WOF 459: Five Lessons to Learn from the African Church

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

Parts of the global Church have a very different kind of challenge on their hands than we do in the West: how to handle explosive growth. In many parts of Africa, the Church is running out of room in their seminaries, convents, and monasteries because of rising vocations, and the laity are collectively practicing their faith in ways that put the Church in the West to shame. In Nigeria, upwards of 94 percent of Catholics go to Mass every week, while the U.S. can’t even reach 30 percent in weekly Mass attendance among Catholics.

What explains this wide discrepancy? What are we in the West getting so wrong about evangelization, and what is the Church in Africa getting so right?

A listener asks how she and her family can practice Sabbath rest.

00:00 | Intro 01:50 | DOWR Chancery dedication 03:00 | The African church as a robust exemplar 05:35 | Does Africa’s numerical strength translate to ecclesial strength? 07:12 | Lesson 1: Primacy of the supernatural 10:56 | Lesson 2: Hold fast to theological orthodoxy 12:08 | How the Church engages cultures 16:13 | Lesson 3: Commitment to evangelize the culture 17:49 | The rhythm between “hunkering down” and “diving in” 19:50 | Lesson 4: Praise in public, criticize in private 23:13 | Lesson 5: Courage in the face of opposition 25:19 | Counter-claims for Africa’s religious success 28:49 | Listener question 31:28 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

Show Notes:

• Stats for Nigerian Church attendance: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253488/where-is-mass-attendance-highest-one-country-is-the-clear-leader
• Stats for American Mass attendance: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/12/9-facts-about-us-catholics/
• National Catholic Register article: https://www.ncregister.com/news/same-sex-blessings-and-the-catholic-church-in-africa
• E&C Online article: https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/pope-francis-isnt-actually-visiting-peripheries-hes-leaving-them-behind/
• Crux article: https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2023/01/running-the-numbers-africa-isnt-the-catholic-future-its-the-present
• Vatican News article: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2023-04/over-50000-christians-killed-in-nigeria-by-islamist-extremists.html
• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

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