“The Church in Africa has defined itself as a family, but what kind of family do we have? What kind do we need? What kind of pastors are required for it?” the Ugandan Catholic Church leader who also oversees the UEC’s Commission for Education posed.
Highlighting the need for Priestly formation that churns out synodal shepherds, he noted that the Universal Church is already responding to “signs of the times”, with the Synod on Synodality.
“We call you ‘synodal’ because the Synod document was finalized last year,” Bishop Wanok said, referring to the 46 graduating Seminarians he was about to award Diplomas in Theological and Pastoral Studies.
Alluding to the 52-page Final Document of the XVI Assembly followed the 2-27 October 2024 second session of the Synod on Synodality, which the late Pope Francis directly approved Bishop Wanok reminded the graduating Seminarians, “You are the first fruits of accepting and internalizing this document, and it should characterize your ministry.”
“If you go out without knowing the way, the truth, and the life, people will direct you where to go, and you will end up following their design,” the Catholic Church leader, who began his Episcopal Ministry in April 2011 as Bishop of Uganda’s Nebbi Diocese cautioned the graduating Seminarians.
Alluding to the theme of the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which the late Pope Francis officially launched on the Eve of 2024 Christmas with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica of Rome, “Pilgrims of Hope”, he added, “We now define shepherds as shepherds of hope. Be shepherds of hope.”
Bishop Wanok went on to warn the graduating Seminarians of the challenges that he said await them in today’s pastoral context, which he described as a “fluid world”.
He said, “A word no longer holds the same meaning for everyone, and that is the battle we will face with Scripture, with the Word of God, because people interpret words differently. Many are trying to manipulate it to make it seem unstable. That is the reality into which you are graduating.”
The Catholic Bishop, who has been at the helm of Lira Diocese since his installation in February 2019 reminded the Theological and Pastoral class of 2024/25 at the Ugandan Priestly formation institution, which is under the UEC, that “it is time to translate” their formation into action.
Emphasizing that the Synod on Synodality requires that “listening must happen” beyond the Parish level, Bishop Wanok urged the graduating Seminarians to prepare themselves “to go to every ten families in the community, listening to them, seeing their tears, walking with them, and discerning how they can respond to the Spirit that consecrated them as Christians.”
