Finally... Francophone Network resolutions in English.

The Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion

Seventh Triennial Meeting

Douala, Cameroon

September 11, 2012,

Resolution Number 1

(NB: the text itself was unanimously approved; 12 approved the resolution itself; the 7 members abstaining did so because they needed to confirm the text with their respective primates. This resolution is embargoed pending those approvals.)

Resolution Number 2

The Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion recommends to all institutions of the Anglican Communion that they support the Anglican Women’s Network, “Mary Summer House”, and other partner organizations of that Network, in their intensive efforts to struggle against sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a struggle led by the Anglican Province of Congo (PEAC) through its ministries directed at women; that is, the Mothers Union, and the Union of Women for Peace and Social Progress.

Such support could extend to the following areas:

1. Spiritual support and commitment to prayer: daily prayer as well as commitment to organizing offices or days of prayer.

2. Activism at the international level for protection of women’s rights, so that justice may be done and punishment meted out to the perpetrators of violence, especially rape.

3. Material and financial support for efficient treatment of victims and for their reintegration in their respective families.

Resolution Number 3

The Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion, meeting from 6 to 11 September in Douala, Cameroon, states that we have finally held a meeting where the great majority of francophone Anglicans live, in the French-speaking nations of Africa.

We wish to express our thanks to Bishop Dibo Thomas Babyington Elango and his team for the organization and warm welcome that we have received from the Diocese, as well as from the parishes that we visited at their Sunday services.

We express our joy to see this flourishing Church and we commit to helping with the mission of evangelisation throughout the country, under the leadership of Bishop Dibo Elango. We give thanks to God for his blessing and protection during our meetings and deliberations.

Resolution Number 4

The Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion chooses the text of La Bible en français courant for a project of the Network for the francophone provinces of the Anglican Communion.

Resolution Number 5

The Executive Committee of the Network is encouraged to develop an editorial format and to raise funds for the publication and distribution of an Anglican Bible edition based on La Bible Expliquée.

Resolution Number 6

The Network commends the appended text (adapted) by the Reverend Canon Gregory Howe as a guide for translators of liturgies to take into serious consideration for their work of development and approval of liturgies and prayer books. (See Appendix 1)

Resolution Number 7

The Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion applauds the decision of The Episcopal Church (based in the United States) to make a fresh translation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer as soon as possible, and to include in it a lectionary.

Resolution Number 8

An liturgical team of the Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion shall be named and set to work within one year’s time, and thereafter shall share the fruits of their labours with the provincial and diocesan liturgical committees which might help them in editing their own Books of Common Prayer.

Resolution Number 9

Bishop James Wong, the Venerable Pierre Voyer and Bishop Dibo Elango are named to the Theological Formation Committee (as established by resolution of the Network at its 2008 Aylesford meeting). This committee shall gather and share with the Network the best formal and ad hoc approaches for the formation of priests and laity existent throughout the member provinces of the Network. The committee shall moreover put into action the directives of the Aylesford resolution.

Resolution Number 10

The Network encourages its three seminaries (Université Anglicane du Congo, Bunia; Séminaire de l'Église Épiscopale d'Haïti; Diocesan seminary at McGill University) to form together a network over the Internet, so as to share information on their programs of formation.

Resolution Number 11

That the Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion, adopt this report by His Grace Archbishop Henri Isingoma on prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo, and commits its members to daily prayer for our sisters and brothers of the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Complete text in Appendix 2)

Resolution Number 12

The Anglican Province of Congo (PEAC) expresses to the members of the Network its desire to be accompanied by the Anglican Communion and especially the Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion, in the implantation of the Anglican Church in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), so that it would not be solely the work of the PEAC, but a matter for the whole together, as this is a challenge that requires evangelizing an entire new country.

Appendix 1

Principles for Evaluating New Liturgical Materials (adapted)

Materials proposed for new Books of Common Prayer must above all be consistent with the Anglican theology and ecclesiology of the great tradition of Books of Common Prayer across the Anglican Communion.

Nearly as important is that the proposed liturgical materials embody a classical Anglican liturgical ethos and style. Recognizing the varying notions of what makes public prayer recognizably Anglican, we note these qualities:

*It resonates with Scripture and proclaims the Gospel.

*It is rooted in Anglican theological tradition.

*It has high literary value; it is beautiful according to accepted and respected standards of the translated language.

*It is formal, not casual, conversational, or colloquial.

*It is dense enough to “carry the freight” of the sacred purpose for which it is intended.

*It is metaphoric without being obtuse.

*It is performative, that is, it effects what it says.

These rites also must resonate as natural speech in contemporary ears in the translated language. A religious or sacred tone must be achieved without the use of arcane or antiquated words or patterns of speech.

The Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion commends the following principles adopted by the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (Episcopal Church USA) for translating liturgical texts:

1. The translator does not translate literally, but translates ideas and concepts idiomatically.

2. It is imperative that the translator be familiar with idioms and their meanings in source and translated languages.

3. The translator needs to be familiar with nuances of the source and translated languages and cultures.

4. The translator must take into account multi-ethnic distinctions that influence dialects and idioms, and utilize language that has the widest currency.

5. The translator must take into account style & affect as well as cadence, rhythm and meter.

6. The translator needs to be fluent in the poetics of both languages.

The commission recommends the following process, which it is using for newly developed liturgical texts:

1. A single translator prepares a first draft of the translation.

2. The translation is sent to members of a review committee fluent in both languages and representing different cultural groups and countries that use the language.

3. The principal translator hosts web/teleconferences with the review committee to finalize the translation.

Culturally appropriate rites can be added to the classic Prayer Book texts. For example, in a hispanophone Book of Common Prayer, a Quinceañera liturgy or propers for Our Lady of Guadalupe could be appended.

The Francophone Network wishes to thank the Reverend Canon Gregory M. Howe, Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer (Episcopal Church), for bringing this text to our attention.

Appendix 2

Prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo

A report for the Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion

Preamble:

The present situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is very complex, giving rise to much confusion, and evoking not only great sadness but also showing the tremendous humiliation of the Congolese people, as if they were still living in another century. Repeated internal wars and the permanent presence of armed groups and foreign rebellions in Congolese territory are witness to the fact that the country is not organized militarily, and as a consequence, it is the most vulnerable nation in the region, incapable of protecting its natural wealth, imposing the authority of the State, or bringing social justice to the whole of the land. Some political analysts see it as a vast insecure region with many internal organizational problems that in turn cause security issues for its neighbours. The immoral exploitation of its abundant natural resources attracts the world’s covetousness, which it is incapable of repelling. Some trustworthy reports show that the number of organized-crime networks is presently very high in the DRC, profiting from the country’s disorganization to obtain natural resources at artificially low prices, with the complicity of certain political leaders. Corruption and the absence of the law and of a collective identity are the result of the weakness of governance and the incapacity of the government to apply democratic laws that guarantee the security of the majority of the people, who not only live in squalor but also are hard hit by the deadly consequences of this political and social instability. Ceaseless wars have made atrocity a part of daily life for the Congolese population, especially women and children.

Getting weapons is presently a way to get both political and economic power. Old and new warlords fight over who has power. Power calls forth money and money buys status. The minority in power is extremely rich while the vast majority of the people are extremely poor. There is no longer a middle class, as government officials and the military are poorly paid and unemployment is very high.

What is surprising is that this situation repeats itself over and over in the sight of the international community, which is the guarantor of the world economic order and is well-represented by the diplomatic corps, international NGOs, and the largest and most expensive United Nations force ever, present in the country for over ten years, and possessing firepower far superior to that of the so-called National Army.

For some, the DRC is the victim of its own history, as its people has never enjoyed the freedom to plan politically for the nation, and consequently has never taken in hand its own development. Since independence, the DRC has in effect never organized itself as a democratic state. Outside of occasional diktats from outside, the country has always suffered from a lack of the national collective identity foreseen in the vision of Patrice Lumumba, which the great powers quickly snuffed out six months after independence with his assassination. After the colonial dictatorship of Leopold II followed that of Marshal Mobutu, which lasted thirty-two years before giving way, since May 17, 1997, to the current wars characterized by strong interference from other countries of East Africa.

It is generally admitted that, more than fifty years after independence, the DRC is difficult to administer by a centrally-organized lawful state, and incapable of ensuring a prosperous life to the vast majority of its inhabitants. As a result, the intended partitions of the country that so divided the pioneers of independence in 1960 (Patrice Lumulba, Joseph Kasavubu, Kalondji, Moïse Tshombe, Mulele, Antoine Gizenga...) have taken on new life, such that they tend to be endorsed by those who are victims of the humiliating consequences of the wars and the bad governance of the nation. Discouraged by the indifference of their compatriots in the western part of the country, the people of the east of the DRC, who have been continuously pounded by wars, seem to be placing their hopes more and more in the political partition of the nation. This is an expression of their disgust at being ruled by faraway political and administrative institutions in Kinshasa. For a long time, they have felt themselves badly exploited financially, abandoned to their fate, and relying on the economies and transport and social infrastructures of neighbouring countries.

What we have described above gives a certain satisfaction to the rebel groups, to neighbouring countries, and those in the world who see no profit in a united Congo. Rwanda, for instance, has put in place military support for the partisans of splitting up the second-largest country in Africa. The whole world knows that Rwanda is not the only one who wants to see the dismemberment of the DRC become reality; behind her are certain great powers. Rumours are growing little by little; many Congolese believe them. The Roman Catholic Church has shown this by organizing marches of its faithful with signs denouncing the “balkanisation” of the DR Congo. Others do not believe it, without tangible proof. However, the ways in which the new wars have unfolded give rise to the suspicion that the antagonists have some sort of secret arrangement. God only knows! Civilians have not only the barrels of cannons aimed at them but also gang rape, pillage and forced exile!

For without applying the partition hypothesis, the pretence of having ended Mobutu’s regime does not hold up. In fact, up to now, he is the only Congolese politician who succeeded in blending together the Congolese peoples despite tribal, ethnic, and regional divisions to make up on purpose one Zairian nation. As long as the DRC is unable to apply federalism within its present borders, the ghost of Mobutu will continue to haunt it, with all his dictatorial and political methods to maintain national unity.

As an introduction to prayer, it is good to consider questions such as these:

- A united Congo, with borders traced by the 1885 Berlin Conference in answer to the wishes of the Belgian king Leopold II, is this really the will of God?

- Why has this united Congo always seemed to be favourable terrain for the power of evil to manifest itself?

- Is a dismembered Congo the best way to develop the peoples who live in the present confines of the DRC? How much time might that take? Will this process not lengthen their suffering?

- How can the Congolese people be brought to recognize God’s blessings on the land, and for all to benefit from these, without succumbing to ultra-capitalist egotism?

- Why is the international community so impotent or so indifferent to the dangers that beset human beings in the DRC?

Subjects for prayer:

Let us pray: for the purification of the land of Congo and the conversion of the Congolese people, that they may commit to walk in the way of holiness and free themselves from the cult of personality inherited from traditional religions, from the spirit of dependence derived from colonialism, and the spirit of powerlessness to determine their lives for themselves;

Let us pray: for all victims of the terrorism of the war in the eastern part of the country, and especially for those who have died, who have been forcibly displaced, and for refugees, for orphaned and abandoned children, for women who have been raped, for the victims of contagious epidemic illnesses, for the unemployed, and those robbed of their goods;

Let us pray: for those who govern, that they become conscious of their responsibilities toward those they govern; for the capacity and the application of democratic laws that can bring security; for the right exploitation of natural resources and for justice in the land;

Let us pray: for the churches and their leaders to work together in Christian unity, so as to call out courageously with a prophetic word from God, common and constructive, and to avoid taking part in the policy of humiliation; for right discernment of the political situation of the country; and that the churches avoid the confusion that divides them between outraged fanaticism and excessive opposition to the different sides of political parties. Let us pray that the churches with their Christian partners around the world may ask God for a divine vocation for good governance, for peace and justice in the land, and for social development.

Let us pray: for divine protection for human-rights activists and the establishment of a lasting peace as the starting-point of social development; for the awakening of an awareness of a national identity and the love of country by its people and leaders.

Let us pray: that the international community will work for real and complete independence of the DRC, establishing constructive bilateral cooperative agreements with the country that have the dignity of an equal with the rest of the nations of the world.

Let us pray that the Lord will shorten the sufferings of his people and his creation, in answer to our daily lamentations! (Habakkuk 1)

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The Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion, meeting in Douala, Cameroon, on September 11, 2012, adopted this report by His Grace Archbishop Henri Isingoma on prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo, and commits its members to daily prayer for our sisters and brothers of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

(trans. +PWW)