African Forum for Catholic Social Teachings
 
 
   
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16 Link Road,
Mount Pleasant
P.O. BOX 320 Mt. Pleasant
Tel/Fax: +263-4-745 Ext 150
website@afcast.org.zw
ABOUT US
What is AFCAST?
The African Forum for Catholic Social Teachings (AFCAST) is a diverse group of Catholics involved in the field of the Catholic Church's social teachings. We see a mutuality between the Catholic Social Teachings and the wisdom of the peoples of Eastern and Southern Africa. We come together to share our knowledge and experiences with each other, seeking ways to promote and popularise the social teachings within the African Church and society and for Africa's rich and diverse cultural traditions to contribute to and inform the social teachings.
Our Aim
To stimulate, support, and strengthen the capacity of individuals and institutions involved in the field of social teachings, focusing our activities on Eastern and Southern Africa regions in order to bring these teachings to life at all levels of the church and society. We work closely with existing church structures and collaborate with others in related areas. We value the support for all people of good will from within and outside our region.
 
Guiding Principles
• To discover what it means to be socially concerned in the African context
• To be sensitive to the sensibilities and peculiarities of each region
• To listen and observe what is happening at the level of the local church, economically, socially, and politically
• To place the social teachings prominently in all development work and pastoral activities
• To have an ethical sense, public conscience, and social commitment to transforming the world in the spirit of the Gospel message
• To respect the obligations of stewardship of God's creation
• To work in partnership and dialogue with all others in the social teachings field
• To value the contribution of others in this field
• To focus the activities of AFCAST where they are most needed at any given time
• To find ways to bridge the gap between the Church leadership's knowledge of the social teachings and their practices on the ground
 
A Brief History...
The relationship between the African Church and the social teachings has come under the spotlight many times by numerous scholars. The relationship is a complex one, involving historical issues as well as questions of culture and relevence. Why is this relationship strained and why is there a general failure to popularise the social teachings within African society?

These were the questions an interested group of Catholics began exploring with the assistance of MISEREOR in Nairobi in July 1999. subsequent meetings were held in Dar-es-Salaam (November 1999), Cape Town (February 2000) and Harare (July 2000).

Those present recognised the importance of implementing strategies to bring to life the social teachings within the African Church. Thus, the African Forum for Catholic Social Teachings was born. Generously funded by MISEREOR, AFCAST was officially launched on October 30th, 2001 at Arrupe Jesuit College of Philosophy and Humanities in Harare, Zimbabwe.
AFCAST © 2006
AFRICAN FORUM FOR CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING