Goal

Given the profundity of the theological edifice of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI on the many areas that concern Church life, from the Liturgy to Christology; from Ecclesiology to Mariology; from Ecumenism to Inter-religious dialogue; from Law and Public Life rooted in Catholic Social Teaching to the Primacy of God in private and public life; et cetera; all these fronts on which Joseph Ratzinger gave of himself in service to the Church are truly timely for the African Church, as she goes forward in the twenty-first century.

The goal of the Benedict XVI Institute for Africa is to make readily available to the Church in Africa, the rich theological heritage of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. This task is crucial, especially given the strategic role that Africa is called upon to play today in global Catholicism, granted the astronomical growth of Catholicism in Africa.

Catholicism in Africa needs urgent investment in human formation, in order to get Catholics, laity and the ordained, that are capable of giving an account of their faith (1 Pet. 3:15), living out their faith joyfully in private and in public, for the good of all.

Structurally, this initiative seeks to do the following things:

1. To set up a Curriculum on the various aspects of Benedict’s Theology for Seminaries and Theological Faculties in Africa: God, Church, Economy, Law, Politics, Caritas, et cetera
2. To set up a Ratzinger Journal of Spirituality and Culture for Africa (Online and Print)
3. To set up a Benedict XVI Institute for Africa that will foster studies on the theology of Benedict XVI in the African Church. This Institute will be related to the Benedict XVI Institute in Regensburg, Germany, the mother institute, and to the Augustinian University in Rome, currently offering a Masters Program on Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI
4. To set up the Benedict XVI Academy (High School) to train young minds to be saints and scholars, capable of synthesizing faith and reason, after the educational pedagogy inspired by the theology of Benedict XVI
5. To set up a Benedict XVI Caritas in Veritate social outreach program for the poor, after the pattern enunciated by Benedict XVI in his social encyclical
6. To provide a forum of promotion, collaboration and cooperation for African Ratzingerians

Location

The Benedict XVI Institute for Africa shall be located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, which on many counts is considered Africa in Miniature, because of its geo-political location that makes Cameroon a melting pot for Africa. Cameroon is also the only bilingual country in Africa, in terms of French and English being the two main official languages, which are also of a global character. It is likewise significant and highly symbolic that in March 2009, Benedict XVI chose Yaoundé, Cameroon, to promulgate the Instrumentum Laboris of the Second African Synod dedicated to Justice, Peace and Reconciliation.