Catholic Bishops in West Africa Urge Governments to Tackle Corruption, Insecurity, Youth Unemployment

Dakar, 20 November, 2025 / 10:40 PM

Members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape-Verde, and Guinea-Bissau (CESMCVGB) are calling on their respective governments to take urgent and decisive action against corruption, insecurity, and rising youth unemployment, issues they say are pushing their nations deeper into social and economic crisis.

In a statement issued following their November 10-18 Plenary assembly, the members of the four-nation conference in West Africa said they had deliberated on “the increasingly critical social, economic, and political situation” in their respective countries, adding, “We call on governments to demonstrate greater transparency in the management of natural resources, in particular, for the greater good of their populations.”

In their Tuesday, November 18 statement, the Bishops reminded government leaders of the “urgent need to fight effectively to eradicate corruption and poverty, and to reduce precarious living conditions and unemployment, especially among young people.”

They urged politicians to honor their commitments and condemn all forms of violence and “manipulation of consciences.”

The Catholic Church leaders also warned authorities in their respective States about the growing insecurity, which continues to “reach alarming levels, with terrorism threatening almost every country.”

“We remain deeply concerned about the tragedy of irregular migration, which claims numerous victims—mostly young people,” the Bishops said.

The Catholic Bishops expressed their compassion to populations affected by the rising cost of living, floods, and natural disasters.

They encouraged and thanked the people of God in their respective dioceses for the “efforts and initiatives undertaken to support the material and financial life of their ecclesial communities.”

The Catholic Bishops called for “transparent management of Church goods and accountability” as the best way to build together autonomous and supportive Christian communities. 

“In the face of multiple social tensions that are undermining fraternal coexistence among people of the same State, the same nation, or even the same family, we remind all Christians of their duty to be peacemakers, prophets of hope, and instruments of reconciliation,” CESMCVGB members said in their November 18 statement.