“Joel’s prophecy corresponds in some ways to the synodal experience we are living here in Rome these days,” he said. “Coming together as one family from every continent, in the beauty of unity in cultural diversity, we are also invited to weep and mourn before this altar, at the tomb of St. Peter, for our weaknesses as Church.”
“Yes, brothers and sisters,” the cardinal emphasized, “we are here to weep and ask God’s forgiveness for our faults. But the best way to weep is with the courage to embark on the path of repentance and conversion, which opens the way to reconciliation, healing, and justice.”
Ambongo is participating in the Synod on Synodality assembly at the Vatican Oct. 4-29 in his capacity as president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa And Madagascar (SECAM).
In February, Pope Francis visited Ambongo’s country, where the predominantly Christian population is more than 40% Catholic.
Two other bishops from DRC, Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa of Kisangani and Bishop Pierre-Célestin Tshitoko Mamba of Luebo, are also attending the synod gathering in Rome.
Friday’s Mass, which marked the beginning of a new discussion topic for the synod, was concelebrated by Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, the archbishop of Rabat, Morocco, and by Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga of Bangui, Central African Republic.
Students from the Pontifical Urban University, which educates priests, religious, and laypeople mainly from mission countries, provided the choir and helped during the liturgy.
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