wfn.org | All Africa Conference of Churches Joins World Wide in

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Our Ref:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

All Africa Conference of Churches Joins with Christians World Wide in 
Mourning the Pope

On behalf of 163 Member Churches in 39 different African Countries, Rev. 
Dr. H. Mvume Dandala, General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of 
Churches, and Rev. Dr. Nyansako Ni-Nku, President of the All Africa 
Conference of Churches, have expressed condolences to the Catholic Church 
of Africa and world wide on the death of His Holiness Pope John Paul II.

According to Dandala and Ni-Niku, among Pope John Paul s most important 
contributions were efforts to initiate a new sense of ecumenical 
participation for the Catholic Church:

He reached out to Protestant and Orthodox leaders with a sense of openness, 
and for his willingness to meet with leaders of other faiths, particularly 
those from Jewish and Muslim communities.  His efforts to overcome the 
estrangement within the universal church and among the Abrahamic faiths is 
an important part of his legacy as a leader of the Catholic faith.

His commitments to social justice, giving voice to the marginalized, and 
his many visits to the African continent fostered the sense that he was a 
great friend to the African continent, noted Dandala and Ni-Niku.

Other contributions of John Paul II mentioned by the AACC leadership were 
his staunch condemnation of Apartheid and opposition to the imprisonment of 
Nelson Mandela by the South African government.

In their letter of condolence, Dandala and Ni-Niku also reminded Catholics 
around the world that their member churches would be keeping them in their 
prayers through their mourning and the transition that comes with the 
search for new papal leadership.

Above all, however, the AACC offered reassurance:

It is with the hope promised by the resurrection a hope he so powerfully 
communicated through all his work that we pray that his soul will rest in 
perfect peace and that light perpetual will shine upon His Holiness Pope 
John Paul II.