ACN Supporting Catechists
Pope Francis has announced the establishment of the lay ministry of the catechist. In many parts of the world the Church is short of priests and religious, and the faithful have to partly rely on the ministry of catechists. ACN has been supporting the ministry, training and formation of catechists around the world for many years.
By ACN Staff
John Joseph Gasi from South Sudan, ACN helped pay for his training as a catechist. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
On Tuesday the 11th of May, Pope Francis released an Apostolic Letter on the ministry of the catechist in the Church today. In this Apostolic Letter, Antiquum ministerium, Pope Francis established the lay ministry of the catechist. The reality for the Church in many parts of the world is that they are short of priests and religious. This means many of the faithful must rely on lay catechists to teach them the Faith. ACN has been supporting catechists for a very long time, recognising their essential importance to the Church in many parts of the world.
One of the many catechists supported by ACN is John Joseph Gasi from South Sudan. John sadly lost his family and his home in the civil war in South Sudan. In his own words:
“My father, my sister and my brother were killed. It happened in the space of a few minutes.”
John was fortunately able to flee and take refuge in neighbouring Uganda. He joined more than one million people living in refugee camps there. The living conditions for the refugees were tough, but just as bad are the scars of conflict left on the displaced people. This was particularly true for the young people, many of whom are still trying to recover from what they went through as child soldiers.
Being able to relate to the experiences of other refugees John is being guided by the Holy Spirit to carry out a special mission. He elaborates further:
“Many of them are filled with hate and thoughts of revenge. I talk to them about forgiveness.”
Through teaching people more about the Faith, John is helping them to recover from the traumas inflicted upon them. There are not enough priests and religious to minster to the South Sudanese in refugee camps in Uganda. Catechists are required to help the Church in Her mission. ACN helped to pay for John’s training at the Emmaus Centre in Uganda to become a catechist. John is now a catechist and is continuing his ministry to help his fellow countrymen to find healing in the Faith. ACN was able to help support the training of John and other catechists thanks to the support of our benefactors.