SYNOD SECAM: Youths “Excited” to be Part of Continental Synod Assembly
Sr. Leonida Katunge Credit; AMECEA Online
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Having attended the first ever continental synod meeting in the history of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the coordinator for the digital synod in Africa has noted that the young people are delighted to have contributed to the ongoing synod on synodality.
The week-long meeting that took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 1-6th March, brought together 209 delegates comprising of Cardinals, bishops, Religious men and women, youths, the laity and those from other Faiths.
“The youths who need their voices to be heard by the Church have a lot of excitement concerning this continental synod meeting as they feel accepted and embraced, hence they are ready to walk with the entire Church,” Sr. Leonida Katunge the Digital Synod Coordinator for Africa shared with AMECEA Online Sunday, March 5.
She added that the young people were side-lined in the previous synodal phases but after the Dicastery for Communication in Vatican saw the gap, an initiative was born to come up with the digital faith influencers to target the youths “who find themselves not going to Church but are present in the social media.”
The youths who had the opportunity to attend the continental assembly in Addis Ababa, met with Cardinal Mario Grech the Secretary General of the Synod of “who encouraged them in their mission being that they are the Church of now who should not give up as faith influencers.”
According to Sr. Katunge a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph Mombasa, “the digital influencers have a task to reach out to the youths wherever they are through the social media and speak to them on matters of formation, their growth and Christian life.”
Additionally, the use of social media platforms including twitter, Facebook, Instagram and monthly webinars has enabled the youths to air their views “about what they need the Church to be and how they want the Church to deal with them.”
As the youth’s coordinator in Africa, the theologian who works with the young people in Pan-African Catholic Theological and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) said, “My work is to bring the youths in Africa together through social media platforms for them to be missionaries in the digital world, what we call digital youth missionary work.”
On her side, the youth representative from São Tomé and Príncipe Eloisa Cabinda appreciated the chance offered to the youths to be part of the continental meeting saying, “This is an opportunity for us the youths to give our contribution and share our opinion on what the Church can do to help us enlarge our tent.”
“From my country (São Tomé and Príncipe), this is the first time we are attending this kind of meeting in the Church so it is an eye opener for us to know more about other regions and the common challenges we face,” a member of youth pastoral secretariat narrated pointing out that all along decisions in the Church have always been made without listening to the views of the youths.
“I hope the expectations we have shared as youths to be given more space in the Church especially being part of decision making in will be implemented,” Ms. Cabinda shared her thoughts with AMECEA Online.
