H. Exc. Mons. Tesfaselassie MEDHIN, Bishop of Adigrat (ETHIOPIA)
I
have not noticed enough attention accorded to formation which is a fundamental subject
to the Church in Africa as she renders her service to Reconciliation, Justice and
Peace, as "... the salt of the earth ...and the light of the world".
The
Church carries out her mission through her structures and institutions, and most basically
through Bishops, priests, Religious men and women, catechists and the lay faithful
who, at their respective levels, have to play the role of Guides and models in Christian
communities as "reconcilers", "just persons", "peace makers".
Priestly
Formation work is crucial for this objective to be realized.
We must
therefore ensure that the formation we give to our future priests and agents of evangelization
helps them be cognizant of the challenges, self-confident, balanced and mature ministers
who could stand against and through the serious turbulences of the time.
Recommendations:
-
There is a serious need to understand the destructive pressures and challenges confronting
our societies in Africa today, with special attention to families and youths. This
calls upon the Church to design more specific formation programmes.
-
The Formation Programmes of the Major Seminaries and Houses of Religious Formation
should be given serious attention and evaluation, to determine their quality and effectiveness
in producing members of the church who can be true witness to Reconciliation, Justice
and Peace
- Use our higher learning institutes by establishing a faculty
which develops and integrates into its modules the best practices and most effective
African cultural ways of reconciliation mechanisms to cater for the training of resource
personnel in service to reconciliation, justice and peace, who could render their
services at the national, regional and continental levels as need be.
-
Appreciation of diversities in our African societies is a reality that cannot be underestimated.