Planned Plenary Assembly of Catholic Bishops in Southern Africa to Focus on Young People

There will also be a “theme on entrepreneurship, how young people instead of being seen as just passive people who need to be given things can themselves also contribute to the building of not just the Church, but also the building up of a proper society in Southern Africa,” Fr. Vilakati told ACI Africa August 31.

He added, “There will also be a reflection, obviously on violent extremism and on how young people can avoid being sucked into that world, given the situation that already exists in parts of IMBISA; and I'm speaking here of Northern Mozambique, Cabo Delgado”

Youth representatives from each the Catholic Bishops’ Conference will be present at the Plenary Assembly “so that they may also make their own contribution,” the member of the Clergy of Eswatini’s Manzini Diocese said. 

The participation of the young people in the IMBISA Plenary Assembly is important, Fr. Vilakati said, and explained, “It is the Pope himself who says in Christus Vivit that young people are not just the future of the Church in society, but they are the present of society so we cannot postpone their contribution to what can build the Church in society.”

Giving attention to the youth “must be done now”, he said, and emphasized, “It must be something that happens at every moment.”

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The IMBISA official said that young people in Southern Africa are eager to participate in the 16th World Youth Day (WYD) scheduled to take place in Lisbon, Portugal, in August 2023.

“We have had online meetings with young people to talk about their experiences of previous world youth days, and their expectations for the next Youth Day,” he said, and added in reference to the August 1-6 event, “We foresee a bigger group of young people attending the Youth Day in Portugal.” 

Young people have also expressed their desire to see the World Youth Day in Africa, Fr. Vilakati told ACI Africa.

Young people in Southern Africa “appreciate these World Youth days,” he said, and added, “But they have a dream also to see a Youth Day at the level of IMBISA, with youths coming from all the Conferences; it is something that is still being distant and I'm sure it will come up at the Plenary”.

“There is also a dream for young people in the continent, to have a continental Youth Day. But there is also a further dream to see these World Youth days also coming to Africa at some point,” Fr. Vilakati further said. 

He continued, “This comes from young people who have attended the World Youth Days and so now they are asking why are we left behind? All the continents have hosted youth days, when is it time for Africa to also demonstrate its hospitality and receive young people from other parts of the world?”

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.