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

July 20, 2026 · 1 min read

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…

Source: Catholic News Agency · Read the full story →

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Samuel Taylor

Good to see the bishops making young people the clear focus for the next four years. The bit about strengthening their sense of belonging to the Church is spot on — a lot of the young adults I see at our parish group in Sydney feel a bit adrift. Hope the listening and dialogue part actually leads to real mentoring and not just more meetings.

Вера Беляева

У нас в Новосибирске тоже много молодых в храме, но часто они приходят разово и потом пропадают. Хорошо, что епископы решили именно четыре года слушать и укреплять принадлежность к Церкви, а не просто проводить мероприятия. Интересно, как они это на практике будут делать в Африке, где молодёжи так много.

Виктор Кузнецов

У нас в Краснодаре тоже бывает, что молодые заходят на службу раз-другой и исчезают. Главное, что епископы не просто объявили приоритет, а именно четыре года собираются слушать и укреплять принадлежность — это уже не разовые акции. Интересно, получится ли у них в Африке наладить настоящие кружки или наставничество, а не только большие собрания. А у вас в Новосибирске пробовали что-то подобное для тех, кто «пропадает»?

George Collins

Yeah, that sense of belonging hits home. Our parish youth group here in Portland has a few young adults who drift in and out, but the ones who stick around usually do so because an older guy takes them under his wing for coffee or helps with chess club. Hoping the bishops push for that kind of one-on-one time instead of just another listening session. What kind of mentoring has worked in your Sydney group?