Training on the safeguarding of minors and persons in situations of vulnerability, 17th June 2024

Today we have started the session on the safeguarding of minors and persons in situations in vulnerability, at the Lavigerie Missionary Center, in Kigali (Rwanda). This worshop is organized by the General Council of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa. Twenty-five confreres from all over the world are taking part in this training.

The session began with the eucharistic celebration presided over by the provincial of the province of Central Africa, Father Arsène Kapya. Entrusting the session to the Holy Spirit, he exhorted us during his homily to take care of the smallest, the weakest and the vulnerable (referring to the experience of the poor Naboth before the mighty Acab and his wife Jezebel in 1 Kings 21:1-16). He concluded by urging us to make our environment safe and healthy for everyone.

The opening of the session was marked by the welcoming remarks of the Superior General, Fr. Stanley Lubungo. In his speech, he called the confreres to take this time of training at heart, by appropriating the policy of the Society for Safeguarding. Following the Superior General, the first assistant, Fr. Francis Bomansaan (appointed bishop of the diocese of Wa in Ghana) insisted on the integrity without which our mission is meaningless.  

In launching the session, the Society’s Coordinator for Integrity in Ministry, Fr. Lowrent Kamwaza, situated the theme in the broader context of the universal mission of the Church’s. The rest of this first day was devoted to rich sharing and listening to each other’s experiences in their respective missions.

By: Alex Manda, Clément Kpatcha, Guy Sawadogo, Lowrent Kamwaza (News Team)