Theologians from six episcopal conferences of the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) concluded a workshop on 6 November at the Padre Pio Retreat Centre in Pretoria, examining how the Catholic Church should respond pastorally to polygamous unions and other cultural realities across the region.
The gathering brought together representatives from Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, which includes Eswatini alongside South Africa and Botswana. According to vaticannews.va, the workshop addressed questions of marriage, baptism, and access to the Sacraments, together with the wider matter of inculturation in the African Church.
Why the workshop was convened
The immediate occasion was the final report of Study Group 10 of the Synod on Synodality, which examined the pastoral challenges surrounding polygamy in Africa. The study was entrusted to the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) after African participants in the Synod raised the continuing reality of polygamous marriages and the questions these raise for the Church's sacramental life.
The document was submitted to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, returned to SECAM for further work, and then presented as the final report of Study Group 10. Speaking to the SACBC Communications Office, the IMBISA Director, Fr Enrico Parry, said some bishops and Church representatives felt they had not been sufficiently consulted during the process.
IMBISA therefore invited Sister Ester Lucas, who helped prepare the document, to explain its origins, development, and conclusions to the participants.
“We thought, what better can we do than get one of those who were involved in authoring this document, Sister Ester Lucas, and interrogate the document together?”
For Fr Parry, the discussion goes beyond understanding the text. It asks the African Church to take responsibility for the pastoral circumstances of people living in polygamous unions, particularly regarding marriage and the reception of the Sacraments.
“We have to deal with it personally. We are the only people who will deal with it,” the IMBISA Secretary General stressed.
Inculturation and the questions facing local communities
The workshop also examined other cultural practices that present pastoral and theological questions for the Church in Africa. Fr Parry cited the SACBC's ongoing reflection on Ubungoma and the question of respect for ancestors, noting that pastoral ministers frequently face questions from communities seeking guidance on these matters.
He observed that while bishops study such questions at length, priests and pastoral workers on the ground are often expected to provide immediate answers. Participants therefore sought to consider the broader meaning of inculturation, the questions it encompasses, and the responsibility for developing appropriate pastoral responses.
The SACBC reported that the November 2 to 6 gathering combined theological presentations with group discussions using the Conversation in the Spirit methodology, which encouraged participants to listen to one another, share experiences, and discern possible ways forward.
Contributions included Sister Ester Lucas's presentation on the SECAM document on polygamy and its pastoral implications, and Fr Ian Chitambo OMI's presentation on inculturation, its challenges in Africa, and the future of African Christianity.
What this means for the Church in Eswatini
For the Catholic community in Eswatini, represented within IMBISA through the SACBC, the workshop carries direct significance. The questions raised in Pretoria are the same questions posed in parishes across the Kingdom, where families shaped by custom approach the Church on marriage, baptism, and the Sacraments.
The Church's willingness to engage these matters with seriousness, rather than deferring them to distant committees, reflects a principle long familiar in our national life: that communities are best served when those closest to them take responsibility for their own affairs. Fr Parry's insistence that the African Church must deal with these pastoral realities itself speaks to that same order of things.
ACI Africa reported that the gathering gave the Church in Southern Africa an opportunity to engage seriously with the realities of its people and to take responsibility for addressing the cultural and pastoral questions arising within its own communities.
Frequently asked questions
What is IMBISA?
The Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) brings together six episcopal conferences: Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST), Lesotho (LCBC), Mozambique (CEM), Namibia (NCBC), South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini (SACBC), and Zimbabwe (ZCBC).
Why did IMBISA study polygamy?
The workshop was prompted in part by the final report of Study Group 10 of the Synod on Synodality, which examined the pastoral challenges surrounding polygamy in Africa after African Synod participants highlighted the continuing reality of polygamous marriages.
Where and when did the workshop take place?
The workshop was held at the Padre Pio Retreat Centre in Pretoria, South Africa, and concluded on 6 November.