababa. Referring to the February 2025 conference in Addis Ababa themed “The Role of Faith Communities and Ethical Organisations in Advancing Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations,” Cardinal Ambongo said the gathering underscored the moral and ethical responsibility of global institutions and communities to acknowledge and address the historical and ongoing injustices faced by Africans and people of African descent.
The SECAM President highlighted the need to confront the many forms of exploitation and suffering endured by Africans, including economic injustice, illegal extraction of natural and mineral resources, inhuman treatment, and emotional trauma. The African Bishops stated, “On this Africa Day, we urge African and world leaders, but also all individuals, to mobilise and work for justice and human rights, while combating all forms of discrimination, economic exploitation, illegal exploitation of natural and mineral resources, inhuman and degrading treatment, emotional trauma and all kinds of suffering endured by Africans.” Cardinal Ambongo concluded with a call for unity, justice, and hope, urging all Africans to become “Pilgrims of Hope,” dedicated to protecting life, reducing poverty, safeguarding the environment, and building bridges of peace across the continent.
“Let us all… promote and protect every single life, reduce poverty, take care of ‘Our Common Home’ – the Earth – building Bridges for Peace and Hope everywhere on the African continent and beyond,” Cardinal Ambongo said. Happy Africa Day, he wished, as he encouraged renewed dedication to building “the Africa we want.”
