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| Participants of a workshop on Strengthening Catholic Marriages and Preventing breakdown of families organized by St. John Paul II College for Marriage and Family Studies |
By Fr. Andrew Kaufa, AMECEA Social Communications St. John Paul II College Workshop
A two-week certificate program for catechists and family life coordinators has just been completed at Saint John Paul II College for Marriage and Family Studies in Nairobi, Kenya, where 33 participants from Uganda and Kenya gathered from February 18 to March 2, 2019 to be empowered on how to strengthen Catholic marriages and prevent their breakdown.
Speaking as PHILOTHEA Mission Society Director at the closing ceremony that culminated with Eucharistic celebration at St Joseph’s Centre at Karen in Nairobi, Sr. Florence Kabala PMS, PhD, explained to AMECEA Online News that the program comprises of four modules on family ministry, which is also beefed up by inputs from couples, testimonies, cultural activities and by a daily program that includes daily celebration of the Holy Eucharistic and common prayers.
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| Sr. Florence Kabala, PMS, PhD, Philothea Mission Society Director |
The program targets catechists and family life coordinators who are aged between 24-50 years so that they are empowered with skills on how to give pastoral accompaniment to families and how to address the contemporary social issues affecting the African family in their respective dioceses and parishes.
“This program is all about the pastoral agents accompanying marriages so as to contribute to healthy family life and pastoral care. This is what Pope Francis is talking about in his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, aware that there are many challenges that families are facing today,” said Sr Florence, “In fact, we feel that this age group is the right one because they have the energy to do do some apostolate with families,” she continued.
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| Rev. Fr. George Kocholikal, SDB, Spiritual Director of Philothea Missionary Society |
In December 2018, John Paul Institute in Nairobi offered a trainingto couples on the same; this coming May, the Institute shall also offer a fully sponsored program to over 80 priests from all over the AMECEA region who later during the month will be joined by this group of catechists and family coordinators.
“We are grateful for the support coming from the Institute in Rome. However, this is not going to be the norm. Local contribution is always very important as they may soon reach a point where they will say that participants chip in something.”
Stressing the importance of the program, Fr George Kocholikal, SDB, who is Spiritual Director of PHILOTHEA Missionary Society said, “Today, there are so many children suffering all kinds of abuses even in families. Some are even dying before they are born due to abortion and other reasons. We must let children come to Jesus through strengthened families and by preparing the young people who are to get married,” he said.
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| Rev. Fr. Anthony Makunde, AMECEA Secretary General |
“We are happy that this training attracted some 5 participants from Uganda. We are looking forward to receiving catechists and family life coordinators, as well as priests and couples from the entire region of AMECEA which includes Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania,” he begged.
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