Encounter and dialogue with Oriental Christians
The contacts and experiences that Lavigerie had with Oriental Christians
in Lebanon and Syria developed in him a great love and respect
for these people and their 'Christian religious traditions'. These
traditions, according to him, had to be preserved and protected from
the policy of Latinisation, a policy that was current at that
time.
So,
when the occasion presented itself to take charge of the Church
at St. Anne's in Jerusalem, Lavigerie saw it as providential for
him to realise his wish and desire to fight against the Latinisation
of the Eastern Churches. To the missionaries he sent there (first
group in 1878), he instructed them in these words: "Your objective
must be, not to make Latins of the Orientals, but rather to become
Orientals yourselves, in the spirit of St. Paul who became all things
to all men in order to save all (1 Cor 9: 22)."
Our presence in Ethiopia, since 1967,
follows the same above principle and spirit vis-à-vis the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church.
Ecumenical Encounter and Dialogue in Sub-Saharan Africa
Unlike in Jerusalem, the encounters between the pioneer Missionaries
of Africa and their Protestant counterpart in Sub-Saharan 
Africa
were more than often marked with a spirit of suspicion and competition.
Yet, in the midst of all that, there were magnificent and inspiring
ecumenical experiences of encounter and dialogue between the two missionary
groups and their followers.
One of the most beautiful and challenging ecumenical testimonies
that ever occurred in Africa is that of the Uganda Martyrs. Both
Catholics and Protestants were condemned together and 26 of them,
thirteen of each group, were burnt on the same pyre at Namugongo
(Nakiyanja) on the 3rd June 1886.
Our response to the call of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council
The Missionaries of Africa responded positively to the Spirit of this
Council, considering it to be a duty for each and everyone to work
for the ecumenical encounter and dialogue. The General Chapter of
1967, a Chapter of 
renewal
(aggiornamento) in line with the Council's teachings, addressed the
topic in these words:
"For a missionary, ecumenical activity will mean first of
all achieving coordination and fraternal understanding with those
other members of the Christian family, who, like him, are intent
on announcing Christ and his Gospel. We should endeavour to promote
in common with (them) joint witness to the Christian faith as well
as cooperation is such areas as: education, morality, social and
cultural matters, learning and the arts." (# 322)
Since then, a number of our confreres have been at the forefront
in the formation and animation of Catholic Christian communities at
different levels to enable them to get involved in ecumenical encounters
and dialogue. Some have been close collaborators with the World
Council of Churches (WCC) while others have been members in
national and regional Ecumenical Bible Societies given to the
work of translating the Bible into local languages.
For more explanations
about this subjet
Fr. Richard Nnyombi Coordinator for JPIC and Encounter and
Dialogue
Contact : Email
