|
Help Expand a Seminary in Guinea ACN has committed to contributing towards the construction of an additional dormitory wing for the theology students and for the training of 69 seminarians. Can you help? Guinea is an overwhelmingly Islamic country in which roughly 85% of the population of 11.6 million people are Muslims. Christians make up only some 8%, while the remainder of the population are adherents of traditional African religions. For decades this
country of West Africa was dominated by the regime of dictator Ahmed Sékou Touré, who ruled from 1958 until his death in
1984. After his death, the Senegalese newspaper Le Soleil spoke of the end of what it called the hitherto “longest
and most murderous dictatorship on the continent.” Torture and executions were
an everyday occurrence, and thousands of people disappeared without trace. The Catholic Church, which opposed the regime, had been forced into silence, and Archbishop Raymond-Maria Tchidimbo of Conakry spent almost 9 years in prison, where he suffered torture. His successor, the present Cardinal Robert Sarah, was on the dictator‘s death list, though Sékou Touré died before he was able to carry out his plans. During the years of the dictatorship, the Catholic Church was barely able to develop. Even today it only has three dioceses. For many years the seminarians training for the priesthood had to study in neighboring Senegal and Mali. But now the Catholic Church has built its own seminary in Kendoumaya in the Archdiocese of Conakry; it opened its doors in the academic year 2012/2013. The seminary is named after Pope Benedict XVI and serves the seminarians from all three dioceses of the country. However, there was a serious setback as a result of the Ebola epidemic in 2014, with the result that the academic year was not able to begin until a few months later than normal. But the seminary, although still in its infancy, has managed to cope even with this challenge. ACN has provided substantial support for the new seminary, but seminarians still cannot complete their education there. While seminarians are able to study philosophy, for their theology studies they still have to travel to Bamako in Mali. But this is now about to change, and so ACN is once again helping the seminary. ACN has committed to contributing $42,500 for the construction of an additional dormitory wing for the theology students. At the same time, we will give $31,900 for the training of the 69 seminarians. Will you join us in helping to expand this seminary for future priests in Guinea?
Aid to the Church in Need commits to invest your funds where they will have the greatest impact for the Church that we serve. Funds donated to Aid to the Church in Need’s projects will be used towards the greatest need in our programs to help keep the Faith alive. |
|
Keeping the Faith Alive
