The concern of the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST) appears in the final communiqué of the 1st Annual Plenary Assembly that ended in Luanda.
In addition to recording the "increase in crime and violence" with "great incidence" in religious institutions, calling for a redoubled effort by the security forces "for better protection of communities", the bishops also point out for the growth, in Angola, of the fetishist mentality.
They also say that there is a general degradation of the education system, which "urgently demands" "better training and appreciation" of the teacher, as well as the improvement of teaching and learning conditions.
According to the spokesman for CEAST, Belmiro Chissengueti, who presented the document, at a press conference, after reading the reports from the Angolan dioceses, the need to "disseminate" pre-school education in provincial and municipal capitals also emerged.
The bishops lament the "sharp unemployment, which is causing many young people to flee abroad", poverty and the consequent social crisis and also defend the "urgency" of ecological training in communities, in order to reduce the environmental damage caused by fires and plastics.
The prelates also praised the executive for building roads, especially secondary and tertiary roads, criticizing, however, their poor durability and lack of inspection.
Regarding the framework agreement between the Angolan State and the Vatican, in 2019, the bishops urged dioceses, parishes and religious congregations to accelerate the process of acquiring civil-juridical personality with the Central Registry Office.
On the life of the Angolan church, they admitted that there is an urgent need to work hard in the search for self-sustainability of parishes and dioceses through the training of clergy, religious and bursars in economics and management.
They defended even greater involvement of the Angolan dioceses and parishes in the mobilization of young people to participate in the World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023, urging each diocese to register and sponsor at least one or two delegates to the next August event.
The conclave, which took place between the 9th and 16th of February in Luanda, also approved the program of the Social Week to be held in Luanda between the 19th and 21st of July next and the structure of the pastoral message for the third year of the Children's Triennium entitled "The Integration of Children in Church and Society" (2023-2024).
