A Synod of Bishops has just opened in Rome. Its official subject is the role of the bishop in the Church. But the real issue is the governance of the Church – the balance between the primacy of the Pope as it is these days exercised also through the Roman Curia, and "collegiality," the participation by all the bishops in the Church's governance. Or, to use other terminology, the problem is the relationship between the Universal Church and the Local Church.

Heated debates in recent months have warmed the atmosphere. It will be almost impossible for the Synod fathers to avoid expressing themselves on this issue.

The different positions are represented by two documents coming out of Rome. In 1998, the "motu proprio" Apostolos Suos gave a number of clear-cut descriptions on the nature and limits of the national episcopal conferences. In the years after the Vatican council, these local conferences have played a very important role in the practice of collegiality. Yet the "motu proprio" empties them of every concrete power. And the local episcopal conferences are these days under pressure from the Vatican to change their statutes to fit into the framework indicated by the "motu proprio."

A very different perspective is found in the document Considerations on the Primacy of Peter, also published in 1998 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Considerations insists that the Church is a community of communities, and opens the door for a revision of the internal life of the church. A consequence of great importance could be a drastic reduction of the administrative and doctrinal centralization that has increased the power of the Roman Curia in recent years.

As an indication of how fluid the positions are, it is interesting to note that, paradoxically, the head of the body that issued the Considerations, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is one of the strongest theological supporters of the "motu proprio." For us African Catholics, the debate will be extremely important. A different internal life of the Church could empower local bishops to promote the diverse expressions of the faith springing from the creativity of the various local churches.

This issue of African Scribe opens with a piece from Fr. Francesco Pierli, who reflects on the basic document used these days in Rome by the Synod of Bishops. He argues that ministries have been "clericalised" to the extent that the laity and other religious have been relegated to the role of "priests' helpers." He recommends that ministries be de-clericalised, the roles and ministries of all members of the people of God be re-defined, and that the Church hierarchy be more receptive and adaptable to the changing realities of the world. Fr. Pierli also looks back at history to show that the offices of "bishops" and "priest" have been very different that those of today, and that it is possible to have another vision of Church structures.

Fr. Laurenti Magesa picks up with this exact point in his examination of how the African priesthood of the future can and must change. He argues that the Catholic priesthood of today is often viewed as an unchangeable institution that has endured for more than a thousand years. But the priesthood took on radically different forms in the far past, and was not the rigid and unchangeable entity that it is today. If the African priesthood is to flourish, current beliefs – such as the "apartness" of the priest from society – need to be reformed to honour African realities.

Should the Catholic Church compensate Africans for the evils of colonialism that she knowingly or unknowingly has participated in or perpetuated? That is a question Cathy Majtenyi asks in her coverage of the World Conference Against Racism, held recently in South Africa. One of the main agenda items at that meeting was the issue of reparations to Africans and their descendents for colonialism and the slave trade. Vatican representatives and Church officials attending the conference fully backed that call, and even admitted racism in the Church, yet stopped short of considering compensation by their own institution.

There are other challenges to the Church that our writers explore in this issue of African Scribe. Fr. Oskar looks at how seminarians in particular struggle to live lives of complete sexual continence in a world that glorifies promiscuity. Kyalo Japheth describes the condom campaigns of many African countries and the reactions of the Church to these campaigns. And Frs. Renato Kizito Sesana and Magesa warn that warm hearts and cool heads much prevail in the world's and the Church's reaction to the recent terrorist attacks in the United States. Especially in the case of the Church, racist and inflammatory language against certain people and their religions must not be allowed to be articulated, argues Fr. Kizito.

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