Church News
By Jude Atemanke
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 in Kenya’s Archdiocese of Nairobi.
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 bishops’ commitment seeks to affirm “that it is worth the effort of young people to have a sense of belonging to this Holy Mother Church, the Catholic Church, for the future of humanity and indeed the future of the Church.”
He added: “The future of the Church lies in the hands of those who are strong enough to give the coming generations reasons for living and hoping in faith.”
Kasonde said the bishops’ decision is also informed by Africaʼs demographic reality, recalling the reflections of Catholic bishops in Africa during the Golden Jubilee of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
“Our continental bishops heard the plain fact that six in 10 Africans are under 25 years of age. This reality calls for a preferential option for the youth,” he said.
Reflecting on the theme of the July 19–26 plenary assembly, “AMECEAʼs Synodal Journey with Young People: Building Bridges of Communion, Hope, Justice, and Good Governance,” Kasonde said the Churchʼs mission among young people must be rooted in listening and accompaniment.
“The Synod on Synodality has taught us that the Church discerns Godʼs will by listening,” he said.
Referring to Pope Leo XIV, who sent a message to the plenary assembly encouraging the Church to trust young people “to be agents of transformation,” the AMECEA chairman said new technologies can also contribute to fostering dialogue despite growing social fragmentation.
“Pope Leo XIV even spoke about making use of the internet and new technologies to enhance dialogue amid the many interests that fragment our relationships,” he said.
He underscored that listening and accompaniment are inseparable dimensions of the Churchʼs synodal mission.
“Synodality without accompaniment is a theory. Accompaniment without listening is control. This theme holds both together, journeying with our young people, not merely speaking about them,” Kasonde said.
Addressing the young delegates participating in the 21st AMECEA plenary assembly, he acknowledged that although only a limited number were present, they represented thousands of young Catholics across the region.
“You are few in this hall, but you are not few in Godʼs eyes or in this assembly. You stand here to represent thousands of young Catholics across the 11 countries in eastern Africa who could not travel to Kenya but whose hopes you carry. Your bishops are seeing you and listening to you,” he said.
Encouraging them to embrace their vocation in the Church and society, the AMECEA chairman cited St. Paulʼs exhortation to Timothy: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.”
Reflecting on AMECEAʼs 65-year journey, Kasonde described the regional association as the realization of a vision of ecclesial collaboration that continues to unite the Church across national borders.
“Sixty-five years ago, the bishops of eastern Africa dared to imagine a Church working together across our borders and cultures. Today, here in Kenya, we are the fruit of that dream, for 65 years of growth in faith, in numbers, and in holiness across our member episcopal conferences, God alone be praised,” he said.
He also thanked Pope Leo XIV for his spiritual closeness to the AMECEA plenary assembly through his representative, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and expressed gratitude to the Catholic Church in Kenya for accepting to host the gathering on short notice.
Turning to the challenges that the region faces, Kasonde said the AMECEA plenary assembly could not overlook the suffering caused by conflict, displacement, and violence.
“Our hearts cannot ignore the wounds of our region and our world — conflict, displacement, families torn by violence,” he said.
Entrusting the region to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he prayed that the gathering would contribute to peace in eastern Africa.
“Through Mary, Queen of Peace, we ask God for peace in every troubled corner of eastern Africa and that this plenary itself become an instrument of that peace,” he said during the opening Mass of the 21st AMECEA plenary assembly on July 19.
On his part, welcoming participants in the plenary assembly to Kenya, the chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, reaffirmed the Churchʼs confidence in young people and encouraged them to play an active role in the life of the Church and society.
“The Church loves you, and we invite you to participate fully in the life of the Church and the life of your respective countries, that we may grow together in love, in justice, in unity, in faith, and in moving our society forward based on our Catholic and Christian values,” the archbishop said.
The host of the 21st AMECEA plenary assembly, Archbishop Philip Subira Anyolo of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi described the gathering as “a great blessing and an honor” and invited participants to model their synodal journey on the disciples’ encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.
“May we find him within us. May we feel our hearts burning as we listen to him. Above all, may we continually discover Jesus as the disciples of Emmaus did at the breaking of bread,” Anyolo said.
He encouraged young people to remain steadfast in faith despite contemporary challenges.
“Do not be afraid to live your faith to the full. Allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you and guide you to joyful and courageous witness,” he said.
AMECEA is comprised of the episcopal conferences of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia — with Djibouti and Somalia participating as affiliate members.
During the weeklong assembly, bishops and delegates are examining key pastoral and social issues affecting young people, including governance, unemployment, migration, social exclusion, safeguarding, mental health, evangelization in the digital age, and missionary vocations.
The plenary will also review the implementation of previous resolutions, consider reports from the AMECEA secretariat and its institutions, deliberate on revised statutes, approve its final resolutions and communiqué, and elect a new AMECEA chairman.
The assembly is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, July 26, with a closing Eucharistic celebration to be presided over by the new AMECEA chairman, who will be elected during the ongoing plenary assembly.
The current chairman of AMECEA, Kasonde, was reelected during the July 2022 20th plenary assembly of the nine-nation, eight-conference association that was held in the Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
