TANZANIA: Eastern Ecclesiastical Province Bishops Deliberates on Vocation Discernment in Minor Seminaries and Services in Church-Run Institutions
Bagamoyo, The entry Point of Catholic Church to Mainland Tanzania From Zanzibar
Concerns about boys flocking into minor seminaries but with no priestly vocation and improvement of management and service delivery in Catholic Schools and Church-run health institutions are among the major issues Bishops from Eastern Ecclesiastical Province deliberated upon during their ordinary meeting on 3rd September 2018 where they also looked at the preparations for the next Eucharistic Congress for the province.
Rt. Rev. Agapiti Ndorobo of Mahenge Diocese, Rt. Rev. Anthony Banzi,
Bishop of Tanga, H.E. Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, Archbishop of
Dar-es-Salaam and Rt. Rev. Telesphore Mkude, Bshop of Morogoro
The Eastern Ecclesiastical Province comprises of the Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam and the Dioceses of Ifakara, Mahenge, Morogoro, Tanga and Zanzibar. The Auxiliary Bishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Rt. Rev. Eusebius Alfred Nzigilwa, told AMECEA online News that they are concerned that although the enrolment in Major Seminaries in the past three years has been increasing, a greater percentage of students joining major seminaries come from private or public secondary schools and not from their Junior Seminaries.
“We agreed that we are going to review the mode of selection for admission to our Junior Seminaries to ensure that we give more opportunities to those with priestly vocations,” Bishop Nzigilwa said adding that this will ensure that pupils who genuinely have the vocation are given priority and that they do not miss the chance.
Bishop Nzigilwa also said that during their meeting, they recommitted themselves to seeking improvement in management and service delivery in the Catholic schools and health institutions in their dioceses.
During the same meeting, which took place at the residence of H.E. Polycarp Cardinal Pengo at Kurasini Dar es Salaam, the Bishops discussed the date and venue for the Eucharistic Congress for the Eastern Ecclesiastical Province.
“We usually hold our Eucharistic Congress after every three years; considering the fact that the last Eucharistic Congress took place last year 2017, the next one would have been held in 2020. However, that same year, the Republic of Tanzania will be holding the general elections, we decided to shift the event to another year. The date and the venue will be communicated at a later date.”
The Bishops also discussed about preparations for the celebrations of 150 years since the arrival of the first Catholic Missionaries in the country at Bagamoyo, the entry point of Catholic Evangelization to mainland Tanzania. The National celebrations are scheduled for 4th November 2018.
Their meeting was held under the theme: “… Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold, I am with you always until the end of time (Mt. 28:20).”
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By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
