East Africa Catholic bishops commit to young people as pastoral priority for next 4 years

NAIROBI — The Catholic bishops of Eastern Africa have committed the next four years of their regional pastoral mission to accompanying young people, making them their top pastoral priority as they seek to strengthen the Church through listening, dialogue, and synodal accompaniment in one of the worldʼs youngest regions.

Announcing the decision during the opening Eucharistic celebration of the 21st Plenary Assembly of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) on July 19, Bishop Charles Sampa Kasonde said the bishops had intentionally adopted this pastoral focus because young people are central to the future of both the Church and society.

“We, the bishops of the AMECEA region, make young people our pastoral priority over the next four years for three reasons,” Kasonde, the AMECEA chairman, said during the Eucharistic celebration at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Kenya’s Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN).

Kasonde, who is also bishop of Zambia’s Catholic Diocese of Solwezi said the first objective of the four-year pastoral commitment is to strengthen young peopleʼs sense of belonging to the Church.

He explained that the…