We are all finding life to be a little more difficult this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. You may find that your regular work schedule and your children’s school schedule have been significantly altered, your children’s sport activities and your social life have been seriously curtailed. You may even find yourself between jobs or you may have gotten ill from COVID-19 or even had a member of your family or one of your friends die from the virus. It has, indeed, been a difficult year for all of us.
The challenges we face are multiplied many times over in other parts of the world where resources are much more limited and people struggle to survive even in normal times. Add a deadly pandemic to the mix and their struggles increase exponentially. For example, many of us are frustrated and disappointed that the vaccine has taken so long to be widely distributed here in our country. In the face of this frustration, I invite you to consider the 54 nation continent of Africa with a population of 1.4 billion; 41% live in poverty. After several months of apparently avoiding widespread infection, a number of countries are now coming to grips with surges in new cases as well as variants of the virus that are a cause for even greater concern. It is easy to see that the poverty that affects so many people throughout Africa is exacerbated by the current pandemic. A recent UNESCO study found that 81% of the population in Africa has been negatively impacted financially this past year by the virus. More important, however, expansive areas throughout Africa have little or no health care services so those who are afflicted with the virus are forced to go to cities for treatment. Unfortunately, the virus spreads even more quickly through the large urban areas, overwhelming the medical facilities as well as the social service agencies. As Africa reaches a sad record of 100,000 deaths, it is estimated that widespread vaccination won’t be accomplished throughout Africa until the end of 2022.
Meanwhile Church in Africa continues to grow; it has almost tripled in size in the past 30 years. However, it is difficult for the church to sustain its growth and maintain essential pastoral outreach, especially now during this pandemic. The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa provides grants to finance pastoral projects including outreach programs, schools, evangelization, and education of clergy and lay ministers. Our solidarity is necessary to help the “salt of the Earth” Church in Africa realize its potential as a “light of the world.” I encourage you to be especially generous next week as we take up this collection for our fellow Catholics in Africa.
At the same time, many of the 34 countries and 14 dependent territories in Latin America are experiencing similar problems. As is the case in Africa, a high percentage – 31% – of the people in Latin America live in poverty. The coronavirus has already claimed 600,000 lives. In the face of this, the mission of the Catholic Church – spreading the Good News of our salvation – continues to be vital and a large percentage of the funding provided by the Collection for the Church in Latin America goes toward the formation and education of clergy, religious and laity so they can share the gospel message throughout this vast area.
We will take up a second collection to support the Church in Latin America in two weeks and, again, I encourage you to be particularly generous so that the message of our salvation in Jesus Christ will be proclaimed untiringly throughout these countries where good news is so desperately needed!