Vatican City, Oct 29, 2011 / 15:51 pm
Pope Benedict XVI has urged the Catholic Church in Angola to build up family life while fighting witchcraft and tribalism.
“Christians breathe the spirit of his time and are under pressure from the mores of their society but, by the grace of baptism, are called to give up harmful prevailing trends and to go against the current, guided by the spirit of the Beatitudes,” said the Pope Oct. 29.
The Angolan bishops were in Rome for their “ad limina” visit during which they update the Pope and the Vatican on the Catholic Church in the southwest African state.
It is estimated that over half the Angolan population is Catholic although many newer converts still practice remnants of traditional African religions.