Declaring that Africa needed more “saints” in public life, African bishops issued a strong statement on Friday calling on corrupt Catholic politicians on that continent to “repent” or leave office.

They did not name names, but two of Africa’s most prominent Catholic leaders are President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, whose repressive policies and ruling elite are seen to have led his country to economic ruin, and President José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, whose government is perceived as one of the most corrupt in the world.

“Many Catholics in high office have fallen woefully short in their performance in office,” the bishops wrote in an unusually direct document wrapping up a month-long synod, or meeting, at the Vatican on the issues facing the church in Africa. “The synod calls on such people to repent, or quit the public arena and stop causing havoc to the people and giving the Catholic Church a bad name.”

With its large Catholic population, estimated at 158 million, Africa in many ways represents the future of the Catholic Church. It is expected that by 2025, one-sixth of the world’s Catholics, or about 230 million, will be African, and Africa produces a large percentage of the world’s priests. Pope Benedict XVI, who visited Cameroon and Angola in March, has often spoken out against the poverty, disease, corruption and violence that threaten African countries, and has said he sees the church as a force for democracy and social justice.

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