The Church of Algeria In The Throes Of Crisis

The French Catholic daily “La Croix” revealed new guidelines for the Catholic Church in Algeria after the appointment of the new Ambassador of the Pope in Algiers.

In fact, Archbishop Luciano Russo, who had been apostolic nuncio in Rwanda since February 2012, was appointed apostolic nuncio to Algeria and Tunisia by Pope Francis. Italian, hailing from Caserta Bishop Luciano Russo was ordained a priest in 1988 for the diocese of Aversa Campania. 

Being a graduate in Canon Law and having entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1993, he successively served in the nunciatures in Papua New Guinea, Honduras, Syria, Brazil, the Netherlands, the United States, Honduras and Bulgaria.

According to the same source, one of the first tasks that awaits Monsignor Luciano Russo is the appointment of two bishops in Algeria, a successor to Bishop Claude Rault, bishop of Ghardaia and who stepped down for reasons of age and his replacement by Jordanian Ghaleb Bader, appointed nuncio to Pakistan in May 2015 by Pope Francis, whose apostolic administrative task for the diocese of Algiers is assumed by the Bishop of Constantine, Bishop Paul Desfarges.

The latter is a seasoned diplomat as the Holy See has chosen him to be nominated in Algeria and Tunisia, two countries where the Catholic Church is to work in a fragile context, whether his status – notably in Algeria for his human resources.

In so doing, the diplomat must be accredited after presenting his credentials to the President of the Algerian Republic then a new Archbishop of Algiers will be appointed as a successor to Claude Rault.

In any event, according to the newspaper La Croix, the Church of Algeria finds himself at the crossroads: “Faced with aging members, many religious congregations were forced to leave in recent years. 

Their replacement is difficult and vocations on almost non-existent place, while the faithful flock in recent years, with on focus Sub-Saharan African students studying in Universities of the Maghreb, but also migrants who see their way end north”. 

Furthermore, the Church of Algeria is now playing an important role for many Sub Saharan students and migrants living in the country and who usually fill up the churches.

These changes are beneficial for the Church of Algeria, which has four dioceses: Algiers, Ghardaia, Oran and Constantine, with the appointment of members of a Clergy from different countries and different “colors”.