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Catholic Bishop in Angola Cautions Scout Coordinators against Fear “to learn”

By João Vissesse

Luanda, 07 April, 2024 / 8:52 pm (ACI Africa).

Bishop Belmiro Cuica Chissengueti of the Catholic Diocese of Cabinda has cautioned scout coordinators in the Southern African nation against fear to learn new things.

In his homily during the opening Mass of the First National Meeting of Coordinators and Assistants of Catholic Scouts in Angola, Bishop Chissengueti said, “Let's not be ashamed or afraid to learn.”

“I myself sit down when there is scout training and I stay for five days so that I can understand and lead better,” he added during the April 5 event at the Chapel of the Bishop’s House in Cabinda.

The Angolan member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Spiritans/Holy Ghost Fathers) continued, “We must bring ourselves to sit down so that we can learn and thus enjoy the beauty of scouting.”

“It is only by knowing the fundamentals of Scouting that we will be able to defend ourselves against the many today who are trying to distort the fundamentals of Catholic Scouting,” the Catholic Church leader told the over 50 Angolan Coordinators of Catholic Scouts drawn from all the Dioceses in the country.

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The Catholic Bishop, who also serves as the president of the Episcopal Commission for youth, university ministry and Scouting of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) highlighted the place of faith in Scouting movement as important.

“Faith is the identity of each choice made by each individual.  And we have chosen the Catholic Faith and everything that concerns the Catholic Faith is our obligation,” he said.

Bishop Chissengueti, who has been at the helm of Cabinda Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in September 2018 recognized the choice of his Episcopal See as the venue of the meeting, saying, “This is a place where you only come for love (of it); no one in their usual planning, if they don't have a regular connection, makes the leap to Cabinda.”

Therefore, he continued, “organizing a meeting in Cabinda and allowing everyone to be here is consoling for us. It's consoling for them to first get an idea of how big our country is, but also to see how difficult the conditions we live in are.”

“And so having this reality also allows us to cover the size of the country, which is what we have to achieve in order to improve,” the Bishop of Cabinda said.

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He went on to highlight the objective of the April 4-8 meeting, saying, “It is really to get to know each other, and to feel in each other the challenges we have faced in our dioceses, to recognize and also understand the dimension of scouting from this perspective of the Catholic faith, as we live and transmit.”

“It hasn't been an easy road, but good things are never easy either. It's fundamental for us, the leaders and assistants, to know that the main scope of our action has to do with the training of assistants and leaders for the welfare of the scout movement in Angola,” Bishop Chissengueti said during his April 5 homily.

João Vissesse

João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate. 

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