Cardinal Ambongo welcomes the appointment of African prelates to the Roman Curia

Kinshasa, July 8^th, 2025 (CPA). – The appointment of African prelates to the Roman Curia has been welcomed by Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa and President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), according to a document from the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) consulted by CPA on Tuesday.  « Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SCEAM), expressed his deep gratitude following the appointment of several African prelates to strategic positions within two major dicasteries of the Roman Curia: the disaster for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and the dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, » said Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, quoted by the source. ‘In an official statement, Cardinal Ambongo hailed a far-reaching gesture by Pope Leo XIV, emphasizing how these appointments reinforce Africa’s increasingly assertive place in the governance of the universal Church,’ the document stressed.   The African voices appointed to the Roman Curia are: for the Dicastery for Consecrated Life, Cardinal Cristobal Lopez Romero, Bishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwaichi (Tanzania); Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa (South Africa); Bishop Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie (Ethiopia); Reverend Father Stanley Lubungo, Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa; and in the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue: Bishop Sithembele Sipuka (South Africa); Bishop Ollo Modeste Kambou (Burkina Faso); Bishop Wilybard Lagho (Kenya). The President of SECAM wishes them to bring an African voice rooted in the pastoral experience of the continent to the service of the people of God and of all humanity. ‘Your appointments are a source of pride and hope for Africa. In a world facing multiple challenges, but also immense opportunities, your perspectives and commitments will profoundly enrich the Church’s mission,’ he added.‘Consecrated life is in decline in several regions of the North, but is undergoing a revival in Africa, where interreligious dialogue is essential on a continent marked by spiritual plurality and community tensions towards a universal and synodal Curia,’ said Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo. These appointments are part of the reformist dynamic initiated by Pope Leo XIV, in line with his predecessors, for a Curia that is more open to the diversity of particular churches.