Bishop-elect in South Africa Pledges to Assist Archbishop in “realizing pastoral plan”

The Bishop-elect who has been serving as the Rector of the Pretoria-based St. John Vianney National Major Seminary said that he will support Archbishop Dabula Anthony Mpako in ensuring that members of the Clergy in Pretoria Archdiocese “are well cared for and that they are enthused in their own vocation to be able to serve God and the people.”

“The Laity must also be supported in their various missions, to be able to respond to God’s call and to make their own contribution towards the building of the Kingdom,” the member of the Clergy of South Africa’s Tzaneen Diocese told ACI Africa during the July 20 interview.

He pledged to support the initiatives the Archdiocese is making in empowering the Laity, saying he will “immensely contribute to the empowerment of the lay people… especially the youth who are very close to my heart."

“The youth are part of the Church; they should not be treated as those who are on the periphery of the Church or who are needed in the Church whenever there is something happening or where we dump things that we do not want to do ourselves”, said Mons. Selemela.

He added that young people are "an integral part of the Church and also its own future”.

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The Bishop-elect promised to be part of the ongoing initiatives in reaching out to young people in Pretoria Archdiocese, and added, "My own contribution to the youth would be to see what is already happening in the Archdiocese, and to reinforce established programs.”

“I come to seek to find ways to empower young people, by giving them formation, not only spiritually but also to equip them with the social skills necessary for them to be able to survive spiritually”, Mons. Selemela told ACI Africa July 20.

Once ordained Bishop, Mons. Selemela will assist 62-year-old Archbishop Mpako in shepherding the people of God in the 16,579 square kilometer Metropolitan Archdiocese with an estimated population of 249,510 Catholics, according to 2019 statistics. 

Sheila Pires is a veteran radio and television Mozambican journalist based in South Africa. She studied communications at the University of South Africa. She is passionate about writing on the works of the Church through Catholic journalism.