By Jessica Bakari, Yola
The Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Most Reverend Doctor Stephen Dami Mamza says the church must be a prophetic voice for social justice, advocating for the rights and dignity of all people.
Bishop Mamza stated this while declaring open the twenty twenty-four General Assembly of the Catholic Diocese of Yola taking place at the old cathedral of Saint Theresa Cathedral Jimeta.
The theme of this year’s general assembly is mobilizing pastoral agents for structural and human development in the Yola diocese.
Bishop Mamza stresses the need for the priests, religious, and laity to reflect on their collective mission to serve not only the spiritual needs of their community but also foster holistic development, spiritual, social, and economic.
He explained that the general assembly brought together priests, Reverend sisters, catechists, deacons laity to rub minds on issues that will move the church forward.
He added that it is his hope and prayer that at the end of the meeting, they will come out with some pastoral plan that will guide the Catholic Diocese of Yola for the next few years.
The Bishop described the role of pastoral agents in the Modern church as the lifeblood of the church mission, hands, and feet of Christ Jesus in reaching the diverse needs of the congregation and the larger society.
Bishop Dami Mamza says investing in training and professional development for pastoral agents is vital by equipping them with skills and knowledge to address the contemporary challenges to enable them to serve more effectively.
He further identifies human development as the heart of the Christian mission, saying the church’s commitment to nurturing the whole person spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically is rooted in the teachings of Christ.
Additionally, Mamza described education as a cornerstone of human development, noting that establishing and supporting schools helps empower individuals with knowledge and skills that can transform their lives and communities.
The Catholic Bishop, however, called on the participants to actively participate throughout the meeting so that together they can build a church that not only nurtures the spiritual well-being of its members but promotes justice, compassion, and sustainable development in society.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Vicar General Pastoral, Reverend Father Emmanuel Mathias said thirty-nine parishes and pastoral heads of diocese societies under the Catholic diocese of Yola are in attendance at the general assembly.
He urged the participants to take ownership of the general assembly by active participation to enable them to come up with strategic plans for six years that will support the development and process of the Bishop to the development of the church.
A facilitator at the general assembly, Sir John Danboyi made his presentation on the processes and procedures of developing a strategic development plan, diocese core values, and developing organizational assessment.
He said values are the driving force for the operation of an organization and criteria for an organization’s strategies adding that the difficulties of the strategic plan are the implementation.
Some of the participants interviewed, Mrs. Josephine Odiniya and Mr. Justine both described the general assembly as timely as it allowed them to discuss issues that would bring more development and move the church forward.
