CDTY Conducts training for young priests.
The Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio has embarked on an ongoing formation program for young priests who have been in the ministry for five years and below in a bid to empower and equip them for better service delivery to the people of God whom they serve.
This is part of the diocesan synod and a decision by the Bishop together with the diocesan pastoral council to organize shorter courses within the diocese in which the priests come in, learn and equip themselves in order to go back and render services to the various communities they serve.
“The first five years in the priesthood is usually not easy. This is the moment when a young clergyman is confronted with realities of life after his training and formation in the seminary where he was shielded from such realities,” Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro explained adding that this is the first time the priest is out there by himself, he has the freedom to make decisions about what he needs to do by himself, he follows his own time table, reaching out to people who need his services; it is quite an experience and sometimes the priest in the process can go wrong.
As a result, there is a need for such programs as ongoing formation in order to journey with the clergy during this phase of their lives and their ministry. This first of such formation held in the month of June brought in 16 young priests of the diocese who undertook the training organized on various topics.
“We have organized this to help them develop skills that would eventually enable them to cope with realities of life and also support them in their ministries,” the Bishop said adding that the number of priests from the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio who are currently abroad both in Europe and Africa doing post-graduate studies in various fields has also risen in the recent past. This the Bishop believes is important to empower the clergy so that they can carry major activities in the area of evangelization, which is much more than just preaching the Word.
"I am happy about this, the priests who participated in the training were also happy and I have committed myself to do all I can to make sure that these priests will continue to be supported in order to carry out their activities well," Bishop Hiiboro commented.
The facilitators of the program were drawn from various fields including police service, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other health partners including the Western Equatoria State Ministry of Health who talked about the coronavirus pandemic and the role the church personnel should play at any level on Covid 19 in order to reduce infections.
