Seven Newly Ordained Priests in Ivory Coast Urged to “live fully” Priestly Vocation

The life of chastity, Cardinal Kutwa told Deacons Thierry Gueu Deba, Séraphin Namba, Franck Die Blesson, Martial Keudoh Dego, Maxime César Gbei Bonaho, Alain Luc N’Goran Kouablan, and Guy Laurent Kouamé Yao, involves the virtue of detachment. 

“It means renouncing the joys of a household, of physical fatherhood, of romantic bonds, to offer your very being to Jesus Christ, who was the first to give His life to save us,” he said about chastity, and continued, “Ultimately, it means freeing your hearts by enlarging them to the dimensions of a universal love at the service of God, the Church, and the world.”

Cardinal Kutwa who serves as the Apostolic Administrator of Man Diocese warned against alcohol abuse and its consequences, which he said amounts to neglecting the law and the rights of the poor.

“Giving yourself over to alcohol without restraint, as though it were some sort of competition, is unworthy of your new state of life and could be seen as a sign of a deeper problem that needs urgent attention,” Cardinal Kutwa said.

He posed. “Can one imagine a Priest, a Cleric, so given to drink that he forgets his state and the obligations required by his Priestly being?”

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The Catholic Church leader urged the Priests-elect to a life of constant prayer to live out their vocation in a world marred by moral collapse.

“My dear sons, it is imperative that you learn to spend time with Jesus in the Eucharist, in the daily meditation of His word, and in constant and fervent adoration. Only in this way will you be able to respond to your vocation in today’s world,” the Ivorian Cardinal said.

Amid a world in moral decline, Cardinal Kutwa issued a message of hope.

“Despite the naysayers, today as in the past, God continues to speak and, even more, to call men and women—perhaps not the strongest, the wisest, or the most brilliant, but certainly those He believes can respond to a profound preferential love,” the Ivorian cardinal noted,” he said.

The Cardinal continued, “This preferential love calls for surrendering one’s own life, allowing oneself to be guided along paths not always known in advance, yet assuredly along paths that reveal God’s presence in the daily lives of men and women of all times.”

 Cardinal Kutwa urged families to support their sons in their new mission.

“I wish to return to two commitments your sons have undertaken: poverty and obedience. I encourage you to help your children and friends understand that the time of human history is a time of the Master’s absence,” Cardinal Kutwa said.

Justin Assalé is a Catholic journalist from Ivory Coast. He holds a diploma in communication and advertising. Working for Ivory Coast’s national Catholic radio, he is a correspondent of ACI Africa in Francophone West Africa.